# Towing Report And Thanks



## CA-NYCamper (Mar 30, 2009)

Just wanted to share a brief story of an extended camping weekend and give my thanks to Outbackers once again. We towed from Ottawa, Canada down through Syracuse NY, East to Albany, then South to Newburgh / New York (on the way to NY). This isn't the first time we've towed this distance and the 3500 towing miles we've had in the last couple of seasons have been great and without issue. Our 1/2 ton SUV is more than capable from a power standpoint to haul our 6500 lb loaded OB and the Hensley helps out with the length and wheelbase "concern".

On our trip back today, a car hauler (carrying a full load of 2 levels of cars) passed us within an arms length on the interstate in mild - moderate crosswinds. We were well within our lane (of course, right?..but seriously) and the hauler was way over into our side. Not sure if he got a crosswind or what, but for the first time in all these miles, I felt the Hensley battling the wind shear of this truck passing us dangerously close. You all encouraged me over a year ago to go with a Hensley / Propride for our TT/TV setup and Sean even gave me pointers on the visual setup of the drop bar combinations I had. Well, today, it all paid off, so thank you for the encouragement and warnings - they were heeded a over a year ago and needed today. It felt like the TT was being hit from both sides, but it was really the Hensley keeping it in line. I wouldn't want to speculate as to what would have occurred had I not had this setup...2 greyhounds in the back of the SUV, 2 DD's in the back seat, and DW and I up front. It would not have been pretty. We slowed down immediately, did nothing erratic, and the vortex we were in disappeared. So, the truck almost hit us and the wake he left tried to finish us off. There wasn't any distance to the sway but the forces on the Hensley were unbelievable.

I am thankful for all the education and camaraderie on Outbackers every day!!

Safe towing everybody!


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## Shizon (Oct 22, 2007)

Thank goodness everything was OK. From a fellow GH owner, I still don't know how you do it. We usually get a dogsitter for our trips, but last weekend we brought them with us for the first time in over a year. After 2 nights, the dogs were stir crazy and had major tummy issues.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Glad to hear it all worked out. This is exactly what many of us try to impress on new members. You can tow without incident for thousands of miles and then the stars are aligned and you're really glad you paid for that extra insurance. Thanks for sharing the experience.


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## NS_Bluenoser (Jun 14, 2010)

Glad to hear everyone turned out safe







. This could have happened to any TV/TT combination. It sounds like your hitch set up paid off. I too tow the 28BHS with a smaller tow vehicle. Well within my tow limits but many have expressed their concern with the Dakota's wheelbase and the lenght of the 28BHS.

One thing of concern that you mention was that you let off on the fuel when this happened (natural reaction)







. By doing this, you could have made the problem worse. My father has over 40 years experience driving big rigs and has given me some pointers when I started towing. If your trailer ever starts to get "away" on you, a way to get it back under control is to get on the fuel and "spike" your trailer brake. This slows down your trailer momentarily as your TV pulls it forward. This helps the trailer get back inline with the TV.

Similar situation if you have a tire blow out. Fuel, not braking, is advisable to counteract the side forces from the blow out.

Thanks for sharing.


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## Commander4Lyfe (Jun 7, 2010)

Happy to hear you and your family are safe. Those white knuckle imes is what made me go and buy an older TV for just towing. Now with a 168" wheel base, I don't even know the TT is behind me.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

NS_Bluenoser said:


> Glad to hear everyone turned out safe
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Technically, applying trailer brakes will help to straighten things out _if_ you have sway. That is the use for the manual overrride on the controller (not sure if I'm comfortable with the term spike in regarding to the brakes however....). There are 2 issues here though. First is that I challenge anyone to be able to do that in a panic situation (It's useful if there's some sway occuring and you have the time/control to take a hand off the wheel). Second is that with the Hensley, the event wouldn't technically be sway, but more of a sideways push on the combo. I'm not convinced that trailer brakes would do anything here. (Had it been a normal hitch, they would have, but then again, the trailer might have already whipped the TV into the semi....







)


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## Tangooutback (Apr 16, 2010)

CA-NYCamper said:


> Just wanted to share a brief story of an extended camping weekend and give my thanks to Outbackers once again. We towed from Ottawa, Canada down through Syracuse NY, East to Albany, then South to Newburgh / New York (on the way to NY). This isn't the first time we've towed this distance and the 3500 towing miles we've had in the last couple of seasons have been great and without issue. Our 1/2 ton SUV is more than capable from a power standpoint to haul our 6500 lb loaded OB and the Hensley helps out with the length and wheelbase "concern".
> 
> On our trip back today, a car hauler (carrying a full load of 2 levels of cars) passed us within an arms length on the interstate in mild - moderate crosswinds. We were well within our lane (of course, right?..but seriously) and the hauler was way over into our side. Not sure if he got a crosswind or what, but for the first time in all these miles, I felt the Hensley battling the wind shear of this truck passing us dangerously close. You all encouraged me over a year ago to go with a Hensley / Propride for our TT/TV setup and Sean even gave me pointers on the visual setup of the drop bar combinations I had. Well, today, it all paid off, so thank you for the encouragement and warnings - they were heeded a over a year ago and needed today. It felt like the TT was being hit from both sides, but it was really the Hensley keeping it in line. I wouldn't want to speculate as to what would have occurred had I not had this setup...2 greyhounds in the back of the SUV, 2 DD's in the back seat, and DW and I up front. It would not have been pretty. We slowed down immediately, did nothing erratic, and the vortex we were in disappeared. So, the truck almost hit us and the wake he left tried to finish us off. There wasn't any distance to the sway but the forces on the Hensley were unbelievable.
> 
> ...


How fast were you traveling when the hauler passed you? How fast the hauler was moving?

I am still in the learning process as far as towing is concerned and I get nervous everytime I saw these monsters roaring up from behind. I always slow down, move as far to the right as possible and let them pass. I have not yet exceeded 60 miles/hr when towing the OB unless the road is clear and no cross wind.


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## CA-NYCamper (Mar 30, 2009)

Nathan said:


> Glad to hear everyone turned out safe
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Technically, applying trailer brakes will help to straighten things out _if_ you have sway. That is the use for the manual overrride on the controller (not sure if I'm comfortable with the term spike in regarding to the brakes however....). There are 2 issues here though. First is that I challenge anyone to be able to do that in a panic situation (It's useful if there's some sway occuring and you have the time/control to take a hand off the wheel). Second is that with the Hensley, the event wouldn't technically be sway, but more of a sideways push on the combo. I'm not convinced that trailer brakes would do anything here. (Had it been a normal hitch, they would have, but then again, the trailer might have already whipped the TV into the semi....







)
[/quote]

You are right, Nathan - there was no sway...that wasn't the 'feeling'. It was as if the left and right sides of the TT were being repeatedly hit / pushed in alternating succession, causing an exaggerated 'vibration', yet the TT didn't move an inch, thanks to the Hensley. The TT/TV combo didn't even move sideways...just this rapid vibration. Had I not had that hitch, no doubt we would have swayed all over the place then the idea of applying trailer breaks first comes into play.

You never know when conditions will be ripe for a 'perfect storm' and almost always, they are unforseeable and beyond our control. Having the right TT/TV setup (being within your weight limits, length : wheelbase guidelines, using quality hitches, driving defensively and with common sense, etc, etc) is the key to coming out the other side of an issue in one piece. Our families and the safety of others are worth every penny it costs to upgrade TVs, hitches, whatever...even if it is an inconvenience at the time.


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## CA-NYCamper (Mar 30, 2009)

Tangooutback said:


> How fast were you traveling when the hauler passed you? How fast the hauler was moving?
> 
> I am still in the learning process as far as towing is concerned and I get nervous everytime I saw these monsters roaring up from behind. I always slow down, move as far to the right as possible and let them pass. I have not yet exceeded 60 miles/hr when towing the OB unless the road is clear and no cross wind.


On the Interstate, I try to keep it between 60 and 62. The passing rig was going maybe 68 - 70 or so, but it was his proximity to me (literally 3-4 feet tops) that caused the issue. I check all my mirrors routinely but not in a paranoid way and I just didn't see him coming, otherwise I would have moved....but my guess is he didn't try to run me off the road on purpose - something must have happened to him that made him venture into my lane. With the Hensley hitch, I barely feel rigs passing (assuming they are in their lane!!).

Towing, I am in no rush and fuel economy really suffers beyond 62 - 65. The vehicle has no issues towing at speeds in excess of that, but:

1 - trailer tires are rated to 65
2 - any issue, be it a blowout, requirement for an emergency maneuver, etc, is exponentially more difficult at higher speed
3 - the time saved doesn't add up to the costs/risks for it to be worth it.


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## NS_Bluenoser (Jun 14, 2010)

Below is a good read on this topic. It doesn't use the term "spike" (a trucker's term) but reiterates the theory I stated above. If your trailer brake is set up correctly, even a "spike" should not lock up the trailer brakes. This article suggests to stay off the TV's brakes and use a gradual application of the manual override on the trailer brake controller, applying more trailer brake as necessary depending on the severity of the sway.

I agree Nathan, this procedure would be hard to execute because natural tendacy is to get on the TV's brakes.

By the way, where does one get "wheelbase guidelines"?

Trailer braking/Sway/Windy Conditions


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

NS_Bluenoser said:


> By the way, where does one get "wheelbase guidelines"?


Well, I've read it on the internet, so it must be true







, but here you go:

A 110in wheelbase can tow a 20'TT
For each 4" of additional wheelbase, you can tow another foot of trailer.

Now if you ask me, these are really for the old sway bar setups because according to them, a F350 can only tow a 31'TT









In my personal experience if the ratio of wheelbase (in inches) to length (in feet) is over 5, then I've had good luck with the better hitches (Dual cam or Equal-I-zer).

Of course you're fooling yourself if you think this is all there is to it. There are so many other factors out there influencing it, that it isn't black and white.


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## CA-NYCamper (Mar 30, 2009)

NS_Bluenoser said:


> By the way, where does one get "wheelbase guidelines"?
> 
> Trailer braking/Sway/Windy Conditions


Here is the 'general' rule of thumb: Article

For the first 110" of wheelbase, this allows you 20' of trailer.
For each additional 4" of wheelbase, this gets you 1' more of trailer.

There are many articles online about this guideline and all seem to use similar math / ratios. But it's a guideline and only 1 factor, so take it for what it is.

OOPS - see Nathan beat me to it!


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## NS_Bluenoser (Jun 14, 2010)

Interesting, I have never seen anything on wheelbase stats to date. This is a real issue as they build lighter trailers.

My friend's 21' Hybird Slide has a higher UVW than my 28BHS. I don't have a Hensley (never seen them up here) but I do have a weight distribution hitch.

Taken at face value my wheelbase is about 19 inches too short and the max trailer would be 25-26'.


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## clarkely (Sep 15, 2008)

NS_Bluenoser said:


> Interesting, I have never seen anything on wheelbase stats to date. This is a real issue as they build lighter trailers.
> 
> My friend's 21' Hybird Slide has a higher UVW than my 28BHS. I don't have a Hensley (never seen them up here) but I do have a weight distribution hitch.
> 
> Taken at face value my wheelbase is about 19 inches too short and the max trailer would be 25-26'.


Actually if you go here







Link to a pinned topic on outbackers http://www.outbackers.com/forums/index.php?showforum=6
You will find a link Rv Towing Tips and Great Online Source For Tow Weights Calculation that are great resources.

First one links you here and deals with length amongst other things.
and the second on weight

also rv.org is a good reference.

I think you will see these Hitches - Hensley/Propride become even more popular as The trailer wights come down making weight less of a factor...... you still have "the sail" to deal with.

And to the Original Post - Glad everyone was safe and that the money invested paid its dividends...... its a dividend you never want to collect, but one you are glad you have tucked away!!


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## kmsjs (Apr 14, 2008)

I tow my 21rs with a ProPride hitch. I have had one experience also, where I felt it saved my life. I was traveling in Arizona on I-15. This section of the highway travels through some tight canyons that are always windy. This particular day, the gusts were severe. I actually felt the ProPride lock up to keep the trailer straight behind the TV. I too looked in the mirror and saw my family and realized that this hitch is worth every penny. I agree, it just takes a second to create an accident.


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

I've experience sudden violent sway twice in the 10 years I've been towing. Both times were with our Coleman Niagara popup and a Ford Expedition full size SUV. The popup trailer was only 20 feet long which should be easily handled by the Expeditions 119 inch wheelbase. I had plenty of tongue weight (measured) as well so that wasn't a factor. On both occasions I was going about 60 mph when I made a sudden steering input, once by accident







. The onset of the sway was so sudden and violent that it was all I could do to hang onto the steering wheel with both hands trying to keep the truck straight. I eased off the throttle and as I slowed the sway stopped after 5 or 10 seconds. There was no way I could reach the brake controller during these events so I'm not sure how worthwhile that really is to stopping truly dangerous sway. With some modest sway you could use the trailer brakes but that's not when you really need it. If you haven't experienced it it's hard to imagine how much the trailer can affect the tow vehicle. In my cases a 3,500 lb tent trailer easily pushed around a 6,000 lb tow vehicle. Many here are towing 6 to 8,000 lb trailers with similar weight tow vehicles so it's not hard figure out that if the trailer ever really gets going there's not much you're going to be able to do. Fortunately most travel trailers seem to be much better behaved than my old popup. I've never experienced anything that I could even remotely describe as sway with the Outback.

Just wanted to add my hard earned experience and I'm glad to hear that all was well. I considered the Hensley/Propride but put the money towards a bigger truck instead.


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