Big Scare last Weekend - Page 2 - Fiberglass RV
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 10-18-2013, 10:42 AM   #21
Senior Member
 
Carol H's Avatar
 
Trailer: 92 16 ft Scamp
Posts: 11,756
Registry
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jared J View Post
. My subaru will stop faster than my pickup all day long. Everything changes with a trailer behind it. Even if it could stop as fast, you would probably be pointed the wrong way, assuming you were even still on the road. .
My experience actually having towed with a Subaru for 6 years has been the opposite of that although it is pulling a trailer thats only a few hundred pounds under its tow cap. Doing 65 mph on a 6% grade (at least) very fast emergency stop -tires screeching - car and trailer stopped perfectly inline & gratefully fast! Unfortunately that's not the only time the vehicle has confirmed it is *very* capable of stopping the trailer in a straight line fast.... the issue with that tow vehicle IMHO is more about getting the trailer up the hill in time for dinner ;-)

I do know though that the Subaru Outback for a smallish sized tug is a bit on the heavy side compared to some other vehicles of the same size. It actually weighs about the same as a Toyota Tacoma and actually outweighs it on some model years.

As others have indicated its not necessarily just about the size of the tug its about the weight of tug itself and the wheel base and many other factors. All vehicles even those of the same size are not created equal. ;-)

As far as who has had their brakes fail on their trailer - I have twice! Once it was caused by the brakes ground wire on the trailer side & as a result was an intermittent problem & the controller showed the brakes to be connected & working as they should. No way to know if the trailers brakes were going to work or not work until the problem was fixed. Actually only suspected the problem when I didnt always feel a bit of a pull back when I did have to do a fairly fast stop. Other wise the car stopped the trailer just fine without any sign the trailer brakes were not working. Under normal braking situations I dont feel a big pull back or tug, only when I have to brake harder than I normally would. Perhaps I dont have it dialed up as high as I should but I dont want or like the trailer doing bunny hops when I put the brakes on which it will and can do if set just slightly higher. The other time I lost trailer brakes was the result of corrosion on the tug connection wiring side. Again all good when I plugged it in & no noticeable difference in stopping power or distant but some time on down the road I glanced down at the controller and happen to note the display was not reading as it should.

I dont advocate the practise of towing trailers over any vehicles tow specifications as I suspect strongly that in such cases that the vehicles ability to stop fast is handicapped by that added weight more than some might like to think. Also like to know that if the brakes on the trailer do fail the tug has at least some hope of stopping the trailer on its own.

Still would like to see a link to the numbers on actual head to head controlled stopping tests while towing trailers of the same size, of the tow vehicles MC1 provided their stopping distance for when not towing. Seeing the differences in stopping distance with a trailer attached vs not attached would to me be an interesting read.
Carol H is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-18-2013, 11:12 AM   #22
Senior Member
 
honda03842's Avatar
 
Name: Norm and Ginny
Trailer: Scamp 16
Florida
Posts: 7,517
An Emergency Stop

We tow a 2400 lb Scamp 16 with a Honda CRV, a light tow vehicle. We had to make one pedal to the metal emergency stop.

A long bed crew cab Chevy truck pulled across two lanes of traffic blocking our way; we were going 55 mph. The tow vehicle and trailer stopped perfectly in a trully hard stop.

We test our trailer brakes every morning when we get moving, activating just the trailer brakes with the brake controller as we leave the campground.

Going down hills we always down shift if we're building too much speed, generally saving the trailer and tow vehicle brakes..
__________________
Norm and Ginny

2014 Honda Odyssey
1991 Scamp 16
honda03842 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-18-2013, 11:15 AM   #23
Senior Member
 
Glenn Baglo's Avatar
 
Trailer: Escape 17 ft
Posts: 8,317
I'm sure I read somewhere that brakes are cheaper to replace than transmissions.
Glenn Baglo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-18-2013, 12:30 PM   #24
MC1
Senior Member
 
MC1's Avatar
 
Name: Wayne
Trailer: Airstream Sold, Nest Fan
Ontario
Posts: 2,002
Quote:
Originally Posted by honda03842 View Post

Going down hills we always down shift if we're building too much speed, generally saving the trailer and tow vehicle brakes..
Yes, that is what the pro's instruct us to do when going down hills. Truckers do the same by using gearing/engine braking.
MC1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-18-2013, 12:49 PM   #25
Senior Member
 
honda03842's Avatar
 
Name: Norm and Ginny
Trailer: Scamp 16
Florida
Posts: 7,517
Glenn,

First, the transmission should be designed to handle down shifting on a hill. Second, our Honda recently clicked 200,000 miles, same transmission, same clutch and virtually no repairs and many, many mountain passes towing and not towing.
__________________
Norm and Ginny

2014 Honda Odyssey
1991 Scamp 16
honda03842 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-18-2013, 12:55 PM   #26
Moderator
 
Jim Bennett's Avatar
 
Trailer: 2009 19 ft Escape / 2009 Honda Pilot
Posts: 6,224
Registry
I too downshift as needed down hills, always dropping out of overdrive at least, and even lower if the speed allows. This is where manual transmissions shine, but even automatic transmissions add a good assist too. Plus, it is safer as well, as not only does it assist in the braking, it creates less excess heat on the brakes.
__________________
2017 Escape 5.0 TA
2015 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5L EcoBoost
2009 Escape 19 (previous)
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” — Abraham Lincoln
Jim Bennett is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-18-2013, 01:03 PM   #27
Senior Member
 
honda03842's Avatar
 
Name: Norm and Ginny
Trailer: Scamp 16
Florida
Posts: 7,517
Glenn,

I should have started with a bad braking experience. Coming west on route 2 there's a narrow, steep downhill section into Wenatchee, WA. We had our motorhome and counted on our brakes too much. When we reached the bottom, our brakes were really hot. That was our first trip west and taught us that transmissions could be better on downhills than brakes. From that point forward we were big downshifters.

Of course when you get to the bottom of the hill there's no relief because there's a stop sign.
__________________
Norm and Ginny

2014 Honda Odyssey
1991 Scamp 16
honda03842 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-18-2013, 01:29 PM   #28
Senior Member
 
Ice-breaker's Avatar
 
Name: Dave W
Trailer: Escape 19 and Escape 15B
Alberta
Posts: 523
A combination of down shifting on hills and use of tug/trailer brakes as required is also my means of dealing with downhill sections. I had a recent "equilibrium" experience towing my Escape on a 25 km long 5% gradient downhill section of Hwy 97C in BC whereby I stayed at a very steady 100 km/hr speed for the entire 25 km downhill section without once having to apply more accelerator or the brakes.
__________________
Dave W - 2013 Escape 19', 2013 Escape 15B and 2011 Toyota FJ Cruiser

"You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going, because you might not get there." - Yogi Berra
Ice-breaker is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-18-2013, 01:34 PM   #29
Commercial Member
 
Ian G.'s Avatar
 
Name: Ian
Trailer: 1974 Boler 1300 - 2014 Escape 19'
Alberta
Posts: 1,380
Registry
Vehicle braking and braking dynamics are a very complex subject. Simply looking at manufacturer test specifications or brake pad material have little to no bearing on the actual way a vehicle towing a trailer, or even just a loaded vehicle will react and respond under different braking and road conditions. For those "engineering" types who enjoy mathematical formulas and evaluative tests here is an interesting thesis from MSU on The NONLINEAR DYNAMICS OF LONGITUDINAL GROUND VEHICLE TRACTION.
Ian G. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-18-2013, 02:14 PM   #30
Moderator
 
Jim Bennett's Avatar
 
Trailer: 2009 19 ft Escape / 2009 Honda Pilot
Posts: 6,224
Registry
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ice-breaker View Post
I had a recent "equilibrium" experience....
As a moderator I must remind you this is a family forum.

Oh crap, now I have to moderate myself for going off topic.
__________________
2017 Escape 5.0 TA
2015 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5L EcoBoost
2009 Escape 19 (previous)
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” — Abraham Lincoln
Jim Bennett is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-18-2013, 02:20 PM   #31
Senior Member
 
Jared J's Avatar
 
Name: Jared
Trailer: 1984 19' scamp
Kansas
Posts: 1,610
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Bennett View Post
What caused the brakes to fail? I have never had this happen with many thousands of miles of towing. The only time the brakes did not work was when some idiot (oh yeah, that was me), forgot to connect to the tow. Properly maintained brakes on the trailer for me is just as important as on the tow vehicle. I am not fussy with lots of components on my vehicles, but anything that affects driving performance, I definitely am. Part of this comes from towing with big trucks and trailers, where often the trailer outweighs the truck by many times.
This.



Wheel came off thanks to the dealership not torquing anything after a rotate and balance. It stayed upright, went under the bumper, under the trailer deck severing the harness, and under the trailer tires (still upright). It launched the left side of the pickup and trailer 3' in the air. What you can't see is the ravine after about 5' of shoulder. I was damn glad to be in a pickup when that happened.
Jared J is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-18-2013, 03:03 PM   #32
Moderator
 
Jim Bennett's Avatar
 
Trailer: 2009 19 ft Escape / 2009 Honda Pilot
Posts: 6,224
Registry
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jared J View Post
This.

Wheel came off thanks to the dealership not torquing anything after a rotate and balance. It stayed upright, went under the bumper, under the trailer deck severing the harness, and under the trailer tires (still upright). It launched the left side of the pickup and trailer 3' in the air. What you can't see is the ravine after about 5' of shoulder. I was damn glad to be in a pickup when that happened.
That looks nasty. Glad it wasn't any worse, and you are here to tell us about it.

I had that happen with the front wheel on a 3/4 ton pickup. I was lucky that the truck pulled into the ditch, and not the oncoming traffic. I wasn't pulling a trailer.

That is a very rare incident that you had though, and not a reason for a heavier and bigger tow vehicle. We really can't plan everything we do for a worst case scenario.
__________________
2017 Escape 5.0 TA
2015 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5L EcoBoost
2009 Escape 19 (previous)
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” — Abraham Lincoln
Jim Bennett is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-18-2013, 03:17 PM   #33
Senior Member
 
Glenn Baglo's Avatar
 
Trailer: Escape 17 ft
Posts: 8,317
Quote:
Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo View Post
I'm sure I read somewhere that brakes are cheaper to replace than transmissions.
I didn't say that I don't gear down.
Everything in moderation.
Glenn Baglo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-18-2013, 03:21 PM   #34
Senior Member
 
rabbit's Avatar
 
Name: Jack
Trailer: '98 BURRO 17WB
Delaware
Posts: 2,548
My 4runner is a couple hundred pounds over 2 ton, camper is around 3200#. I still like the boost feature on the P2 and I generally keep it on B1. Tranny wear from downhill engine braking is preferable to brake fade.

jack
rabbit is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Our first trailer scare ted saxton General Chat 5 01-23-2008 10:10 AM
Newbie tow scare Lisa M. General Chat 14 09-10-2007 08:06 PM
Hey! The Big Weekend, Memorial Day is here! Gigi General Chat 18 05-26-2006 07:33 PM

» Upcoming Events
No events scheduled in
the next 465 days.
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:43 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.