Crashed on the interstate while towing the R-Pod |
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CharlieM
Senior Member Joined: 23 Nov 2012 Location: N. Colorado Online Status: Offline Posts: 1797 |
Topic: Crashed on the interstate while towing the R-Pod Posted: 14 Oct 2016 at 3:00pm |
This seems like a good place to post something borrowed from my Camplite friends. This video really shows effect of trailer loading and tongue weight on sway:
http://i.imgur.com/dYz2tCE.mp4 |
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Charlie
Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
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LStark
Newbie Joined: 14 Oct 2016 Location: WI Online Status: Offline Posts: 1 |
Posted: 14 Oct 2016 at 2:24pm |
Hi, I am curious how was your tongue weight when you had the swaying problem? I want to tell of my experience and see if others have had similar. When I picked up my Rpod 177 from the dealer, I pulled it 150 miles home with no WD hitch or sway bar and it towed great. On my first time out camping I had a lot of swaying, fortunately I was camping close to home that weekend so limped it to the campground. I was shocked when I went to unhook the trailer and the hitch rose of the ball by itself, I had negative tongue weight. Now in evaluating this, I had taken off the spare in back and added a bike rack with two average bikes and had the water tank full. once I emptied the water tank I was OK on the way home. I spent a lot of time weighing the tongue weight in different scenarios, IE. full water , 1/2 water , empty water, 1 bike , 2 bikes, no bikes. I found that with no bikes and the water tank full I had about 80 lbs tongue weight. It should be 250 - 300 for this trailer, there was the sway problem. I added 150 lbs of flat steel under the seats in front and never travel with more than 1/2 tank of water, this gives me about 250 lbs. tongue weight. I also added an anti sway bar for extra protection. It travels like a dream since.
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Bulldogpod
Groupie Joined: 08 May 2014 Location: Greenville, SC Online Status: Offline Posts: 41 |
Posted: 21 Oct 2014 at 12:55pm |
So glad everyone is safe!
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Ivinest
Newbie Joined: 02 Jul 2013 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 30 |
Posted: 21 Oct 2014 at 11:12am |
Were you carrying water in your fresh water tank?
You may want to consider a different tow vehicle now--something with more than 3500 towing capacity. |
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Thinker
Senior Member Joined: 25 Feb 2013 Location: S. Mississippi Online Status: Offline Posts: 171 |
Posted: 13 May 2013 at 3:19pm |
If I do get it, it will be without WDH. I have never seen a sway bar cause problems, but an improperly tensioned WDH can be a disaster. I have had sway on other rigs. Early on, I towed a large popup with a short wheelbase TV. That too is a recipe for sway. Other factors are tire types (truck tires have more lateral stability) and tire pressure on the TV and the trailer. |
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Tow Vehicle: 2013 Pathfinder 4WD R-POD Model 171
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Anthony Valenzano
Groupie Joined: 09 Apr 2013 Location: Archbald Pa Online Status: Offline Posts: 44 |
Posted: 13 May 2013 at 2:26pm |
You can get away without sway - I made it from PA to FL an back without it, but I wished I had it. Going through DC, I really wanted to get above 70mph to keep up with flow, but things get a little iffy at that speed without anti-sway. So I went out and got it for that reason.
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Thinker
Senior Member Joined: 25 Feb 2013 Location: S. Mississippi Online Status: Offline Posts: 171 |
Posted: 13 May 2013 at 2:21pm |
I don't have either and have had no sway. For weight distribution, I load the FRONT of my pod, not the rear. A tail heavy trailer is a recipe for sway. |
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Tow Vehicle: 2013 Pathfinder 4WD R-POD Model 171
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thadd
Groupie Joined: 06 Oct 2012 Location: Sacramento, CA Online Status: Offline Posts: 53 |
Posted: 13 May 2013 at 2:07pm |
Agreed. With my new TV (Yukon XL) I don't use my WDH at all, just sway control.
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Seanl
Senior Member Joined: 19 Sep 2011 Location: Fredericton NB Online Status: Offline Posts: 633 |
Posted: 13 May 2013 at 2:06pm |
Yes to much weight distribution is just a bad as to little. With no WDH I get 3 1/2 inches of sag in the rear of my TV. I adjust my WDH so that I still have a little sag. About 1 1/2 inches if I remember. This way I don't take weight off of the rear wheals.
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Sean, 2011 Rpod RP-173,2009 Jeep Liberty Rocky Mountain Edition
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Anthony Valenzano
Groupie Joined: 09 Apr 2013 Location: Archbald Pa Online Status: Offline Posts: 44 |
Posted: 13 May 2013 at 1:33pm |
I found this looking around online:
“Insufficient weight distribution is obviously undesirable. Too much weight distribution is also detrimental. With too much weight distribution the rear tires of the tow vehicle can lose traction allowing the trailer to push or pull the back of the tow vehicle around creating a possible "jack knife" scenario. Too much weight distribution can also overload the hitch, receiver, or trailer frame/coupler.” Found it on this forum: It's quite hearsay at this point but it makes sense. This is why I didn't add WDH to my rig. I have all I can do to put enough weight on the rear of my pathfinder. I usually fill the fresh water tank and throw everything I can on the front bed. I'm 200lbs, and the one time I plopped down on the rear bed with no stabilizers down and the tongue of the R-pod lifted up. So my thoughts are, could you crank up a WDH hitch enough that you actually remove weight from the rear tires (compared to empty)? This would be a really bad thing, as once you are going downhill, and turn one way or another, that tongue of the R-pod would be pushing the rear end of the TV around like its on a swivel. This kind of thing is a big worry with car carriers - place the car to far back and you're in big trouble - Jack knife city. My understanding is that you are suppose to always have at least 13% of the travel trailers weight on the tongue of the TV. For my 171 that should be something like 350 lbs. Well I don't weight that much, so I know it doesn't have enough weight on the front, which is dangerous by itself. Hence the adding water. Now if that 350lbs is actually on the tongue, and that number is over what your vehicle can handle, then it's time to use a WDH. In my case neither of which is true. Now none of this has anything to do with sway control. I do use sway control. What I'm afraid of is that dealers sell you WDH because they either also act as sway control or they have the nice spot for sway control. It's also a nice extra $350, and every other trailer they sell needs it - so why not. When you buy the sway control it actually comes with a bracket that you can weld onto your regular draw bar to mount the sway ball. That's what I did.
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