towing a car trailer and car with an au

[388cube_edxr8]

Originally Posted by 302 XC

I think the comment for me to harden the **** up !!!!
I think you really are way out of your depths even saying that
Im not saying woopie doo ive driven a truck
But you would know that hey
Im merrily saying that the MAGNAs towing situation is WRONG and UNSAFE
BUT you know that, yet you still say its SAFE
WE need to get people like you OFF the roads,as OBVIOUSLY you have no respect for other road users
I think you need to WAKE up to yourself
I never had a pesonal attack at you,but you see it other ways

The magnas front wheels being higher off the ground than normal,WOULD not now or ever be better for towing
BUT you know that also

AS for making allowances for this, keep doin that i hope you get caught go to jail for negligence,
Then you can make ALLOWANCES for that

Wake up to yourself mate, I'm not going to go to jail for towing a Falcon with a Magna, unless maybe the Falcon isn't mine and the Magna is full of drugs.

[Bobman]

I've towed a BA on a car trailer with my old EA and also a few cars with my old AU taxi. No issues, just take it easy and don't panic if it starts to sway.

Be careful in the wet and allow yourself greater distances from cars in front.

[75van]

I don’t want to partake in any mud slinging or name calling, but if I can explain what is happening in the Magna situation and the 4WD situation....

Imagine two kids on a seesaw, and both of their feet can touch the ground flat footed. The seesaw is level. Behind the kid on the left you add small weights. The middle of the seesaw isn’t going anywhere – it’s the pivot point, and so the kid on the right has less and less pressure on their feet – ergo less traction.

The weight you are adding is the trailer. The left kid’s feet is the back axle of whatever car is the tow vehicle. The right kid’s feet are the front axles. The pivot point is the centre of load for the entire car/trailer combo.

Yes, in a way you are right – a Magna or other front engine car is going to have a slightly better centre of load due to more weight up front. The problem for the Magna is that centre of load is too far towards the back, and the front wheels are being unloaded – hence braking and traction is far less than normal. In this extreme, during braking that centre of load is not going to come forward to help the front tyres to grip and slow you down – in fact the opposite will probably happen. What will happen is the towball will go down and exacerbate the whole problem, loading up the back axle more and unloading the front. The floating feeling of the steering people talk about in this instance is exactly the problem – it’s easy to steer because the front tyres aren’t adhering to the road as per normal, making it easier to turn the wheel. Floatiness can also be the weight you are towing trying to push the tow vehicle around, it’s also what starts swaying.

Take it to extremes – imagine 10 ton on the towball of the Magna. Surely the wheels would be off the ground then – and there sure as hell wouldn’t be any grip on the ground! But there is a midpoint at which the weight on the towball does not affect the centre of load too much, and this is how they figure out how to rate different car’s towing capacity. The Magna seems like it’s front suspension is at full extension – it’s got the centre of load all wrong. The 4WD is sitting nice and level as if it isn’t towing anything – it’s centre of load is right.

You can buy load levelling kits to help carry larger loads, and what they do is try to flatten out the angle between the car’s horizontal line and the trailer’s – essentially transfer weight from the rear wheels to the fronts, and therefore aid front end traction.

Also, braking distances should be increased as mentioned, but more distance should not cover for poor weight distribution/vehicle combination. It’s the things you can’t see that affect how you drive – other cars pulling in front of you, kids chasing balls onto the street, and they will appear the same distance away from you as if you weren’t towing anything. All of a sudden the ‘extra distance’ advantage is gone.

Again – I’m not trying to mudsling, the more people discuss these issues in the absence to proper training the more understanding everyone will have of what forces are at play here...

[302 XC]

Let me think for a second here
The magna had 4 bald tyres (im sure you wrote that some where)
Its more than likely OVERLOADED
If your in an accident,EVEN if you were not at fault,more than likely using a car thats not in a road worthy state and overloaded i would surely say u would be come accountable
There are cases recently where this is the case
When insurance companies and big $$$$$ are involved,it goes down the chain,if it can be pinned on you it will be
Even if a accident wasnt your fault, it could get turned to you very quickly
And you knowing that its wrong is NEGLIGENCE
So you COULD do time or be sued as such
Yes people do tow overloaded loads and many get away with it,there are those who dont

Whether you personally think its SAFE or not, i highly doubt it is
The tow bar wouldnt be rated to the load ??,would it ????
IF not then its overloaded and deems by the powers to be as UNSAFE

I do get a bit annoyed about this topic, especially when people dont really know what they are on about
You mentioned that its no different to a smallish truck,when its pointed out that there is a major difference,you get all upset about it
A 2 tonne truck with towing that falcon would probably be ALOT safer than the magna

[Professor Farnsworth]

Question asked, question answered. My advice? Find out exact load limits for your car and abide by them.

thread over