Sam Memmolo
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Motor Homes, Trailers, and Things I’ve learned
Like a lot of us who work our pick up trucks hard, I’ve done a fair amount of trailer towing this year. Most of my trailering consists of hauling our aluminum Featherlite open car hauler. It’s a great trailer weighing in at a mere thirteen hundred and fifty pounds including the fiberglass stone guard. This trailer tows like a dream loaded or empty. Our truck doesn’t even know it’s there! I’ve also dragged our utility trailer to the
dump more times than I care to think about. Seems like there’s been way too much
tree removal and other various construction around Casa Memmolo this year. Here’s a good laugh for you! We’ve all been exposed to the stories about the guy who built the proverbial boat in his basement, and then couldn’t get it out without destroying the foundation. Well, yours truly did something almost as unbelievable. This is a perfect case of “No Planning”, and letting emotions influence our decisions. Diana and I took advantage of a month long
hiatus in my TV show taping schedule. For the first time in twelve years, I
actually had some time off in mid-summer. We drove our motor home to several
Street Rod events. We went to the GoodGuys Indy Nationals held at Indianapolis
Motorsport Park, and then to Louisville, Kentucky for the NSRA Street Rod
Nationals. Both of these events were excellent! Between those two motoring escapades, we flew to Syracuse, New York for the Syracuse Nationals hosted by the “Right Coast” guys. We enjoy the “Motor Home Lifestyle” much more than today’s air travel, and we love to travel in our coach. It’s been a blast with lots of great times while making some wonderful new friends. It was on the return from Louisville, that we stopped by our local Winnebago dealer to order a few small parts, and there it was! Sitting right there in our face was a 2000 model just traded in. It was forty feet long, (four feet longer than our current 1998 model coach), was much better equipped, including washer/ dryer combo, and yes, even a dishwasher! One test drive and we were hooked. The new Freightliner chassis had the
independent front suspension option, and I was amazed at how much better the
ride and control was over our current ride. The interior appointments were more
upscale, and the optional equipment list even included “Surround Sound”. Not so long ago, I wrote an article about “Getting the Emotion out of the decision”. Maybe I should have heeded my own advice! In a few days the new coach was ours. Four feet longer didn’t seem to be too extravagant, but the real surprise was yet to come. Diana and I picked up the new home, and after the obligatory cruise west bound on I-20 to the Alabama border and back, we arrived home. That’s when I discovered that the new coach had such a long wheelbase, that it’s turning radius made it nearly impossible to swing into our driveway. What a bummer! That little episode generated some of the previously mentioned construction. We had to widen the approach to the drive, including moving the brick mailbox, and a few small sour wood trees. Now I’d like to share a few things that I have learned about trailering a vehicle, (something I’ve been doing for years). We all have our reasons for doing things the way we do, be it habit or convenience. The mail lady dropped off the August issue of Hemmings, and I jumped right into it. There I found a super article by a guy named Mark J. McCourt, describing the proper way to tow a vehicle. I just had to share some of these facts with you all. Mr. McCourt’s article started by covering a variety of ways to tow a vehicle, from flat towing with a chain, strap, or rope, to using a dolly designed to haul a vehicle. But just as I suspected, he advised the best method was to trailer it. Here’s where I found his information interesting. He addressed the tie down method with some really good pointers. Diana and I trailered our 1954 Chevy Show truck coast-to-coast, and even up to New England, and I thought I had myself covered. Not So! He advised the use of four straps to secure the vehicle to the trailer. That’s no revelation, but then he made a statement that was backed up by some good solid math. Even though there are four straps, two of the four straps will always have to carry the vehicle’s weight. The static or unmoving weight of your vehicle is invalid when you are towing it, because of the laws of physics. When an object is in motion, it wants to stay that way. If you were to have an accident while towing, the vehicle being towed will exert a force three-times it’s weight on the restraints that hold it to the trailer. I have to admit that I have four straps that are rated at “Five Thousand” pounds each. Like I said, I thought I was safe. Not the case. To calculate the needed rating for the straps, multiply the total weight of the towed vehicle by 3.3. This represents the potential force in one direction in an accident situation. Check this out! Suppose the static weight of the vehicle being trailered is 3800 pounds, and you multiply that by 3.3. That’s 3800 X 3.3, or 12,540 pounds of force. With my four 5000 pound rated straps, I thought I had it covered. Wrong! The direction of stress would be greater than the ratings of the two straps, exceeding it by 2540 pounds. To be really secure, I should be using straps rated at 7000 to 10,000 pounds each. Also be sure that the straps are not cut or abraded. Here’s another tip! A common practice is to cross the tie-down straps for greater tension. Tie down straps only carry proper load weight if they are in line with their mountings. A 25 to 35 percent angle from vehicle to trailer retains their strength, and gives the best front-to-rear restraint. Of course, the obvious is important also. Be sure to use D-Rings or trailer hardware with load ratings that are equal to or exceed the strap ratings. In addition to the tow vehicle being in tip top shape, (All our Turbo Diesels Are!), the trailer tires are super important. Trailer tires are not the same as garden-variety car tires. In fact, trailer tires are much different that passenger car or light truck rated tires. Passenger car tire size designations begin with “P”, while light truck tires begin with “LT”. Tires designed specifically for trailers are compounded and engineered for just that purpose. They also carry a “T” or an “ST” in the size designation. Example: ST205 / 75 R15. The “ST” designation means “Special Trailer” tire. Trailer Tire requirements differ greatly from automotive tires. Automotive tires must maintain traction during all driving conditions: pulling, stopping, turning, or swerving. Because of this they must have more flexible sidewalls to maintain tread to road contact. Since trailers have no driving torque applied to their axles, the only time trailer tires must have traction is during the application of trailer brakes. Trailers with heavy loads, high vertical sideloads (like camper trailers), or trailers with inadequate tongue weight can be affected by trailer sway problems. Automotive bias or radial tires with their more flexible sidewalls can accentuate trailer sway problems, whereas the stiffer sidewalls of the ST (special trailer) bias ply tires help to control and reduce sway problems. For this reason it is not recommended that (P) Passenger or (LT) Light Truck tires be used on trailers. Best trailer control will be achieved with (ST) Special Trailer tires. TYPES OF TIRE CONSTRUCTION
TIRE SIZE IDENTIFICATION
B.) Then in the 1960's tire manufacturers and D.O.T. changed most tires to alphanumeric identification to provide more information (B7813C, F7814C, H7815D, etc.)
C.) Finally in the late 1970's and early 1980's, D.O.T. and domestic tire manufacturers converted the majority of tire production to the metric system again providing more information about the tire.
For trailer application, it is essential that you select the correct tires to match your application and capacity requirements. (ST) Special Trailer tires are normally more expensive than (P) Passenger car or (LT) Light Truck tires because they are built tougher with more material and are more bruise resistant. This is necessary because most trailer suspension systems are stiffer and less sophisticated than automotive suspension systems. Consequently the tires must be capable of withstanding more ABUSE. I won’t cover the obvious things here like checking the lights, axle nut or lug torque, tire pressures, including spares, or even suggesting inspecting those rusty old safety chains. You already know all that stuff, and all your equipment is in great shape. I just had to share the tie down tips, and the trailer tire construction details
that I just learned.
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