Towing thoughts

[Chris & Ranae Procyk <procyk19@domain.elided>]

I don't agree with Howard, in general, wheelbase seems to be the biggest factor
in safe towing... tires next, springs a close third.

First off, it does depend what and where you're towing.  You could probably
tow a properly balanced 24ft RV with a Neon between mid-Ohio and Nebraska,
if it wasn't for those nasty crosswinds.  But don't be bringing it into the hills and
bad pavement of Western Pa. or you'll be sorry.

The big problem is the leverage the trailer can put on the ball... a Scout on a
U-haul may outweigh a 24ft RV, but it's about 10ft shorter-- so a lot less leverage.

So you can tow a Scout with a Scout, but be in for a nasty surprise when you hook
up something else of similar weight.

Now I'm not talking about downforce leverage, but side-to-side.  The trailer can be fairly
obstinate about never quite going in the same direction that you're going.. so it's
always pushing sideways... and a long wheelbase will help your truck push back.

That's why people use  duallys... at the 15% rule of thumb, a 10000 lb trailer only has
1500 lbs in the bed... an easy load, no need for the extra tires.  They are there to fight that
sideways push, i.e, sway.

And that's why I put tires second...most of us don't need a dually, but our tires 
should be of decent sidewall strength.

As far as the untightened equalizer hitch-- was the back of the truck low?  The equalizer will
only work if there's a lot of tongue weight.

And horse trailers, pound for pound, are the worst.  First of all, with an RV it should be built to
put the magic 15% on the tongue.  But with a horse trailer there's no way to know how many
or what size the horses are.  On top of that, the suckers move around.

**In Use**
'70 1200D 4x4 Travelette 392 4spd
'73 1210 Wagonmaster, 392 auto
**Prepping for Repaint**
'67 1000B step-side p/up  BG241 + 4spd
**Parts (future projects?)**
'72 1010 T'all  392 at, '67 1000B T'all 266 3sp, '68 1100C 4X4 T'all 345 at