funny car motion when towing

[razie]

i'm towing a Four Winns 180, at 3300 lbs including trailer, with a honda oddyssey van, rated at about 3500 lbs. The trailer has pressure brakes.

car pulls fine and braking is reasonable.

However - there is a forward/back rocking motion in the car when trying to keep the speed constant...can't keep my head on the headrest. It is hard to keep things smooth...have to play with the accel pedal to smooth it whenever it hapens and it hapens A LOT

it's as if there's a spring between the boat and the car...could it be that the pressure brakes need adjusting i checked them often and they don't seem hot.

I haven't towed anything before - is this normal or am i doing something wrong or am i missing something?

thanks for help

P.S. some of the side effects include kids falling asleep within 5 minutes

 

[SuzukiChopper]

Re: funny car motion when towing

I would be willing to guess that if you got an equalizer hitch you'll notice this go away or may not be as noticeable. Even with my Durango pulling a smaller 16' boat I notice the same kind of thing when hitting bumps and such but not on smooth roads. It may be because you're close to your vehicles towing limit and your rear suspension may be getting a little overloaded. Keep in mind that any load you have IN the vehicle will compound this if it's in the rear. Also depending how you load your boat makes a big difference (I need 2 salt bags in the front of my boat to make it pull nice). That in combination with the hitch pin not being a perfect fit and the ball coupler never being exact just keeps adding things on.

If you are loading anything in the van, try loading it in the boat instead at and forward of the wheels. If your van is empty except family, try moving the heavier things (battery, etc) forward of the wheels or use a sand/salt bag or two and see if that helps.

Just my experience on this though, someone else may have a better idea.

 

[Bondo]

Re: funny car motion when towing

You're towing AT your limit,......
And you're experincing the Tail Wagging the Dog.........

Pure Physics..........

 

[razie]

Re: funny car motion when towing

when i fill up the boat and put some weight (bags etc) in the back of the boat, it gets better, from what i remember from last summer (just got the boat out of storage).

so, this equalizer hitch, is it the weight distributing hitch? i understand i need a special model that works with trailers that have surge brakes...

i will try one...if not, i have to look at changing the car, i guess...

 

[Silvertip]

Re: funny car motion when towing

Whoa back! Putting salt bags up front in a boat is a band-aid approach to a simple problem which is not enough tongue weight. Why on earth would you want to lug around another 50 - 100 pounds with gas prices the way they are. Move the boat forward on the trailer to achieve a minimum of 10% total load on the tongue. You should also note that by doing that, you are dangerously close to or may even exceed the tongue weight limits for the van. That requires moving the winch post forward. If you can't do that for one reason or another, the trailer is wrong for the boat or you have all your stuff loaded too far to the rear.

If the boat weighs 3300# that means a full gas tank, batteries, and gear puts you over the towing limit. Equalizer hitches require a hitch platform on the tow vehicle. I don't think the standard receiver on the van is adequate for that sort of duty. In short, you have vehicle and load issue that will not be inexpensive to resolve.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: funny car motion when towing

I get that rocking motion on certain roads. It is caused by the uneveness of the road coupled with the wheelbase length of your rig. If you get the perfect harmonic frequency you will get the oscillation you are describing.

If you go faster or slower does it do the same thing? Only on certain roads?

 

[jtexas]

Re: funny car motion when towing

My experience, that rocky motion happens with a tongue-heavy trailer. loading the boat an inch or less farther out on the trailer will make a big difference. Tongue-light, the trailer will sway uncontrollably.

 

[Esox]

Re: funny car motion when towing

If tongue weight is the issue - the axle(s) on some trailers can be moved to increase/decrease tongue weight. My trailer was very tongue light when I bought it and I had to move the axle further back to increase the weight on the tongue. I would never add weight to adjust the weight distributuion of the boat/trailer combination.

 

[KM2]

Re: funny car motion when towing

As a owner of a four winns I believe the trailer is custom matched to the boat, most are. The moving of the bow stop and axles is not an option.

Also, the weight estimate may be forgetting about batteries, gas and gear too. I would guess based on my experience with a FW 180 is he has too much tongue weight for the van. I tried measuring mine with a 300# scale and it was too much weight.

I got to believe that is really hard on the drivetrain of the minivan. If you tow frequently and put on some miles, I would suggest something bigger to tow with.

There is a spring in the surge brake system anyone know if that can/should be adjusted????

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: funny car motion when towing

you need a heavier tow vehicle. i tow a boat bigger than that with a surburban 1500 surge brakes on all 4.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: funny car motion when towing

Do you use a weight distributing hitch with the Honda? I understand it is a Honda requirement for anything close to 3500#

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: funny car motion when towing

Have you ever checked the bolt under the tongue to see if it holds the hitch ball tight?
The statement of putting weight in the rear of the boat makes me think too much weight in the front of the trailer also.
Plus the Honda van is not designed to carry a boat that size..

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: funny car motion when towing

Close to limit or over limit towing when you add the stuff you take as well. Load leveller hitch will without a doubt help. Used one on a 24ft house trailer that i towed with a 4.0 litre extended Aerostar. Sure wasn't the fastest towing outfit but it did the job.

 

[razie]

Re: funny car motion when towing

it does kind of the same thing at all speeds - easier to control and smooth out at slower speeds, though.

thank you very much - all seem to converge on the weight distributing hitch - i will look into getting one. indeed, the van's manual says to use one when the tongue weight passes 90kg, but the boat dealer said i don't need one for this boat, the trailer being custom fitted etc. The trailer cannot be adjusted - everything is fixed.

i realize i'm at the limit - the van seems to take it fine though, other than that rocking motion. Any idea what may break or suffer, other than the rear suspension? I have the transmission and power steering coolers installed.

 

[bassboy1]

Re: funny car motion when towing

When we took our boat on a test drive with its new trailer, we had WAY to much tongue weight compared to boat weight. The boat was gutted, and had no engine, so weighed about 1000 pounds. The tongue was at about 210. We towed with an '89 3/4 ton truck, so there was plenty of power. We experienced a bouncing, that could be felt as a forward backward movement in your kind of vehicle. We assumed that it was because there was too much tongue weight to coalign with the trailer weight. When you say that all yalls stuff was in the back of the boat, it didn't wag, it may mean that your tongue weight to trailer weight ratio is unequal.

 

[jtexas]

Re: funny car motion when towing

it does kind of the same thing at all speeds - easier to control and smooth out at slower speeds, though.

thank you very much - all seem to converge on the weight distributing hitch - i will look into getting one. indeed, the van's manual says to use one when the tongue weight passes 90kg, but the boat dealer said i don't need one for this boat, the trailer being custom fitted etc. The trailer cannot be adjusted - everything is fixed.

i realize i'm at the limit - the van seems to take it fine though, other than that rocking motion. Any idea what may break or suffer, other than the rear suspension? I have the transmission and power steering coolers installed.

seriously, get a 1" thicker bow stop, could make all the difference in ride comfort (don't let me discourage the weight-dist hitch, though).

 

[razie]

Re: funny car motion when towing

excellent - makes sense, i will look for one. thanks

 

[sea wolf]

Re: funny car motion when towing

It never ceases to amaze me how people take chances on the highway when towing, then try to come up with idiotic ideas to remedy the situation when what they really need is a larger tow vehicle. Last summer as I drove thru the state of Indiana, I'll never forget the sight of some moron towing a 20ftr. on the interstate with a minivan & the trailer swaying all over the highway with 18 wheelers & everyone else trying to avoid the half wit. I guess God looks out for fools & ..................

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: funny car motion when towing

It never ceases to amaze me how people take chances on the highway when towing, then try to come up with idiotic ideas to remedy the situation when what they really need is a larger tow vehicle. Last summer as I drove thru the state of Indiana, I'll never forget the sight of some moron towing a 20ftr. on the interstate with a minivan & the trailer swaying all over the highway with 18 wheelers & everyone else trying to avoid the half wit. I guess God looks out for fools & ..................

It would most likely tow without swaying if it was set up correctly, minivan or not. Like i stated earlier I towed a 24ft house trailer with a Ford Aerostar 4.0 litre extended. Total 4,500lb, load leveller hitch and straight as an arrow on the highway. No need for anti sway bar if it is correctly loaded but is a good reassurance if so desired. Not the fastest set up but actually safer than some of the smaller outfits out there.
I agree that a bigger better tow vehicle would undoubtably be better suited but some "moron's" as you state will still attempt to tow outrageous set ups no matter what the tow vehicle.

 

[chainsawjunky]

Re: funny car motion when towing

My experience with towing is from a little popup camper. It's about 200 pounds below the mini-vans tow limit and when accelerating and braking you notice the spring motion that was mentioned earlier. Once I get at a constant speed it will even out and be fine. I load as much as I can towards the tongue and most heavy stuff goes in the van. The boat is only about 5 miles or less from the boat launch so I don't notice that much and because its only about 1200 pounds. I'd just try to load as much as you can forward of the axle and close to the tongue to offset the weight of the engine. Evan