funny car motion when towing

[wildspeed]

Re: funny car motion when towing

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.

I totally agree there about the right set up...
it's not more dangerous to tow a 17'cc with a van or sedan than to tow a 28' cuddycabin with a ton pickup...not speaking at who is on the wheel...

 

[jeeperman]

Re: funny car motion when towing

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).

Thats what I was thinkin too if you need to get the boat further back on the trailer for tongue weight reduction.
That would be the cheapest test to perform to at least see if less tongue weight is the cure.

Or even duct tape a couple of 1" thick pads to the bow stop surfaces if you have the V style block.

 

[RubberDuckie]

Re: funny car motion when towing

The trailer has pressure brakes.

Do you mean hydraulic surge brakes?
If they are engaging, it could be the cause of your problems.

 

[woodchip]

Re: funny car motion when towing

Doesn't matter that you might be able to adjust the ride.
That vehicle can't handle that load.In an emergency the boat will take you where it wants to go and I wouldn't ever consider it for highway travel.
Three miles to a local ramp might be fine but a road trip for a family vacation?
Over the years I have seen to many cars rolled by the trailer they were towing.
And the boat salesman doesn,t care if you can safely tow the boat,just that you can pay for it.

 

[burroak]

Re: funny car motion when towing

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

I have come late to the party, but is the van an automatic and does it have an overdrive function? If so, disengage the overdrive. It could be shuttling between Drive and Overdrive. Just a thought.

 

[burroak]

Re: funny car motion when towing

I know it is an obvious question ( I may be the only one to have experienced these things), but have you checked the hitch/ball adjustment? Is the ball the correct size? Does the hitch fit snugly on the ball?

 

[SuzukiChopper]

Re: funny car motion when towing

Doesn't matter that you might be able to adjust the ride.
That vehicle can't handle that load.In an emergency the boat will take you where it wants to go and I wouldn't ever consider it for highway travel.
Three miles to a local ramp might be fine but a road trip for a family vacation?
Over the years I have seen to many cars rolled by the trailer they were towing.
And the boat salesman doesn,t care if you can safely tow the boat,just that you can pay for it.

Not totally sure I agree with this. My boat is ~2500lbs and I tow it with a 5.9L Durango. I'm sure if someday my boat decided to go sideways and hit a ditch, it'd have it's way with my SUV. Momentum, leverage and gravity are funny like that.

A question I do have though is do the car manufacturers consider the weight of the vehicle in the towing limits? Or is it based on the suspension, drive train, brakes and motor limits? The reason I ask is because wouldn't it be possible to have a lighter vehicle that is able to pull more because the motor, drivetrain, etc can handle it and have a heavier vehicle not able to pull as much because of the same things? If this could happen then the towing limits of a vehicle are not going to determine whether or not it's easier for a boat to drag your tow rig around.

Sorry if this is a little off topic, but I think it needs to be asked.

 

[jeeperman]

Re: funny car motion when towing

I believe the short answer to you question is Yes, the tow capacity of a vehicle is based on vehicle weight, power, suspension geometry, braking capacity, etc.
Not just brute power and spring rates.

If it were, a 1976 Jeep CJ7 with V8 power and four wheel drive would have a higher towing rate if it were only based on pulling ability.

 

[usda]

Re: funny car motion when towing

Have a simuliar problem...a 19 foot Seaswirl (1973) towed by a 1985 Jeep Laredo (Cheerokee more or less). Vehicle weight 2900 lbs...heavy tow rig, bad shocks. Moved the wench and boat 3 to 4" closer to the ball. That helped out as I no longer feel like I will lose the boat by it jumping off the ball...btw it did that already.

But it still feels wavy, at 25 to 35mph...I still feel as if the boat is too big for my vehicle. Would a weight/load stablizer help...or do I just need a bigger towing vehicle? The jeep is a 4 banger...just like the one in the boat... and a 5 speed manual. I just bought this as a project boat and have had no experience towing heavy boats. I can't see myself towing this the 150 miles or so to the ocean or even to nearby lakes...with steep access.

My friend towed it when I bought it with his Ford pickup F150, loaded with his tools at 65 mph...he felt it towed fine. I never drive 65 in my vehicles...period.

 

[jtexas]

Re: funny car motion when towing

The F-150 is built for towing and the boat is well within its capacity. The jeep is capable of towing but the load is at or near its capacity. A bigger engine wouldn't make it feel less "wavy". Does the trailer have brakes?

Did you make any changes when you lost it? A lock on the coupler is good, also make sure its not a 2" coupler on a 1 7/8" ball. Lost mine once, long time ago, puts shivers down my spine just thinkin bout it.

Might think about weighing it to get the tongue weight to around 5 to 7% of the load. Somebody with a weight distribution hitch will have to jump in with an opinion on that.

 

[usda]

Re: funny car motion when towing

No brakes for the trailer...I haven't towed the boat above 35 mph. I feel the engine is not the problem...but probably just have to face the music get a bigger truck...not what I want to do when still fixing the boat with it's expenses.

I did the 1 7/8 ball job on a two inch trailer recepticle...won't try that one again soon. The feeling that the boat could run over the jeep is just like a swell feeling.

is there a recommended list of vehicles for larger boats?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: funny car motion when towing

Towing limits are based on a number of things: 1) Axle capacity. Most cars have a fairly low reserve capacity when it comes to weight. Tire size (hence the load they can carry) is one factor. Axle strength and suspension component strength is another. Put six 200 pounders in my Impala and the vehicle will be overloaded. 2) Most cars these days are front drivers and have no frame so attaching a hitch is a problem. Just because there is a place to hook the trailer does not mean the hitch can handle more than the attachment points on the vehicle can handle. 3) Torque gets the load moving and HP keeps it going. Most passenger vehicles today are geared for economy and have engines averaging in the 2.5L (4 cyl) to 3.5L (V6) range. These engines are coupled to transmissions that are not intended for trailering duty and no high capacity versions are generally offered. As an example of a rediculously overloaded vehicle -- last Saturday I was sitting in a restaurant having breakfast when a trio from Illinois pulled up with a Chevy Equinox (3.5L AWD) towing a 24 foot pontoon boat. The boat was loaded with everything for an extended stay in the woods and the car was packed solid as well. While the Equinox is rated to tow 3500#, this load was all of that and then some. The rear axle weight rating on the door sticker would have been exceeded by a fairly large amount. The killer in this story is that the trailer had no brakes.

 

[Liquid_force]

Re: funny car motion when towing

Doesn't matter that you might be able to adjust the ride.
That vehicle can't handle that load.In an emergency the boat will take you where it wants to go and I wouldn't ever consider it for highway travel.

This opinion is SO worn out on me...
So the guy conscientiously trying to pull his 18 footer with a 2wd tacoma is a moron, but the guy pulling his 30' twin 502 power boat 80mph on i-70 with an f-250 is good to go?

c'mon


If we could all afford a 1 ton dually with a turbo diesel that would be super.
But we can't - and 3/4 of the boating industry would be wiped out if your theory was adopted by everyone.

Give it a rest already.

The oddyssey should be perfectly capable of towing an 18' boat. I won't speculate on what is causing the swaying problem, but I'm confident that once it's resolved the Honda will do fine.

 

[jtexas]

Re: funny car motion when towing

ok, you convinced us. Next time somebody asks permission to tow his 30fter at 80mph, we're going to say "NO!"

 

[SuzukiChopper]

Re: funny car motion when towing

I think the original intent of the original post has been lost. From what I got from the first post it isn't a swaying boat... it's surging forwards and backwards or bouncing the rear end of the tow vehicle. Let me go re-read it and make sure.

EDIT: "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"

My first guess is the back of the tow vehicle is being bounced by too much tongue weight. My second guess is a loose coupling between the trailer and tow vehicle. My parents had this with their tent trailer and Astro van, and it went away with a distro. hitch.

 

[usda]

Re: funny car motion when towing

Broke down & bought...or a stroke of luck & found...anyway to avoid what I consider deep danger...I found a 89 Chevy 2500 Suburban 3/4 ton, 350 V8, manual transmission, and looks good for trailer. I haven't towed the 19 foot seaswirl as I am having a windshield installed...but when I do tow it...I expect my experience to be different than from towing with my Jeep 4 banger...which is going up for sale to defer some of the Suburban cost...it is only 2wd, very clean, runs good, $1350.

My life is worth that much...and the boat too.

I was disappointed that even with 1/3 tank of gas...$50 did not fill it up...Oh well...fishing saftely is the objective.