[Rhodes22-list] Traveling with motor mounted.
Peter and Jennifer
sailer291 at hotmail.com
Wed May 22 13:22:50 EDT 2013
thx Graham, reminds me to be careful.has same exp as you years ago with 2500 lb+ load on mid sized ford wagon. single axle/no brakes, poor tongue weight. scared us all to death so always have new tires and lots of weight on hitch.
my A23 has tandem, surge braked trailer. 5hrs on hwy at 60/65 mph was fine with 1995 gmc safari. say 3500lbs+/- o/b in van, tongue weight 350lbs+ in 2012.ditto my proline 23 w/200hp yammi., say 4300lbs +/- tongue weight 450lbs+ in 2011both has new sets of tires, trailer rated not car. stiffer trailing this way. squats the van a bit but worth it on the long down hills. try never to tow at night so headlights aiming at the clouds is not a issue.my R22 in edenton has single axle/no brakes, poor tongue weight with no motor. Edvin aan l [l'm the heavy one] put the transom/rudder on the ground playing with the traveler.will just launch it down the road, and like your idea of motor mount on trailer. will add 65 lbs+ to hitch. has new'ish tires, but not in a hurry to take it on I95. maybe down to Oriental on 37/17 at low 50's mph.peter> From: WEWickman at spectraenergy.com
> To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
> Date: Wed, 22 May 2013 16:57:36 +0000
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Traveling with motor mounted.
>
> Thanks for sharing Graham. Sounds like a terrifying experience. I am fortunate that I have a Triad dual axle trailer with surge brakes and tow with a GMC Denali (heavier version of the Suburban) so the hitch is fairly close to the rear axle. I have always made sure to have plenty of tongue weight so never have had a problem with sway. I have never used tie down straps on the boat because, similar to what Rummy says, with the design of the Triad trailers the trailer would have to flip before the boat would become dislodged from the trailer. That said, I leave my motor mounted (with support straps) and do not tie down my boat to the trailer based on my personal experience and research. If one is more comfortable removing the outboard and putting tie-downs on the boat then by all means they should do so. Nothing is worse than towing for a thousand miles with a nagging worry on your mind.
>
> I guess the moral to all of this is, each tow set-up is unique. Know your boat, trailer, and your tow vehicle. Take all advice with a grain of salt. No two of our our setups are alike so we all come to different conclusions. Ultimately, it is you and only you that must be comfortable with what you have behind your vehicle and how you have it rigged, tied down, etc.
>
> Bill W.
> s/v Fina Lee
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Graham Stewart
> Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 12:33 PM
> To: 'The Rhodes 22 Email List'
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Traveling with motor mounted.
>
> I had a somewhat similar severe swaying experience. I was driving down a
> long hill on a 4-lane divided highway when suddenly without any warning I
> heard a bang and watched the trailer sway violently to the side. I thought I
> had been hit from behind. It then reached the end of the swing and then flew
> to the other side even more violently. I had heard that to pull out of such
> a situation one should accelerate. Nice theory but in practice it simply
> increased the sway. For what seemed like an eternity the vehicle (extended
> full size Chevy 2500 van) was dragged across the highway and as I was about
> to hit the shoulder the trailer would whip to the other side and drag me
> back. I watched the trailer come around almost 90 degrees to the truck -
> tires smoking and screeching. Had I hit the dirt I am sure it would have
> been a disaster.
>
> Fortunately the normally busy highway was absent any other vehicles . My
> family and I were shaking like leaves and utterly terrified. This event
> occurred just a few miles from home as we headed off on our first trip with
> the boat. We made our way back home and have never towed the boat anywhere
> since except to launch at the local ramp about 5 miles down the road. That
> experience is not the only reason we have not towed significantly since then
> and I think I now have a much better idea of what I did wrong. If, however,
> I do decide to tow on a longer trip there are a number of things that I will
> definitely do to address potential sway.
>
> At the time I sought advice from several trailer places as to what might
> have caused this event and what might have avoided it. The advice ranged
> from inflating the tires more to buying a new truck. That wasn't very
> helpful at the time although I now think both bits of advice were probably
> correct.. Here are some thoughts relating to this event:
>
> - Most important: I was going too fast - about 70 mph - and downhill. Just
> because the boat seems to be following nicely does not mean you can go
> faster. Once sway starts, it acts like a sling and the substantial weight of
> the rig only intensifies the sway against increased speed. Calling this
> "sway" is really an understatement. The trailer will latterly go sideways
> trying to pass you and shoot back to the other side violently and in an
> instant. The momentum is enormous.
> - If the sway starts, don't accelerate! I will take my foot off the gas and
> slow without braking the vehicle
> - get brakes for the trailer - electric brakes make sense to me so that you
> can apply them manually. I am undecided about adding a second axle. One
> would thing that more rubber on the road would reduce sway but , as
> discussed on this forum, that presents other problems.
> - especially for longer or more difficult terrain or where there is traffic
> pressure to go faster than 55 mph, I would install sway control device.
> - I didn't have sufficient weight on the tongue. Until the discussion here a
> few weeks ago I think I was still underestimating tongue weight to be about
> 250 lbs. The advice from others was 450 lbs and contained neat advice about
> judging the weight using a lever and your own weight. I will do that.
> - while the truck was large and heavy, being an extended 2500 Chevy van, it
> had a long overhang at the rear that increased the sway action. You want a
> truck where the hitch is close to the rear axle. I would worry about some
> motor homes that seem to have an enormous reach to the rear axle.
> - take the motor off the back of the boat for any significant highway speed
> trips. I am thinking of trying to rig a motor plate at the front of the
> trailer for the motor.
> - get the boat as far forward as possible when retrieving it from the water-
> although that is not easy as the winch, in my case, seems to pull the bow
> down rather than parallel to the trailer frame. I would want to raise the
> winch to ensure that is pulls parallel if not up slightly.
> - Definitely I will tie the load down - particularly at the transom.
> - Check the air pressure in the tires and adjust to the exact
> specifications.
> - After this experience I would be reluctant to give control to someone who
> is inexperienced and might not appreciate the forces and potential problems
> that are involved. They will almost always drive too fast as they are not
> used to the restrained driving speed that is appropriate.
>
> Graham
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
> [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Luis Guzman
> Sent: May-22-13 10:37 AM
> To: The Rhodes 22 Email List
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Traveling with motor mounted.
>
> I had a close call while trailering the boat, and I believe the saving grace
> was that the boat was strapped.
>
> I was tired and let my friend drive. I don't know what the hell my friend
> did, but I woke up to a trailer swaying the car. I saw the car heading for
> the ditch that separated the two way highway, and I thought this was the
> end. In the blink of an eye, we ended up perfectly parked on the shoulder of
> the road heading the wrong direction.
>
> The cars behind us had kept a distance when they saw what was going on, so
> nobody was hit. Several motorists stopped to make sure that we were ok.
>
> I was mad as hell. Checked the truck, trailer and boat, and everything
> seemed in perfect condition. I was told not to go on the dirt to try to do
> an u turn as the dirt was soft. Well, I was not going to wait for the cops
> to show up. I waited until there were no cars coming, step up in the gas,
> and did a quick u turn. I got off the highway at the next exit, and stopped
> at a gas station. That is when it hit me that we could have been killed, and
> I started shaking.
>
> That incident kept me awake and I drove the rest of the 10 hrs home.
>
> To this day, I have no idea how this happened, but I believe that the boat
> would have come off the trailer if it was not strapped down. Oh, I did have
> the motor in the back of the truck.
>
> Luis A. Guzmán II
> S/V Coincidence
> 1983 Rhodes 22
> Bradenton, FL
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Lowe, Rob" <rlowe at vt.edu>
> > To: The Rhodes 22 Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> > Cc:
> > Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 9:22 AM
> > Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Traveling with motor mounted.
> >
> > Rummy,
> > True about losing the boat. But is it a legal requirement to strap
> > down your load? - rob
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
> > [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of
> > R22RumRunner at aol.com
> > Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 9:20 AM
> > To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
> > Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Traveling with motor mounted.
> >
> > Rob,
> > If you hit a pothole large enough to bounce the R22 off its trailer,
> > losing the boat is probably the least of your troubles. Your tow
> > vehicle would be damaged and the axle on the trailer would be
> > history. I have never heard of a R22 coming off the trailer during
> > towing and most people rely on the trailer design to keep the Rhodes in
> place.
> > I believe Stan does not recommend using straps because they could
> > damage the hull.
> >
> > Rummy
> >
> >
> > In a message dated 5/22/2013 8:40:17 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> > rlowe at vt.edu writes:
> >
> > Ted,
> > I think you'll find you must legally strap your boat down to travel
> > on public roads. And, I expect it would be really embarrassing to
> > hit a big pothole and have your boat bounce off the trailer. Very
> > unlikely, yes, but explain that to the cop. I expect a citation for
> > failure to secure load would be in order. So strap the boat to the
> > trailer. Find something compressible to go between the straps and the
> > boat to protect the boat. Or use the eyes on the bow and stern to
> > strap her down. Relying on the weight of the boat to keep her in
> > place on the trailer is a bit chancy. Just my thoughts.
> > - rob
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
> > [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Theodore
> > Boender
> > Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 7:04 AM
> > To: The Rhodes 22 Email List
> > Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Traveling with motor mounted.
> >
> > Richard,
> >
> > I noticed you strapped your boat down. I did not for my trip home to
> > Boston. Do most trailer sailers use tie downs? It looks like you
> > would get some serious rubbing on the gel coat from the straps. Good
> > padding would be key.
> >
> > Good luck with launch day!
> >
> > Ted
> >
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