West Peterson and I will put on the first Trailer Towing Tips Seminar on September 19, 2008 at the Southeastern Fall Meet in Cleveland, TN. The point of this forum is to collect more trailering information and operations questions, so we can put on a more informative seminar. If this forum is still active after this touring/meet season, we can leave it up.

Thanks,
Wayne

OK, I like this Forum topic and want to learn something new.
I usually tow with a Motorhome and think I'm pretty good at it. I tow either an enclosed car hauler or an open aluminum car trailer (my preferrred choice).
Now I would like to be able to tow with other than the motorhome and I'm selling my extened cab pickup and want a Tahoe or Yukon with a short wheel base that will fit in my garage.
I've been told that a short wheel base is a nightmare to tow with. So, what do the experts think??????

Where is everybody?

OK Paul, I'm no expert by any means, but here's what I do know. The longer the wheelbase, the better the tow vehicle will handle.

I've seen and heard many people say a Tahoe tows just fine. It probably depends on how heavy the loaded trailer is. Since I'm sure you've had many miles of towing experience, you and I both realize that the weight moving qualities of the stabilizer bars make a world of difference in how your vehicle handles and stops.

Now, let's hear it from the real experts!

Wayne

I just discovered this forum thing and it looks interesting. There should be a book writen about trailering, because so many people don.t know what they are doing and get themselves and others in trouble. The heavier your trailer the heavier and stiffer your tow vehicle should be. Torsion bars are good and trailer brakes a must. Again depending on the load. If you are in doubt go to a company that installs hitches, they are experts and can give you advice.

Paul,
Generally a longer wheelbase will provide a more comfortable ride while towing. However, if you have an equalizer type hitch, your ride will improve immensely.

I used to tow with a Dodge Durango. It did the job, but was like riding a roller coaster until I got an equalizer hitch set up. This set up also makes towing much safer by distributing the load more evenly over both axles of the tow vehicle.

Paul,

I tow an enclosed trailer with a Dodge Ram 2500 Quad Cab with a short bed. I've heard from many sources that the short bed trucks give a terrible ride when towing. This simply isn't true in my case. The ride quality is just fine. I tow mainly in California where 50 years of progress has taken us from the best roads in the nation to the worst. I do have an equalizer hitch which I'm sure helps tremendously.

I think another factor is that most trucks sold over the past 10 years have an extended cab. A short bed truck with an extended cab has a wheelbase comparable to a regular cab with a long bed. The wheelbase is the key to a good ride. I do experience some "freeway hop" when I'm in the Los Angeles basin where the roads are really terrible. Once out of the congested areas the ride quality is fine.

1947 Buick Woodie

Hey guys!
I forgot to mention that the towing seminar in Cleveland was canceled. There were just too many conflicts and I started thinking about this seminar a little too late.

We'll see if we can do it sometime in the future.

Wayne

How about at Fall Hershey?

Charlie, I think, no, I KNOW, it would have to be next year. So many things have to be settled a year in advance with the AACA.

I'm learning, but I'm not "there" yet!

No problem Wayne. Good Things Come to Those Who Wait!

I think this forum is a God-send. it is extremely important because to many people think they know what they are doing and they DON'T. I think a trailer towing seminar at ANY AACA Regional/National should be done.
don't back off of this Wayne.

Thanks Al. I'll keep this in mind for next year. It would be great if we could get some volunteers that would be available at different meets during the year. This is not a one man job.

Wayne