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#369555 - 08/15/06 07:05 PM
Re: DISASTERS TEND TO HAPPEN IN THREES
[Re: Barry Wolk]
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Bob Giles
Member
Registered: 02/24/01
Posts: 55
Loc: Johnstown, Pa
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I can offer no opinions, but would like to ask a question, I have a Reese load leveling hitch with 600 lb. bars. I went over a bridge with a pretty good change in elevation. The chain stripped the "U" bolt out of the bar. Since that happened, I don't pre-load the bars quite as much. My question is, what is the proper pre-load?
Attachments
401244-hershey009.jpg (49 downloads)
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#369556 - 08/15/06 07:49 PM
Re: DISASTERS TEND TO HAPPEN IN THREES
[Re: Bob Giles]
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Peter J.Heizmann
Peter J. Heizmann
Member
Registered: 10/19/01
Posts: 2310
Loc: Reading, PA
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Hi, Bob...
As you know, I haul a 2450# TR6 in a 16' enclosed trailer. Bought a "tongue weight scale" from Camping World at the time I bought the trailer. Use a Reese anti-sway bar system with a 2.75 dia. ball hitch.
First, I hooked up the trailer, then, drove the car into it. Placed a cinderblock below the trailer tonque. Unhooked the truck. Lowered the tonque onto the tonque weight scale. Moved the car a few times back and forth until the scale read 600#.
Then, marked off on the trailer bed for the proper location of 2 steel wheel chocks. Bolted the chocks to the trailer floor. Hence, every time I load the car, I know it is in proper weight ratio balance.
When using the anti-sway bars/load leveling bars, remember that they make the tow vehicle and the trailer into "one unit". (Only problem I ever encountered with the load leveling bars is driving over a dip, such as leaving a parking lot and driving over a drainage depression...a few times I had to switch to 4 WD as the rear tires lost traction.
(Let me know if you want to try the scale...I could UPS it to you...)
Regards,
Peter. (Say hello to Patty)
_________________________
Peter J. Heizmann
AACA Life Member #383299
Northern Neck Region
Pottstown Region
Vintage Triumph Register
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#369558 - 08/15/06 08:31 PM
Re: DISASTERS TEND TO HAPPEN IN THREES
[Re: 58Mustang]
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Barry Wolk
Member
Registered: 06/17/03
Posts: 1146
Loc: Farmington Hills, MI
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You seemed to have missed the sentence that started "It was". Thanks for contributing.
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#369560 - 08/16/06 08:35 AM
Re: DISASTERS TEND TO HAPPEN IN THREES
[Re: novaman]
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Friartuck
Member
Registered: 09/28/02
Posts: 246
Loc: Red Bank, New Jersey
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Found this scale on the Web and thought it might help.
http://www.sherline.com/lm.htm
Also read some of his stories, similar circumstances! I think we're all learning something here.
Edited by Friartuck (08/16/06 08:39 AM)
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#369561 - 08/16/06 09:03 AM
Re: DISASTERS TEND TO HAPPEN IN THREES
[Re: Friartuck]
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Barry Wolk
Member
Registered: 06/17/03
Posts: 1146
Loc: Farmington Hills, MI
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Just ordered one. It will certainly take the guesswork out of trailer loading.
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#369563 - 08/16/06 12:07 PM
Re: DISASTERS TEND TO HAPPEN IN THREES
[Re: novaman]
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Peter J.Heizmann
Peter J. Heizmann
Member
Registered: 10/19/01
Posts: 2310
Loc: Reading, PA
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Hi, David...
Bought my Sherline Scale quite a few years ago. It is in a Camping World box. Maybe they don't carry them any longer, or, I put it into a Camping World box for storage. Really don't recall...It has a weight maximum of 2,000#. Sherline can be contacted directly: Sherline Products, Inc., 3235 Executive Ridge, Vista, CA 92083 (Ph: 800-541-0735)
How did I determine the 600# tongue weight. Kept moving the car until the scale measured 600#, marked the trailer floor for the Wheel Chocks to be located, thus, every time I put the car into the trailer, it is right on the mark.
I do not know exactly how much weight gets transferred to the tow and trailer wheels. But, I do know that the current weight ratio has worked very well for over 12,000 towing miles.
The truck drops 3/4" when the trailer is hooked up. Also, I installed load leveler snubbers on the rear axle of the truck. This helps greatly when weight is in, or, hooked to the truck. I hauled a 977 # machine fixture and the truck went down only 1/2". The snubber bolts to the frame in-line with the axle housing below. The rubber snubbers will rest upon the housing after 1/2" of sag.
Peter. 
_________________________
Peter J. Heizmann
AACA Life Member #383299
Northern Neck Region
Pottstown Region
Vintage Triumph Register
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#369564 - 08/16/06 05:45 PM
Re: DISASTERS TEND TO HAPPEN IN THREES
[Re: Peter J.Heizmann]
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Barry Wolk
Member
Registered: 06/17/03
Posts: 1146
Loc: Farmington Hills, MI
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Quote:
Hi, David...
Bought my Sherline Scale quite a few years ago. It is in a Camping World box. Maybe they don't carry them any longer, or, I put it into a Camping World box for storage. Really don't recall...It has a weight maximum of 2,000#. Sherline can be contacted directly: Sherline Products, Inc., 3235 Executive Ridge, Vista, CA 92083 (Ph: 800-541-0735)
How did I determine the 600# tongue weight. Kept moving the car until the scale measured 600#, marked the trailer floor for the Wheel Chocks to be located, thus, every time I put the car into the trailer, it is right on the mark.
I do not know exactly how much weight gets transferred to the tow and trailer wheels. But, I do know that the current weight ratio has worked very well for over 12,000 towing miles.
The truck drops 3/4" when the trailer is hooked up. Also, I installed load leveler snubbers on the rear axle of the truck. This helps greatly when weight is in, or, hooked to the truck. I hauled a 977 # machine fixture and the truck went down only 1/2". The snubber bolts to the frame in-line with the axle housing below. The rubber snubbers will rest upon the housing after 1/2" of sag.
Peter.
Hi Peter,
I think he's asking how you came up with 600# as a proper target tongue weight.
FYI, I watched as the trailer left it's weight on my tow vehicle and the bumper dropped about 2". This is how I balanced it for the trip. I used the air suspension to level the trailer without the Porsche. I put the Porsche in about midway. The nose didn't lift. I gradually moved the car to the rear and the nose still didn't lift. I stood behind the car, with my near 300 lb mass and the trailer bobbed on its front lifts. I moved the car forward about 18" and wouldn't bob it at all. This produced enough tongue weight to drop the rear bumper about 2". The truck was setting a little high in the rear as we had removed all the tools and supplies from all the bins and boxes on the F-450. Maybe that 2" of movement might have been deceiving.
I would agree that once the car came loose it was all over. I was going to cross tie the load but I got expert advice that said I didn't need it. This guy transports million dollar cars all the time. He tied the car down himself, using the same staps he uses on Duesenbergs. I positioned the car, he didn't. If it was too far back, then that part was my fault.
You can certainly see a pattern on the floor of the trailer where the car swung to the drivers side but was stopped by the restraints. The driver's side of the car suffered no damage. The insurance adjustor showed me where likely damage would have occured had the car made contact, and there wasn't any. The floor marks are much longer on the passenger side and there are two sets of slide marks, side to side. That kind of tells me that the car stayed tied down until we hit the guardrail. The inertia of the impact drove the Porsche to the passenger side so hard that it pulled the restraint right out of the E-track. I wasn't terribly impressed with its performance either. The front tire impacted the wheel trailer' solid wheel wells and bent the suspension to a point where it doesn't move.
The car rolled forward and scraped the inside of the trailer pushing it out by about 6". The impact wracked the rear opening and ramp system. It appears to have broken about 10 wall studs, too. The front of the trailer is slightly wracked, but looks repairable.
The insurance adjuster, luckily, is a pilot and immediately recognized that the trailer body is airplane technology, and needed to be treated as such. I admitted that some of the repairs were beyond my skill levels and I would have to call in help. He said I had every right to have it put back the way it was, and he thought that I shouldn't have to do the work. I didn't mind hearing that. The only problem is that the skills needed to repair it are located at airports and the closest airport is a half hour away. I suggested that the mechanic work in my space, which would allow me to finish the project while it was being repaired. He cautioned me that airframe repair moves at the speed of mud.
He estimated the damages to the trailer at $50-$80,000. I almost fell over.
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#369565 - 08/16/06 06:16 PM
Re: DISASTERS TEND TO HAPPEN IN THREES
[Re: Barry Wolk]
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Peter J.Heizmann
Peter J. Heizmann
Member
Registered: 10/19/01
Posts: 2310
Loc: Reading, PA
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Hi, Barry...
Sorry, guys. Forgot to mention how I arrived at the 600# tongue weight.
Nothing really scientific. You will receive a booklet with the scale, which, I assume, is pretty much what you read on Sherline's website. It has a calculation forumula on the last page. Went to my trailer today, and, the booklet has my tabulations that were made in 2002.
Basically, Sherline, and, in my case, Southwestern Trailer advised tonque weight of 10-12% of the trailer's G.V.W., so, that's what I did and it works well for me.
Again, in my case, I have only the TR6 so I never change anything with the set up. Where the scale will be more useful, is, folks that tow "various" vehicles with the same trailer. I can envision it coming into good use for safety.
My scale has been loaned out to friend's more than I ever used it, but, it was a good investment when I first bought the trailer and knew little-to-zip about towing.
Regards,
Peter J...
_________________________
Peter J. Heizmann
AACA Life Member #383299
Northern Neck Region
Pottstown Region
Vintage Triumph Register
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#369566 - 08/16/06 08:21 PM
Re: DISASTERS TEND TO HAPPEN IN THREES
[Re: Peter J.Heizmann]
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Barry Wolk
Member
Registered: 06/17/03
Posts: 1146
Loc: Farmington Hills, MI
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I did get some good news today. I took my Mark II to my friend Larry's Autometric Collision where his crew went at the scratches with 1000 grit and worked up to 2,000. Turns out that the scratches were in the only part of the car that has a clear coat. When I got my car it was fitted with Derham badges. I had the holes filled and the lower fenders resprayed and clear coated. Now I can show the car at Willistead this Sunday.
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