close call camper mog

[4cruzer]

thought some might enjoy watching what looks like a nice camper mog on a trailer coming VERY close to losing it all...

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=30042952

 

[Grim Reaper]

thought some might enjoy watching what looks like a nice camper mog on a trailer coming VERY close to losing it all...

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=30042952

Locked out of there at work. Is that the Yellow one on the trailer?

 

[Spikepretorius]

What do you reckon the cause was?
Maybe tied down on the wheels or axles and not on the chassis? The Mog has very soft suspension and a bit of oscillation could get going when the trailer frequency and the mog frequency get get hooked up.

 

[98roamer]

Locked out of there at work. Is that the Yellow one on the trailer?

yes

 

[kjp1969]

What do you reckon the cause was?
Maybe tied down on the wheels or axles and not on the chassis? The Mog has very soft suspension and a bit of oscillation could get going when the trailer frequency and the mog frequency get get hooked up.

That, no doubt, is trailer sway. Several causes, but generally related to a soft tow vehicle suspension, tow vehicle too small, tires too squishy, and/or not enough tongue weight.

 

[Grim Reaper]

That, no doubt, is trailer sway. Several causes, but generally related to a soft tow vehicle suspension, tow vehicle too small, tires too squishy, and/or not enough tongue weight.

That was a F250. It rules out most of that.

It was tongue weight and improperly set up hitch. People do stupid stuff and think that they can balance the trailer with the load and not need a load distributing hitch.

If you look the trailer is sit tin tongue high instead of level. The hitch is not low enough for the trailer. The truck is Al's level not nose high as it would be if it had 900lb of tongue weight and no WHD.

Lets do the math.
Trailer 2k.
Mog at least 7k.

Tongue weight should be around 10-12% of the load. That means he should have had at least 900Lb on the tongue.

Even though that is a 3/4 ton truck 900lb would have made it squat a LOT more then it was if he wasn't using a WDH. Most people with car trailers don't use them and think they can eyball enough tough weight when the truck squats an inch or two.

 

[Robthebrit]

The truck is strapped by the axles and not by the frame. A unimog should always be strapped by its frame to stop the top from swaying and to save you from crushing the brake lines which run on top of the axles. Regardless of what type of trailer you have or how you hook it up you will not stop that from happening unless you strap it down properly.

Not to stand on a soap box but towing that mog with that truck and trailer combo is stupid and dangerous - talk about the tail wagging the dog. That camper mog is probably close to 10,000 pounds by itself, plus a few thousand more for the trailer, if the trailer is not that heavy its not strong enough. Regardless of which way you cut it the guy is an idiot. As far as I can tell its a ball hitch trailer which makes him illegal too.

That video does show that mogs are not as top heavy as most people think they are.

 

[4cruzer]

damn straight Rob, I would have written that one off as far as it was leaning. Looks like a lot of weight down low there...

 

[Funrover]

There would be a stain on the driver seat if that was me!

 

[Spikepretorius]

I can personally vouch for the relatively safe roll over angle of a Mog. They look and feel scary way before it gets dangerous. Spent years driving Mogs and Buffels in the military. Been in roll overs, had buddies killed etc, but that was while really throwing them around trying to avoid HE fire etc.

Buffel= mineproof Mog

 

[valerieO]

When I was a kid, my Dad would always tap the trailer brake module when he was pulling the travel trailer while we were being passed by semi trucks which cause some trailer sway.
But now that i look back on it, our 1/2 ton passenger van was no match for a 29' travel trailer with a bunk house. He had drive it like he was a wrestling a bear.

 

[XXXpedition]

would have made it squat a LOT more

i'm not an expertin this case, but would an air suspension not level it out and render this option incorrect?

and as rob mentioned, when he tied it at the axles... i'd suppose a sudden wind blowing from the side on that area of the mog would be more than enough to create a lot of movement...

btw:
i love that military mog!

 

[Grim Reaper]

i'm not an expertin this case, but would an air suspension not level it out and render this option incorrect?

and as rob mentioned, when he tied it at the axles... i'd suppose a sudden wind blowing from the side on that area of the mog would be more than enough to create a lot of movement...

btw:
i love that military mog!

IF it had air suspension it might level it but the front would still be up. It would NOT cure the fact that it was improperly set up trailer.

Weight distributing hitches (WDH) force the weight to shift onto the front axle of the tow vehicle. that causes the weight to be shared closer to equal across the axles. Even without a "Sway control" of some sort a properly set up WDH does a lot to fight sway like that guy experienced.

As an extreme example of how much transfer a hitch can make. The below vehicles were front drive. They wedged the hitch so that the trailer effectively became the back wheels of the car...and remove the rear wheels. What it proves is if the weight is excessive on the rear axle Or light on the tongue it will cause handling issues. The trailer and both axles of the car need to load the weight equally.

There is a video floating around I can't seem to find of a 1994 Doge Intrepid pulling a 34ft 8000lb Airstream through a slalom at 85kph set up by this company http://www.can-am-rv.com/ Its quite impressive and it comes down to the hitch being set up correct for the application. Most people towing don't set up their hitches correctly and they are an accident in the making. Biggest mistake is the wrong load bars. People buy 3/4 ton vehicles then use weight bars for 1/2 ton vehicle. This seems totally backwards but the bars from a 1/2 ton application need to be stronger because they need to lift the rear of the vehicle higher to make the weight transfer. a 3/4 ton vehicle needs a lighter bar. The reason is you must always keep the bars in tension (flexed) and if you get the tow vehicle nose down (like hard braking causing nose dive) and loose tension you loose the sway control of the hitch.....at the moment you need it the most.

 

[kjp1969]

http://www.can-am-rv.com/[/url] Its quite impressive and it comes down to the hitch being set up correct for the application. Most people towing don't set up their hitches correctly and they are an accident in the making. Biggest mistake is the wrong load bars. People buy 3/4 ton vehicles then use weight bars for 1/2 ton vehicle. This seems totally backwards but the bars from a 1/2 ton application need to be stronger because they need to lift the rear of the vehicle higher to make the weight transfer. a 3/4 ton vehicle needs a lighter bar. The reason is you must always keep the bars in tension (flexed) and if you get the tow vehicle nose down (like hard braking causing nose dive) and loose tension you loose the sway control of the hitch.....at the moment you need it the most.

That is mostly likely a Hensley Arrow hitch- a $3000 four-bar replacement for a regular ball hitch. I have one, and it does everything they say it does, which is a lot because their claims seem fantastic. Without getting into the nuts and bolts, it gives a tag trailer the handling characteristics (i.e. stability) of a fifth wheel, and it absolutely rocks. www.hensleymfg.com

Kevin