"andy levy" <andy-dml@levyclan.us> wrote in message
news:btd1bq$ogc$1@bent.twistedbits.net...
>
> OK, so some guy made a stupid mistake with shifting cargo in a travel
> trailer probably without sway control and a short wheelbase tow vehicle,
> and therefore you're writing off all towing, even of a much more
> manageable unit like a pop-up?
No, not because of the guy's error but because I do not like it.
>
> Shall we ignore the tens of millions of miles thousands upon thousands
> of people rack up every year?
If I dont like it, yes. If you dont like the taste of chocolate would it
matter to you how many million Hershey bars are sold every year?
>My parents hauled a pop-up *twelve
> thousand miles* this fall on a trip around the country with their
> Durango (shorter wheelbase than a QC Dak) without incident (aside from a
> pair of cracked brake pads, they discovered when they got home - from a
> very long, steep descent in Montana, something you would have to worry
> more about w/ the full load in the bed. No problems on the road as a
> result). They've also towed their 26' and now 27' travel trailers
> thousands upon thousands of miles without a problem. A friend of the
> family lost their trailer last year (no one harmed) because he was
> sloppy hooking it up, caught a crosswind and didn't manage it properly.
> We watched someone roll a trailer and their full-size SUV several
> years ago, right in front of our eyes. Does that deter my father from
> towing his trailers? No.
I wouldnt expect it to deter someone who wants to tow any more than the auto
accidents I have witnessed in my 40 years of having a licence would deter me
from driving.
What DOES deter me is the fact that I do not like to tow and dont want to do
it. It is a personal preference that existed for decades before the incident
I related.
I suspect that if your father did not like to tow and did not want to do it
he, like me, would also be detered from spending his vacation time doing
what he did not like and did not want to do.
>
> Complete, unfounded paranoia. Towing, like anything else, can be
> hazardous, but if *you do it right* there's nothing really to be afraid
> of.
Agreed, as I stated before:
> > Both the wife an I are fully aware that the incident was caused by an
> > avoidable error the guy made loading the trailer. We both know that
properly
> > loaded and hitched trailers are safe and predictable and any feelings of
> > paranoia are unreasonable.....
>You're writing off a large range of options because of this guy?
No, "that guy" only added a few additional drops to the pre-existing ocean
of my dislike. I do not find "writing off" things I do not like to be a bad
thing.
> I tend to worry that I forgot to lock my door when I go away for a
> weekend, but I'm not going to stay home for the rest of my life.
Assuming you are going away for recreational purposes: when you do leave
home are you then compelled to tow something or do you choose to tow or not
depending on what you would like or not like to do on that particular trip?
If the latter then the only difference between you and me is that my likes
and dislikes would find me consistently choosing NOT to tow.
> You need to learn to manage your risks. And trading towing for a
too-high
> center of gravity (can you say rollover?) doesn't seem like the right
> direction to me.
Your "too high center of gravity" gives me the impression that you think I
am planning to carry something like the T-100S on the bottom of this page.
http://www.six-pac.com/products.html
If so then you and I are in complete agreement. I will pull dual tandems up
the Burma Road before I carry something like that. Along with the high
center of gravity, considering the probable effect a gust from a passing
semi would have on that sail area I imagine the weight of the number of
underwear changes necessary for even a short trip would itself break an
axle.
Did you follow the link to in the original post the camper I am considering?
http://fourwheelcampers.com/falcon.htm
Questions concerning such things as overload, burned bearings and broken
axles are certainly in play but I dont think too high a center of gravity is
of much concern.
>
> --
> -andy
>
> http://home.twcny.rr.com/andylevy/dakota - andy-dml@levyclan.us
> --------------------------------------------
> "Whatever Adam does, do the opposite and you'll be fine"
> -Bob Tom
> --------------------------------------------
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sun Feb 01 2004 - 16:29:48 EST