When I first started towing, it was normally a three motorbike trailer, and maybe 70 mph + to get back from a race circuit. My own first van was an Eccles Jewel, I didn't know the weight, Mrs H liked the rear bed and central bathroom. Going down the A34 long hill a snake, started, HGV truck ruts, never went above 60 mph for years.
I think you're repeating what most have said already. We agree or most do that the 85 thing is just an arbitrary start and most definitely not a rule. Did you read the thread? Clive states a good case. Although the gearbox may be the same there are many other factors. Honda will have tested a lot more factors than just the simple hillstart that is also bandied around . Some say that's all the manufacturers do but we know they test far more..There will be reasons. My towbar fitter showed me how much reinforcements some Nissan chassis needed to tow. He wasn't impressed.
Back in the late 70s snaking was a well known issue. It was almost mandatory to buy a Scott or Bull dog “Stabiliser”, Both hefty chunks of engineering . The massive friction damper did give a measure of comfort avoiding a snake. Even then they were not a substitute for correct loading and vehicle matching. I have no technical data to compare the coefficient of friction of the Scott v Al-ko but suspect the two tiny Al-ko pads on the towball are less resistant than the Scott
I seem to recall that opinion among caravanners was that the Alko hitch stabiliser gave about the same level of yaw damping as the Scott-Halley and Bulldog blade dampers - the main differences being the Alko's ease of use and the blade's pitch damping and weight distribution benefit.
I was thinking the Scott could be torqued up to various levels to the extent it took real muscles to move. I find it hard to see the Al-ko mini pads achieving the same. All academic as Al-ko has served me well for 30 years
My Scott-Halley was torqued up as recommended to need 28kg force on the end of the blade to move it - measured (with difficulty) with the bathroom scales!
I don't recall anyone switching to Alko and complaining about lack of damping, so they must have been thereabouts the same.
Bring back the Trapeezium.
South African design I think. Great stabiliser. Just strange when you look in the mirror to see the van moving from side to side. I don't think you can get one in the UK now.
John
South African design I think. Great stabiliser. Just strange when you look in the mirror to see the van moving from side to side. I don't think you can get one in the UK now.
John
The Trapezium was effectively outlawed in the EU/UK by Type Approval as it would have needed separate approval for each car model
Though had a load of journal bearings, which overtime could prove to be a problem, even though they could be refurbished.
There is an international industry standard ISO 11555-1 (it's not a legal requirement, though) which defines the limits for frictional damping in all degrees of freedom of movement for stabilising devices for light trailers and caravans. Manufacturers rely on these limits as key values in design and development and for defining the extent of product liability for warranty purposes.
It is one of the reasons, for example, why blade stabilisers should never be combined with integrated hitch stabilisers.
It is one of the reasons, for example, why blade stabilisers should never be combined with integrated hitch stabilisers.
What does one do if while towing you are using the cruise control and snake develops? Removing your foot from accelerator will not help as car is on cruise control, so only option is to touch the brakes and that is not recommended.
You could think about disconnecting the cruise control, but this is unlikely as everything is happening in a split second. I would suggest that you have no option except to touch the brakes gently or if brave enough depending on your vehicle and your current speed when it happens there is the possibility you could accelerate out of the snake and then brake gently?
You could think about disconnecting the cruise control, but this is unlikely as everything is happening in a split second. I would suggest that you have no option except to touch the brakes gently or if brave enough depending on your vehicle and your current speed when it happens there is the possibility you could accelerate out of the snake and then brake gently?
When they say don't hit the brakes if a snake occurs they mean don't slam on the brakes. It doesn't mean that on shouldn't hit the brakes at all. There's nothing wrong with applying the brakes gently to deactivate the cruise control.
Despite claims to the contrary, no normal towcar is able to accelerate fast enough to pull a snaking outfit straight again. Only a rocket powered vehicle is likely to be able to do that.
Despite claims to the contrary, no normal towcar is able to accelerate fast enough to pull a snaking outfit straight again. Only a rocket powered vehicle is likely to be able to do that.
When we had a very bad snake after hitting the tram lines near junction 13 on the M5 many years ago while towing a single axle 1400kg caravan with our S80, I took my foot off the accelerator to slow down and then accelerated which then pulled the caravan straight. The car did not have cruise control.
At the time I thought it was common sense to do this. Never had a snake since and hope never to repeat it however I did hit black ice once which was very scary as there is nothing you can do.
Every outfit has a certain threshold speed above which it will not recover from a snake without active intervention of some sort. If a snake does occur, it will recover of its own accord when the speed drops below that threshold.
Not disputing anything as I acted on instinct and training. I am sure that our Jeep Grand Cherokee could accelerate enough to pull a caravan out of a snake, but I am definitely not going to experiment.
No you absolutely don't have to touch the brakes to cancel cruise control; there's a cancel button! On all of our cars it allows you then to press resume and return to the speed you were at! You can also dip the clutch on a manual.
When a snake happens the last thing that you think about is the cruise control cancel button that is normally located on the steering wheel which you are holding onto to try and control the snake.
Just tapping the brake pedal lightly will disengage the cruise control - on a modern car it may be that a snake which activates ESP would automatically disengage the cruise control as well.
A driver should always know how to deactivate cruise control. If you don't you shouldn't be using it.
Once over the threshold even if you had the power, doubtful,what happens when you hit 80 and slow down? Another snake, worse than before and brown trousers takes on a new meaning! Wise move not experimenting.Not disputing anything as I acted on instinct and training. I am sure that our Jeep Grand Cherokee could accelerate enough to pull a caravan out of a snake, but I am definitely not going to experiment.
On your Jeep a number of items will swiftly disengage the CC. DAB in brake pedal, thumb twitch on steering button, left hand moving auto gear lever left to right or pull back for different mode( in my case) assume yours is similar. All split second.
In this context it is not so much a case of how to deactivate cruise control but how best to respond to a rapid arising snake. A quick light touch on the brake is potentially better as the driver doesn’t have to take their hands off of the steering wheel. The light touch on the brake will deactivate CC whilst driver is trying to achieve control of the outfit.
When towing we normally cruise at about 58mph and if I accelerate to over take a HGV, I have more than enough power and need to be careful as sometimes it can hit 65 very quickly if I accelerate too hard.
From what I remember when I had that very bad snake, the steering wheel felt as if it was being snatch out of my hands which is why I said that the last thing you think about is hitting the cancel button. My instinct would be to gently tap the pedal to disengage CC without braking too hard and then to gently accelerate when the unit has slowed down a bit.
I don't recommend this to most drivers and luckily I have not had to test it again. ATC is one of the best things since sliced bread!
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