Snakes Alive,!,

[Dustydog]

On the A40 this morning in Wales on a slight decent, dual carriage we witnessed a most terrifying snake. We were cruising 56 when a Honda CRV towing a Lunar Clubman sped past . Say 62 ish. About 20 yards ahead of me he lost control. We all slowed and watched in horror as he went from one lane to another , He was braking and at one point we expected the whole outfit to turn over.

At 50 he got control back. The Snake oscillations in the flesh looked very scary.

I hope his sphincter has recovered and the brown trousers are washable.😉

SWMBO came out with the Classic, Must have got his nose load wrong!

 

[Hutch]

On the A40 this morning in Wales on a slight decent, dual carriage we witnessed a most terrifying snake. We were cruising 56 when a Honda CRV towing a Lunar Clubman sped past . Say 62 ish. About 20 yards ahead of me he lost control. We all slowed and watched in horror as he went from one lane to another , He was braking and at one point we expected the whole outfit to turn over.

At 50 he got control back. The Snake oscillations in the flesh looked very scary.

I hope his sphincter has recovered and the brown trousers are washable.😉

SWMBO came out with the Classic, Must have got his nose load wrong!

Did you have the caravan on the back of your tug. Maybe the bow wave got them as they passed you.

 

[otherclive]

On the A40 this morning in Wales on a slight decent, dual carriage we witnessed a most terrifying snake. We were cruising 56 when a Honda CRV towing a Lunar Clubman sped past . Say 62 ish. About 20 yards ahead of me he lost control. We all slowed and watched in horror as he went from one lane to another , He was braking and at one point we expected the whole outfit to turn over.

At 50 he got control back. The Snake oscillations in the flesh looked very scary.

I hope his sphincter has recovered and the brown trousers are washable.😉

SWMBO came out with the Classic, Must have got his nose load wrong!

Guess the descent and bow wave might have caught him out, but other things could also have contributed. I was always ultra cautious about overtaking going downhill. Hopefully CRV driver will be now on.

 

[RogerL]

While we don't know what the "Towing Ratio" of the CRV/Lunar was, it demonstrates the value in selecting outfits with low towing ratios - rather than pushing it right up to the guideline and sometimes beyond.

 

[IanB1485]

I got called to a client who had just bought a new to him coachman having traded in his swift after I detected some damp on the corners of the floor. He got the mightiest scare coming coming home from Cumbria and he wanted me to check the friction pads and ATC as its the first time he had suffered snaking . Friction pads were good , ATC working and in correct adjustment, His towball weight check went off scale on my weight gauge (120kg max) so conclusion, it was the front wheels of the towcar were probably not in good contact, Fortunately the ATC corrected the snake by sharply activating the caravan brakes . He will now look at how he loads his caravan , Also I suggested he may want to get spring assisters for the towcar. Hopefully the car driver you witnessed will also take note of nose weights and towing speed restrictions for trailers.

 

[Dustydog]

Also I suggested he may want to get spring assisters for the towcar. Hopefully the car driver you witnessed will also take note of nose weights and towing speed restrictions for trailers.

There has .been considerably discussion on spring assisters over the years. The Jury is still out.
Pandora’s Box may open😜

 

[Beachball]

Just pleased they manage to correct it in time and nobody was hurt

 

[Buckman]

We were towing a Lunar with a Volvo S80 and the Volvo was a lot heavier than the Lunar caravan. We had a very bad snake between Jn 12 & 13 on the M5 due to tramlines in the road and the bow wave of the HGV we had just overtaken. At the time my speed was more than likely under 60mph. Foot off accelerator to slow down and then gentle acceleration to bring caravan back into line. The caravan did not have ATC as unheard of back in 2004. Definitely brown trouser moment!

 

[RogerL]

We were towing a Lunar with a Volvo S80 and the Volvo was a lot heavier than the Lunar caravan. We had a very bad snake between Jn 12 & 13 on the M5 due to tramlines in the road and the bow wave of the HGV we had just overtaken. At the time my speed was more than likely under 60mph. Foot off accelerator to slow down and then gentle acceleration to bring caravan back into line. The caravan did not have ATC as unheard of back in 2004. Definitely brown trouser moment!

Many have had one serious snake, and learnt the lesson - mine was back in the '80s and due to insufficient noseweight - hence my regular advice to use the heaviest noseweight permitted without exceeding any of the limits of the car or the caravan hitch.

 

[Dustydog]

The guy applied his brakes. 🙀

Although it’s decades ago since I enjoyed the “experience”, I was told never use the brakes. Slow down gently, throttle off , engine deceleration , drop the gears.

Has anything changed?

 

[otherclive]

There has .been considerably discussion on spring assisters over the years. The Jury is still out.
Pandora’s Box may open😜

I’ve fitted MAD auxiliary springs to a Saab 9000 CSE, and a Skoda Superb 4wd estate and both were improved and I had no concerns over the cars solo performance. In fact both cars ride was better. For the Skoda it bottomed coming off of the drive and on the local speed bumps. MAD were recommended and fitted by the main dealer. It seems they had fitted them to other owners with caravans or horse boxes.

 

[CustardAvenger]

The guy applied his brakes. 🙀

Although it’s decades ago since I enjoyed the “experience”, I was told never use the brakes. Slow down gently, throttle off , engine deceleration , drop the gears.

Has anything changed?

I've only had the one, and I won't call it a snake as it didn't get that far; lets call it an "Atmospheric induced oscillation".

A raised section of 50mph dual carriageway, next to open fields on a windy day combined with an empty caravan being ferried for service. After exiting the cover of trees, I could just feel the car starting to worm back and forth with the oscillation starting to build from nothing. It was so weird, as you couldn't grasp what was happening at first. I cancelled the cruise control, didn't touch anything and let the car slow down a few MPH until the oscillation stopped.

All you have to do, to see how easy this can be induced, is to catch hold of the rear grab handle and try and move the caravan side-to-side. You'll see how much it will sway even when stationary with jockey wheel down.

 

[Lutz]

Also I suggested he may want to get spring assisters for the towcar.

Spring assisters won't let you increase the rear axle load. The rear axle load limit remains unchanged whether the caravan is hitched or not.

 

[toad a caravan]

Perhaps the person in DD OP was overwhelmed when the opportunity presented itself to travel over 20mph 😄