My setup.
Tow vehicle - 2.3 litre petrol engined MPV ( Ford Galaxy ) - I was stunned
at how well this vehicle tows a load.
Load in vehicle - 3 adults plus 2 weeks gear, flying kit and 6 cases of
assorted Bordeaux wines.
Trailer - Bog standard Komet II - about 350 kg and running on cross-ply high
load utility vehicle tyres
Load in trailer - Ventus Bt ( 325 kg ) tow out and tie down, gear, stands,
engine spares - the usual garbage.
Tongue load - 55 - 60 kg

This lot on a French motorway can do a very stable, but very illegal ,
100mph on the flats, I have a GPS track to prove it.
It will cruise all day at 70 - 75. It does not add significantly to the
driver workload, I can manage a semi-continuous drive ( 2 or 3 hour long
nap-stops ) from Tunbridge Wells England to Jaca in Spain - about 800 miles.

Possibly the biggest difference was made when I fitted 2 spoiler strips to
the leading edge of the vertical fin of the trailer. Following that mod
passing an articulated truck with less than 30mph speed differential, which
used to cause a 'dip' of the trailer due to the fin passing through the
trucks 'bow wave', has all but been eliminated. Try it!

If you need a 4, 5 or 6 litre travelling suburb, 220 kg tongue loads, fancy
air suspension or expensive sway dampers you simply are not doing it right!

Ian

"CH" wrote in message
...
"Tom Seim" wrote in message
There has been several threads in the past concerning towing Cobra
trailers with motorhomes, resulting in fatigue cracking of the
tongues.....
..................
I use a DrawTite load leveling hitch normally seen on travel trailers.
It uses two spring bars to apply an opposing torque to level the
trailer and tow vehicle. I started using it when the 600 lb tongue
weight (yes, 600lb=270kg!) sank my minivan to its knees...............
.................................................. ...... I have since
reduced my tongue
weight down to about 300 lbs (for a 2500 lb trailer). This is within
the 10-15% recommended range. I did try 125 lbs and found the
lowered stability objectionable.

Hi Tom,
I cannot help, but to shake my head mate.
No wonder some guys kill the tongue tube if applying 270kg load
onto it when 50kg=110lb are recommended and give you good
stability with an appropriate towing vehicle (I do not mean a big one,
one with stable suspension and short overhang will do).
Big overhang vehicles like motorhomes lead to high accelerations
at the tongue when driving over bumpy roads. More than once I have
seen trailers towed by motorhomes touch the ground when leaving
petrol stations. The standard Cobra tubes have been tested and pro-
vide a 25 safety factor for normal use. If you really want to experiment
with high tongue loading, then get the heavy duty square tube an re-
place the round one.

Chris Hostettler