towing a sailplane trailer / vehicle

On Oct 31, 10:22*am, Burt Compton - Marfa wrote:
On Oct 30, 1:33*pm, Craig wrote:



On Oct 30, 7:19*am, Bob wrote:

I have a question, are glider trailers rated to tow above 60MPH. In
Europe where most of the trailers are made (I think) the max speed for
a trailer is 60mph /100kph. Just wondering as I see all kinds of
clames that people are towing faster than this. Would this be an
insurance problem if you had an accident and were going faster than
the trailer is rated? Just wondering.

Bob (waiting for the wave)

Not sure about the insurance thing, but the 100 kph tow speed limit
does explain why most in Europe profess their trailers tow just fine.
I tow a larger Komet trailer with a 3.0L Toyota Sienna and all is well
up to 65mph (105 kph). At 70 it's managable, but requires attention.
At 75 (120 kph) it's a real handful. I guess we're a bit spoiled, but
covering long distances at 60 mph is tedious at best & I'm awfully
tempted to modify my trailer to tow better at higher speeds.

Craig

What's the hurry? *I tow my glider trailers (DG-1000 in a Cobra /
ASK-13 in a Swan / Cirrus in an Eberle trailer) long distances to/from
Marfa, west Texas (USA) at no more than 60 mph behind my 2001 Ford Van
(6 cylinder). *Why risk damaging a glider by driving at higher
speeds? *At slower speeds you can maneuver around potholes, junk in
the road, wayward critters, or manage a blowout better. *I've been
towing glider trailers at 60 mph across the USA for decades. No
problems, yet.

The Germans must know something if they limit glider trailers to 100
km/h (62 mph), while also driving their well-tuned cars without
trailers much faster on their Autobahns.

So put in a long day and get there with a lot less stress and fatigue
on glider, driver and tow vehicle. *I find that driving off the US
Interstates the "blue" roads are often smoother, less traffic passing
you and the scenery is great, with small-town diners, tractors in
fields, cool junkyards, vintage "motorcourt" motels -- classic
Americana! * *Listen to audiobooks and your favorite CD's if you find
60 mph "tedious".

I also get a bit better gas mileage for my Ford van as the glider
trailer creates an aerodynamically favorable "after body" behind the
big van.

Start early, slow down, save gas, enjoy the trip, keep our trailer /
gilder insurance premiums from being raised because of highway
accidents due to "get-there-i-tis".

Burt -- *just easin' on down the road . . .

Good advice, Burt.

If you plot fuel consumption vs. speed (MPG vs. MPH) you get a curve
that looks like a sailplane polar. Pretty much regardless of the
vehicle, the peak MPH is around 45 MPH. It drops off very sharply
below 45 and somewhat more slowly above 45. If you have an automatic
transmission with a locking torque converter, best MPG is just above
the speed where the TC locks up - approximately 43 MPH.

61 MPH (100 KPH) is a reasonable compromise between speed and economy.

What Frank says about the western US is correct. The steep 7% grades
on Interstate 15 between Las Vegas and Barstow are in Death Valley
where 130F (54C) temperatures are not uncommon. Pulling a trailer up
the Baker Grade has doomed many small cars. Imagine what the under-
hood temperatures are. If you break down and aren't rescued quickly,
your survival may depend on how much water you have.

I tried towing a 1-26 on open trailer along that route with a '59
Volvo PV-544. The little 1800cc sedan was great in the cool coastal
climate but in the desert it was a deathtrap. It only took once to
learn my lesson. My next car had a V8 and air conditioning.