Towing glider trailers with a VW Jetta Wagon?

On Aug 22, 4:51 am, Eric Greenwell wrote:
The real concern is the stability of the car and trailer at the speeds
you will tow. Probably talking to other people already doing it the best
way to learn about that.

Trailer stability is all about weight and distribution, and there's
several key things which you should do. If done, it will be very
unlikely that you need a stabiliser, and prevention is better than
cure!

*Make sure that the laden mass of the trailer does not exceed 85% of
the laden mass of the tow car, and preferably less.

*Have 7% of the trailer's actual mass on the hitch. Measure with some
bathroom scales and a length of wood cut to the correct height to fit
between hitch and the scales. It's important to get this number right
- no more, no less. If the 7% value is more than the car's noseweight
limit, you'll just have to keep within that limit and accept a less
than optimum noseweight.

*Carry heavy items in the car, not the trailer, but make sure you
don't exceed the maximum axle load (or end up with your car dragging
it's arse along the road - keep it level). I often put the heaviest
items in the passenger footwell if I'm travelling alone.

*Look after your tyres on both car and trailer. Blow-outs can really
ruin your trip (and your glider!). Trailer tyres should be replaced
every five years and definitely every seven - rubber ages naturally,
whether you use them or not. In winter ideally take the wheels off and
store them level in a cool dry place wrapped in hessian (not plastic),
or at least wrap the tyres in hessian on the trailer to keep the UV
off.

*Make sure you run the correct tyre pressures all round. Check before
you set off on every trip. A tyre with low pressure will run hot and
could blow.

BTW You'll have no trouble towing with a turbo diesel. Being force-
charged they have no altitude issues, unlike normall-aspirated engines
that lose power with height, and with the lighter overall trainweight
will leave trucks and SUVs standing (as has been said, it's power to
weight that matters, not absolute power).


Dan