Trailer towing safety

"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