Feels like tail wagging

[Ron Dittmer]

Just pointing out that the video higher up of the model towing, demonstrates weight-distribution for a trailer that affects tongue weight. That does not apply when towing a vehicle 4-wheels-down because the tongue weight never changes.

One more thing regarding towing.

Make sure you have a level tow bar like I have here through the use of a riser.


I learned the hard way, towing with the bar at an angle as shown here is a really bad condition that created lots of tow vehicle bucking.

[BT3927]

Fortunately our Jeep and receiver line up pretty well. We're level without having to use a drop or riser.

Thanks!

[twinboat]

You would know if you had a death wobble.

It's a violent, fast osolation of the front tires that will try to break the tow bar.

The only way to stop it is slow down almost to a stop.

Google it.

[youracman]

Originally Posted by twinboat

You would know if you had a death wobble.

It's a violent, fast osolation of the front tires that will try to break the tow bar.

The only way to stop it is slow down almost to a stop.

Google it.

Good info to know. I am just under 3" out of level (tow bar angled upward) and decided I didn't want to lower the hitch point due to MH ground clearance concerns .... so I went with the slightly out-of-spec installation (about 20,000 miles ago.) Evidently I am OK, as never any towing problems of any kind but sure wouldn't want to be any more out of level than I am after reading this. Thanks for posting.

[BT3927]

We just returned from our 1200 mile trip. Mostly interstate driving towing the Jeep Gladiator. I added a hitch shackle before we left and that did seem to help a little even though there was very little play in the hitch to begin with. While we were out we stopped at a CAT scale. This was the report:

Front axle 4620 lbs
Rear axle 9800 lbs
Jeep Gladiator 4880 lbs

What surprised me was that the rear axle is so heavily loaded. When it was weighed we had a full tank of gas, 10-15 gallons of water in the fresh tank, empty or very nearly empty gray and black tanks. We don't carry a lot of gear with us so I wouldn't have considered it to be overloaded but the rear axle weight surprised me. According to the tire pressure charts I'm running pretty much optimum tire pressure at 70-75 lbs front and 80 lbs rear.

While driving I noticed the sway was very dependent on road quality. On nice smooth roads the sway was minimal but on rougher roads, like construction zones, the sway was more pronounced. Steering corrections would tend to produce a slight oversteer which was sometimes slightly amplified by the Jeep tow.

None of this made it frightening to drive but it does make it tiring.

[C Beedle]

Originally Posted by deckape

Weigh the coach , correct air pressure in tires , and start there .

Yep weigh the coach!!

[Ron Dittmer]

Originally Posted by BT3927

While we were out we stopped at a CAT scale. This was the report:

Front axle 4620 lbs
Rear axle 9800 lbs
Jeep Gladiator 4880 lbs

What surprised me was that the rear axle is so heavily loaded. When it was weighed we had a full tank of gas, 10-15 gallons of water in the fresh tank, empty or very nearly empty gray and black tanks. We don't carry a lot of gear with us so I wouldn't have considered it to be overloaded but the rear axle weight surprised me.

While driving I noticed the sway was very dependent on road quality. On nice smooth roads the sway was minimal but on rougher roads, like construction zones, the sway was more pronounced. Steering corrections would tend to produce a slight over-steer which was sometimes slightly amplified by the Jeep tow.

None of this made it frightening to drive but it does make it tiring.

Like yourself, our 2007 E350 chassis rig is tail heavy. This visually explains why.


The recent weigh-in below was done with full fresh water, full gasoline, and empty waste tanks, taken during a trip with everything we bring along including ourselves. Our 2007 E350's rear axle is officially over-loaded by 420 pounds, but I don't fret over it because of the upgrades we made to the suspension that closed the gap.


After I made some recent suspension changes, our rig now stands "level" which also offers a much smoother ride.

[BT3927]

I noticed in your pictures that you installed a track bar and shocks. Which of these do you think made the most difference in handling? I'm giving serious thought to a track bar.

[Ron Dittmer]

Originally Posted by BT3927

I noticed in your pictures that you installed a track bar and shocks. Which of these do you think made the most difference in handling? I'm giving serious thought to a track bar.

I can say for certain that the heavy duty Bilstein shocks improved handling. This because I replaced tired (Koni red RV) shocks with them, a before/after comparison. I really appreciate the behavior and performance of the heavy duty Bilstein shocks. I was concerned they would increase ride harshness, but they did not. They instead stabilized the rig for improved handling. CLICK HERE for more details (with pictures) on my changing of shocks.

Regarding the Henderson rear track bar. I had a shop install it when the rig was new as part of an over-all suspension upgrade which included heavy duty front and rear Roadmaster stabilizer bars, those red Koni RV shocks, a Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer, and the rig's first wheel alignment. So I can't say how influential the trac bar is all by itself.