Grenadiers Towing

[Davman]

Jeepers Dave, better make sure your wife doesn’t put on anymore weight. At this rate you might have to leave her at home.

 

[DaveB]

In Oz it's common to see 3.5T dual axle off-road vans being dragged around by 200s. Some are kitted out with every conceivable appliance including a coffee machine. Many have 4 water tanks, 1000w solar, 4-600Ah lithium packs, 2 fridges, full width rear ensuites etc. We probably make the heaviest off-grid caravans in the world, built to tackle corrugated tracks like the Gibb River Rd or Cape York. So ball weight is often up around 350kgs. All too much for a poor old 200s so in recent years many have moved to the big Fords, Rams & GMCs.

My daughter is the National warranty manager for a large Australian caravan manufacturer and they weigh the vans when they leave the factory.
She said it is common to see modifications and accessories added by the dealers or owners adding an additional tonne to the van.
Often with no thought to the weight distribution.
Then the clothes, water, food and bikes etc are added.
One had a rack added to the back of the van with two 80kg electric bikes added and a large firewood box.
It ended up smashed on it's side on a dirt road when the tail wagged the dog.

 

[DaveB]

Jeepers Dave, better make sure your wife doesn’t put on anymore weight. At this rate you might have to leave her at home.

Yes, she has gone for another walk to try to get back down to the 42kgs she weighed when we got marring 43 years ago.
I weighed 78kgs at the time but I thin k that ship has sailed.

 

[Deano]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09ydYbbONBw

 

[grenadierboy]

Yes, she has gone for another walk to try to get back down to the 42kgs she weighed when we got marring 43 years ago.
I weighed 78kgs at the time but I thin k that ship has sailed.

Just wait Dave - I recall (from school biology classes) that most humans lose weight after age 70 and end up weighing what they did as teenagers

 

[DCPU]

 

[bakepl]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqnqkHH4wlQ

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK1Ozo9f_KQ

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCgRiVNaXFc

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHuXyEPYu8s

 

[Miki]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCgRiVNaXFc

Yes, my thoughts exactly, well the technical bits around the WDH rather than the racist waffle at the end of the video (after min 19).
An interesting bloke, very Australian, bit loud for me ...
They are a disasterous bit of kit which will place mahoosive forces on the A frame and the towball mounting all in the name of trying to balance an unbalanced, innapropriately weighted trailer.

Lets hope Ineos follow VW and say "No" to their use...

 

[holdmybeer]

They are a disasterous bit of kit which will place mahoosive forces on the A frame and the towball mounting all in the name of trying to balance an unbalanced, innapropriately weighted trailer.

Lets hope Ineos follow VW and say "No" to their use...

North American automakers don't seem to shy away from WDH the same way European automakers do.

IMO, that Aussie vid is good and speaks the truth. But good counterpoints (i.e. pro-WDH) also exist like Andy Thompson's blog: https://www.canamrv.ca/blog/category/hitch-hints/

(may not be good advice for offroad towing, of course!)

 

[DaveB]

Yes, my thoughts exactly, well the technical bits around the WDH rather than the racist waffle at the end of the video (after min 19).
An interesting bloke, very Australian, bit loud for me ...
They are a disasterous bit of kit which will place mahoosive forces on the A frame and the towball mounting all in the name of trying to balance an unbalanced, innapropriately weighted trailer.

Lets hope Ineos follow VW and say "No" to their use...

He isn't a typical Aussie
This guy is

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylnHNt7EX7o

 

[AnD3rew]

Yes, my thoughts exactly, well the technical bits around the WDH rather than the racist waffle at the end of the video (after min 19).
An interesting bloke, very Australian, bit loud for me ...
They are a disasterous bit of kit which will place mahoosive forces on the A frame and the towball mounting all in the name of trying to balance an unbalanced, innapropriately weighted trailer.

Lets hope Ineos follow VW and say "No" to their use...

He definitely does waffle and sometimes he is just a tool, however he did train as an engineer and he has decades of car industry experience so if you can stand his style and many can’t, his advice is usually spot on, on technical matters.

 

[Miki]

North American automakers don't seem to shy away from WDH the same way European automakers do.

IMO, that Aussie vid is good and speaks the truth. But good counterpoints (i.e. pro-WDH) also exist like Andy Thompson's blog: https://www.canamrv.ca/blog/category/hitch-hints/

I read it, he says clearly that if the WDH is not set up correctly then when towing, "something else will bend instead, usually the receiver, but occasionally, the A frame – whichever is the weaker link. So while an un-tapered bar might accidentally give you more weight transfer, the trade off likely isn’t worth the strain on other components." (there was more to it than that, but that was the gist).

I see European manufacturers make things that meet a specification which is a lot tighter (in my experience) than American manufacturers. Things are 'beefier' in the US. A European manufacturer will use 2mm rolled steel channel, because that is all thats needed to support the designed stresses, an American will use 5mm extruded so it's 'strong'.
There are a lot of rules regarding towing and trailor weights accompanied by laws that just don't seem to exist in the US (or Australia I guess).
The WDH encourages you to break the rules, but physics always wins.

Anyway back to pictures cos that what our Oberführer wants.

 

[DCPU]

And back on topic...

 

[DCPU]

 

[DCPU]

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[DCPU]

 

[DCPU]

 

[DCPU]

 

[DCPU]

 

[MTNDOG]

View attachment 7818702

Any details on how much the trailer/excavator combo is?

Magic Mushroom?