Boat trailer towing games

We use cookies to enhance your visit to our website and to improve your experience. Membership Search. Service Locator. Get a Quote. Become a Member. Renew Membership. Boat Insurance Membership Boat Towing. Boat Insurance. There are other videos, of tow trucks pulling massive fire trucks out of ditches and mud pits, or various other vehicles being rescued from a variety of challenging situations by a tow truck.

The point is, tow trucks are impressive and stand up against the toughest competitors in a battle of strength, more importantly perhaps, they do an awesome job of what they were designed to do — tow stuff. Skip to content.

Tow vs Tug The first thing I came across, perhaps because it was the most recent, was a Chevron Delo Ultimate Tug of War that pitted a horsepower diesel engine, 26, pound truck against a horse power, repowered engine 16, pound bollard pull tug boat. The tow truck is uniquely designed The bottom line in tow trucks is that they are uniquely designed to handle the engine, frame and tire wear specific to the work of towing.

Passing also requires factoring-in the weight and length of your vehicle-and-trailer combo. It's going to take you much longer to get up to passing speed, and you'll require more space ahead of the vehicle you are passing to safely return to the cruising lane — and more distance to slow down if needed during the maneuver.

My advice: Don't pass unless the car in front of you is going really slow. Wind is another factor that influences a towing rig far more than a vehicle alone. Whether from an air wave created by a passing tractor trailer or a blow from Mother Nature, your rig's extended profile is larger and therefore affected more by any sudden shift in the wind.

Large vehicles develop a wave of high-pressure air in front of them and a low-pressure area behind as they speed down the highway. When passed by a big truck on the left, first your trailer and then your tow vehicle may be pushed to the right by the vehicle's "bow wave.

Unless you're ready for the sudden shifts, with both hands on the wheel, and prepared to compensate by steering a bit left then a bit right during the passing process, it can be a startling event. If the wind is really howling, you should consider pulling over at the next rest stop and tucking your rig among those of veteran truckers who will be doing same until the weather stabilizes.

If the tongue weight is too high, there's too much weight on the front of the trailer, which means there's extra weight on the vehicle's rear tires and too little weight on the front tires. You'll find steering to be a little squirrelly, and you'll want to redistribute some weight in the boat aft.

If you don't have enough weight on the tongue, redistribute the load in the boat forward. This may be as simple as moving heavy coolers toward the bow — though sometimes they will slide back when underway at high speeds. Other times, you may have to move the trailer's winch forward to allow the boat to be winched farther forward to get more weight in front of the trailer axle. The latter must be done at home, not on the side of the highway. As with boating itself, the secret to successful long-distance driving with a boat in tow is a combination of preventive maintenance, awareness of the rig's limitations, and your experience.

The first few times may be intimidating. After that, it's old hat. If you've determined the tongue weight and distributed the weight of your boat and load properly, and given the rig a road test, fishtailing should not occur.

But sometimes a shift in the load, gust of wind, fast-passing truck, bump in the road, or a slight but sudden jerk of the wheel or tap of the brake can cause the trailer to sway or "fishtail" from side to side. It's a frightening experience, and the only way to remedy the problem is to slow down gradually while turning the wheel as little as possible. Facebook Twitter. With over two decades of experience in marine journalism, Lenny Rudow has contributed to publications including YachtWorld, boats.

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