pcfranke@ix.netcom.com wrote:
> 1/30/2011 2:12:29 PM, "Denman" <denman.hans@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> The problem I run into with 1/2 ton trucks is not tow capacity,...
>
> I don't want to offend anybody, but it seems like this discussion has rolled around every 2-3 months since this list began.
> Obviously, this repetition is due to newbies joining the list and needing to get up to speed on this critical issue. >
As long as I own this list Lew, the subject should keep coming up over
and over again without sounding critical of the person who brought it up.
This is not the same old discussion........ this is a new discussion
about a new truck.
>
> Probably everyone faces this issue at the beginning of their a/s'ing experience..Now, newbies are wonderful, essential to the
> survival of this list, and the more the merrier. However, perhaps we oldsters could better help them deal with this issue in
> another way - an FAQ, perhaps? A wiki maybe? Some destination that would go up on the web and stay, crafted especially
> for the newbies and discussing this particular issue, with a link included in each post - say, in the streamer at the bottom. >
That would totally go against the whole point of the list. Lew, last
month you were griping because no one was writing, now you're griping
because they are... I really don't get it. This is a discussion list...
I have never wanter a FAQ because things change, new people come with
new perspectives. New trucks come out.
> My 2 cents: How about some simple physics?
>
> There is no such thing as a "free ride".
>
> Corollary #1: there is no such thing as too large a truck.
> Corollary #2: there is no such thing as too light a trailer.>
Actually, you're wrong on both counts........ there certainly is such a
thing as too large a truck. Pull your vintage Airstream with a MDT and
see what shakes out.
Too light a trailer, no, too light a tongue weight and yahooo....
>
> Now, pushed to absurdity, this would have us all towing our teardrops with Freightliners. But it is not absurd to tow even a
> vintage a/s with a 1 T truck. The point has little to do with the size of the engine. It has everything to do with the size of the
> brakes, springs, frame, transmission, etc. It has to do with safety - having enough overkill to see you safely through even an
> improbable situation. In very crude terms, it has to do with how much your brakes fade on a long downhill (you cannot bet
> your life on trailer brakes), and how much damage you can do to the other vehicle.
>
> Of course there is a price to pay for overkill. Big trucks by their very nature are thirstier. Big, stiff springs make for a harsh
> ride when you don't have the weight of your a/s on the rear axle.
>
> Now where is the "sweet point"? When is a truck "big enough"?
>
> Sorry, just as there are no "free rides", there also are no "silver bullets". This is an individual judgment. There are people
> who tow with ordinary sedans, while others (like us) insist on a I T (I'll bet there are even a few Freightliners, though I've never
> seen one towing an a/s). The individual a/s'er must decide the tradeoff for him/herself - safety vs an inexpensive pneumatic
> ride - and no one else can make that judgment for you.
>
Yes, its an individual judgment, but no one is born knowing... so they
ask and we discuss...... again, that's the whole point of the list.
Hunter
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