BS: The Admiral & Mrs have Crashed

Subject: RE: BS: The Admiral & Mrs have Crashed
From: Greg B
Date: 30 Aug 07 - 09:40 PM

Here in Reagan country (you know, the good old USofA, 'Murica)
almost nobody tows anything behind anything but a mighty great
gas-hog.

Even the Ford F150 pickup-truck is regarded as a marginal tow
vehicle--- things like my Toyota FJ Cruiser with it's mere 4.0
litres are considered pikers.

An F150 Super-Duty or an F250 or a Ford Expedition or Excursion
are more the norm for pulling...certainly NOT a Volvo passenger
vehicle!

It wasn't always that way. Back in the 1960's you'd routinely
see a Buick or Ford station wagon (that's an Estate to those of
you across the pond) albeit with a 360 or 427, pulling a travel
trailer (caravan) with it's ass hanging low and the lot swaying
about. (Before the 'Lucy' show, she and Desi Arnaz did a great
movie called 'The Long, Long Trailer,' which didn't much
exaggerate.)

But mostly, over here, the travel trailer has given way to dedicated
'motor homes' which are built on commercial truck chassis. The
very smallest of these are built on delivery van chassis, but none
has less than 200bhp these days. Back in the 1970's and 80's they
built some on Toyota light truck chassis, with as little as 2.4L
to propel them forward, or hold them back. They've gone the way of
the dinosaur.

Just to put it in perspective, on my FJ Cruiser, I'd not tow
anything greater than one of the tiny fiberglass 'micro' caravans
or a tent-trailer. The speeds are too much, the mountains too
high, and the distances to great to consider otherwise.

Glad you're okay.

A mere investment in a 12 miles-per(US)-gallon vehicle will make
your life easy--- should you come into the fortune to feed it!

Subject: RE: BS: The Admiral & Mrs have Crashed
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 30 Aug 07 - 10:21 PM

Greg B

Back in the 50/60s we pulled a half ton plywood van behind an FJ over road up North Qld across dirt roads (mountains and all) over which the famous Reddex Trial was run - of course 'earlier model' cars had engines with a longer piston strike, thus more low down torque. More modern engines tend to be higher revving, with a shorter piston strike and have less low down torque.

Subject: RE: BS: The Admiral & Mrs have Crashed
From: Bonecruncher
Date: 30 Aug 07 - 11:29 PM

Tony and Pearl
So pleased that you are both OK. The mental trauma will heal in time.
Hope that you get yourselves a replacement 'van soon, preferably one with a built-in engine!
Motor-caravans certainly have their uses, and modern engines are much less thirsty than the old Ford V6!
Colyn.

Subject: RE: BS: The Admiral & Mrs have Crashed
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 31 Aug 07 - 03:54 AM

I think that campervans are often no brisker or more stable than a well matched car and caravan, and since I have been known to bend the speed limit a bit find I am quite often passing struggling campercans which are certainly higher than a caravan (since they usually have one bed over the driver's cab) and seem to find crosswinds or headwinds a real trial. The modern front wheel drive van chassis are an invitation to getting bogged on a campsite, and to need to unlevel and disconnect etc just to pop down to the shops for a box of eggs (or more beer) is a real sod. UK law imposes an ABSOLUTE weight limit on the trailer of 100% of the GVW of the towing vehicle (with the exception of a few real 4-wheel-drives like land rovers and range rovers which have a maximum towing we1ght of 3 tonnes)

The giant US Winnebagos etc certainly look wonderful, but can it make sense to have £20,000 or so of toy sitting depreciating for 50 weeks of the year, and needing servicing like the car does etc? Older ones I sometimes see plugging along the motorway at about 50 as I sail by, too.

If I had a US fifth wheel, presumably I'd need a truck cab from an articulated lorry to tow it, as they all seem to need one of those truck bed things as a coupler, and they look as if the nose weight is in the order of tons not tens of pounds. And then the 20 mpg (towing) I get with the VOlvo would be more like 10 or lower. Makes a hell of a price at nearly £1 per litre.

So am I right that

Subject: RE: BS: The Admiral & Mrs have Crashed
From: EBarnacle
Date: 31 Aug 07 - 12:00 PM

When towing our business box, the only way we can keep the MPG up to 12 mpg is to hold the speed to 50. Needless to say, this makes for some very long trips. Normal MPG is about 23 on the tow vehicle.

Subject: RE: BS: The Admiral & Mrs have Crashed
From: Donuel
Date: 31 Aug 07 - 03:08 PM

You make the accident sound positively picturesque.

In the US we call them fender benders or roll overs.

Subject: RE: BS: The Admiral & Mrs have Crashed
From: Maryrrf
Date: 31 Aug 07 - 03:55 PM

If there is a definition of a 'good' accident it's one where everybody walks away unscathed. I'm so glad the two of you are okay! Caravans can be replaced.

Subject: RE: BS: The Admiral & Mrs have Crashed
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 31 Aug 07 - 08:47 PM

With 'normal' vehicles tests showed that the best average fuel economy was at about 50 MPH or 80Kmh - as the speed increases the wind resistance increases as the square ... not a linear increase ...
the extra resistance with a towed van or the higher one piece campervan things will get far more expensive very quickly.

Also, as the speed increases, 'aerodynamic lift' of the body shape can cause the front steering wheels to lose good contact, thus making life exciting...