The RV Fulltimer Blog » class a http://www.fulltimerblog.com The Only Continually Updated RV, Camper, Caravan, and Motorhome Fulltimer Resource Anywhere Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:51:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 When Your RV Sways- Sway Control in Modern Campers http://www.fulltimerblog.com/guestbloggers/when-your-rv-sways-sway-control-in-modern-campers/ http://www.fulltimerblog.com/guestbloggers/when-your-rv-sways-sway-control-in-modern-campers/#comments Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:49:53 +0000 RawWebDesign http://www.fulltimerblog.com/?p=70

Trailer sway is a condition that is inherent in most towed trailers. When a trailer is hitched with a tow vehicle with a hitch ball it might sway when the trailer is acted upon by some outside force. This push or pull can be applied by gusting winds, passing trucks, uneven loads or tow vehicle driver reactions into the trailer.

High winds from unsatisfactory weather can induce trailer sway. A wind gust that buffets the side of the towed trailer will attempt to sway the trailer on the hitch ball. This results in the rear of the tow vehicle being pushed to the side when the sway force acts on the hitch ball. When the rear of the tow vehicle is forced to the side the driver might have a natural inclination to steer in a counter direction. This might be disastrous.

Another type of wind that can apply a sway force to the trailer is from a passing truck. Semi trucks push a bow wave of air that passes along the side of the trailer. The unstable pressures of this air will suck the trailer in the direction of the truck. This might evoke a driver reaction that may start the trailer to vacillate.

A uneven load in the trailer might also evoke trailer sway. If a load suddenly shifts or falls to the side during travel that force could allow the trailer to begin to sway.

Whenever any of these conditions occur it is essential that you do not answer in a fashion that will start the trailer to oscillate behind you. It is also imperative that you do not apply the brakes on the tow vehicle because that could evoke a jackknife.

If trailer sway begins there are very clear actions to take to minimize it. The first thing to do is accelerate lightly. This may seem counter intuitive to what you would do but it will make the trailer start to straighten out. The next step is to manually implement the electric trailer brakes. This will also straighten the trailer back behind the tow vehicle.

Trailer sway might be controlled with excellent equipment. The first type of equipment that most people are sold can only be marginally acceptable to control trailer sway. These are usually friction based hitches that will only operate only during light trailer movement. The best performing type of sway control comes through a pivot point projection style hitch. This excellent design will eliminate trailer sway through projecting the location of the pivot point of the trailer. A pivot point projection hitch can control your trailer sway.

Chase Riggs is a freelance writer. He has been published in various trade journals and magazines. He is currently living full time in his RV while traveling the country. He can be reached through http://www.ProPrideHitch.com

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]]> http://www.fulltimerblog.com/guestbloggers/when-your-rv-sways-sway-control-in-modern-campers/feed/ 0 Fulltime RVer: Looking Back on 606 Days on the Road http://www.fulltimerblog.com/uncategorized/606-days/ http://www.fulltimerblog.com/uncategorized/606-days/#comments Wed, 07 May 2008 20:43:09 +0000 RawWebDesign http://www.fulltimerblog.com/uncategorized/606-days/

We’ve got a guest post today from my Dad, who recently ended a 606-day stint as a Fulltimer with my Mom. I asked him to reflect on his journey, and this is what he wrote back:

“After our full time journey in our RV, it was good when we were finally be able to settle back home in Central Arizona after visiting 26 states over the course of 606 days.

Would we do it all over again? It’s hard to say. We experienced the majesty of driving the coast of Big Sur, and we walked among the mighty redwoods of Northern California. We huddled in our 5th wheel as a Category 2 hurricane passed over our campground on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and we marveled at the splendor of the mammoth caves in Kentucky. We spent way too many noisy nights at “Camp Wal-Mart”, and way too few glorious nights at 5 Star RV resorts. We dined at 68 different Cracker Barrel restaurants, and used our oven in our RV exactly once. We had no traffic incidents, accidents, dents, flats, or scrapes, but we blew out our black water holding tank in a campground in Jacksonville, Florida because I wasn‘t paying attention to details! Our 2004 Ford 6.0L diesel blew a head gasket just outside of Truth or Consequences, NM and left us stranded there for 6 weeks, But… Truth or Consequences ended up being the best town we visited, with absolutely wonderful people, great BBQ, and delightful hot spring soaks under star studded nighttime skies! Through our journey, there were times we cried tears of laughter, and there were times when we cried tears of despair.

Our GPS was the best investment we ever made, and $4.00/gal diesel fuel was the worst.

We walked the quiet Florida beaches at sunrise, and held hands under the starry skies in Texas. The last night we spent in our 5th wheel was our second best night, and the day we sold our RV was actually sweeter than the day we bought it.

So… would we do it all over again? We’re just too close to look at the whole experience objectively, but IF we did it again, we’d do it a little smarter next time, a little sweeter next time, a little less hurried next time, we’d be more prepared next time, with a much bigger budget, and we‘d do it in a quality Class A RV with a small car in tow.”

A big thanks goes out to my Dad, Nick Spencer, for so graciously contributing his thoughts to FulltimerBlog.  Thanks!

-Brad

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