[TR] Off topic:Delete if you do not tow a trailer

[pethier at comcast.net]

----- Original Message -----

> From: KingsCreekTrees at aol.com
> To: triumphs at autox.team.net
> Sent: Friday, September 24, 2010 8:04:21 PM
> Subject: [TR] Off topic:Delete if you do not tow a trailer
> 
> Hi all; 
>  
> For those who tow their Triumph, or indeed anything, on/in a trailer,
> I  
> wondered if anyone has graduated from an open trailer to an enclosed
> one? I am 
>  about to order an enclosed one, mostly for my business, but am a bit
> 
> constricted  by the towing capacity of my half ton van (6200 lbs
> towing 
> capacity). To tow the  TR3A, I don't need much space, but to tow my
> compact tractor 
> with bush hog, or  to haul Christmas trees, perennials, etc. etc.,
> then it's 
> a different story. So,  I'm planning to order a cargo trailer that is
> 8 ft 
> wide, 8 ft tall (6  ft 6ins headroom for my tall height), 20 feet long
> and 
> weighs 2800 lbs unladen.  It seems to me that I'll be towing a great
> big sail 
> down the road with the  frontal area of the trailer, although my van
> is 6 ft 
> 6 inches tall and probably  6 ft 6 inches wide.
>  
> Wondering if anyone's tried towing such a trailer with something
> that's  
> only moderately powerful (5.2L V8) and how they found it towed?
> Currently I 
> have  a 20 ft open landscaping trailer that I tow quite happily, but
> it has 
> hardly any  wind resistance. Is this a mistake? No dealer will let me
> tow a 
> trailer to  try it.
>  
> Tim

I had a half-ton 5.0 Suburban and a Pace American 20-foot car hauler.  The Burb had 200,000 on it, so it might not have had full power.  In any case, I often found my foot flat on the floor due to hills and/or wind, sometimes struggling to maintain 55 MPH.

Now I have a three-quarter-ton 8.1 Suburban.  I think it would tow at speed limit anywhere under cruise control.

A dealer who won't let you test a trailer is a dealer who does not want to sell a trailer.

Phil Ethier West Side Saint Paul Minnesota USA
1973 Triumph Stag LE22439UB "uncle jack"
2004 Suburban 8.1
2005 Lotus Elise
2007 Saturn Ion 3 2.4
pethier [at] comcast [dot] net
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pethier
http://www.triumphtransamerica.org
http://www.mnautox.com