Caravan Crash....

[Khriss]

4 minutes ago, doobin said:

Not many motors out there have the guts to accelarate out of a snake. First thing to do is drop it into fourth, add some engine braking.

Exactly why i keep some reserve, leave some boot left, Yr man in video looked like he was at the limit speed n power wise. K

[eggsarascal]

@Justme what's the right way to correct a snaking trailer?

[Jcarbor]

The best way to avoid that sort of incident is don’t drive like a f#@king idiot.

[difflock]

First, by correctly loading the trailer or caravan, it will not "snake".

Second it should be noticable before it gets so severe as to be a problem, slow down, stop and adjust loading, or simply drive slower.

Third, having first noticed the snaking, let off the throttle and, fingers crossed, drift down to a safe speed.

Braking, let alone heavy braking is a BAD idea.

These 3 things "worked" for me.

"Yer man" or woman, was simply driving recklessly.

Simples.

P.S.

I never had the power to power it out, but it does not seem like the best idea.

[petercb]

Kriss is right by applying power the caravan will be pulled into line, braking with the caravan snaking results in force being applied to towcar out of line hence creating a torque or side load pushing towcar offline which then pitches caravan other way and so on. Main problem here though was excess speed as soon as it started snaking he had no time to do anything or as others have said he was a twat! See it all the time caravans being towed at high speed some of them probably doing 80.

[IronMike]

Looking at video again, it might actually be a Shogun!

 

In the video it looks like he has a wobble on as he passes. Speed is clearly the biggest issue here but I wonder if when he pulled out to overtake the vehicle filming he started the wobble then?

 

[IronMike]

Speed isn't always the answer though. When I had my incident I was going downhill and gaining momentum very quickly. It went from 50 to 65/70mph very quickly.

 

I slammed the auto box into semi manual and knocked the gears down. The engine breaking slowed the rig sufficiently enough for me to regain control. 

 

Then I soiled myself a bit 

[Justme]

32 minutes ago, Jcarbor said:

The best way to avoid that sort of incident is don’t drive like a f#@king idiot.

THIS

[Justme]

44 minutes ago, eggsarascal said:

@Justme what's the right way to correct a snaking trailer?

Not by speeding up  

In theory the trailer cant snake if you are pulling it so hard its got to follow but in reality you just crash at a higher speed  

 

Do not fight it.

Do not change direction or speed by taking action.

Damp the sway not fight against it.

Let speed naturally drift lower.

No brakes.

No changing down initially.

 

But better to prevent it.

 

Correct loading of trailer & vehicle.

Correct matching of vehicle & trailer / load.

Correct nose weight & weight distribution inc vehicle boot load.

Dont drive like your not towing.

Use a vehicle with dedicated towing electrics so the cars stability systems can help.

Use a trailer with ATC (other systems available).

 

 

[Justme]

Trailers are most stable going up hill under acceleration & least stable down hill on over run.

 

Too many people start at top of hill at max speed & then it goes wrong on way down.

 

Keep control dont try to regain control.