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Weight Distribution Dynamics

GhostOrchid

GhostOrchid

Junior Ranger
Nice video showing the effects of weight distribution on a trailer.

The TV is not actually pulling the trailer in the video; not sure what difference, if any, that makes. But, it nicely illustrates my rule: Load up that front storage box!

 
That's an interesting video, but I would guess that it is not particularly applicable to our campers. In the demo, the axle is near the center of the trailer, so the extra weight aft of the axle helps exaggerate the fishtailing. Most of the weight of our campers is centered over the axle, so I suspect it will behave far better than the scenarios in the video.

Putting too much weight forward in a Camp Inn will eventually affect the suspension of the tow vehicle. Taken to an extreme, it could take enough load off of the front the vehicle to negatively affect steering. I suspect there are other potential ramifications, but it is sufficient to say that it is probably best to stick with the recommendations in the CI Owners Manual.
 
My reaction was the same as Steve and Alea's. But later a question surfaced in my mind.

I think it is sound advice to follow Carey's recommendations on weight distribution. My thought for discussion is, would there ever be a time that would be an exception to the rule, in which you would deliberately, and temporarily, depart from Carey's advice?

E.g. given the weight distribution video above, and if a dangerous storm blew up, might it be sound to temporarily increase the tougue weight? or does the resulting decrease in load on the front tires undermine any benefit?

I hope my question is clear. Thanks.
 
I can only say that we've towed through some very significant crosswinds and have never had any concerns about what the camper was doing behind us. But you need to remember that we don't stow any gear in the cabin of the camper (with the exception that we did store our garage fan there for several months last year). I suspect lorieandkeith's question could best be answered by someone who uses the cabin to store a lot of gear that gets unloaded at the campsite, as they would have greater tongue weight than we have.

The one thing to keep in mind is that most larger campers require sway control because of the dynamics illustrated in GhostOrchid's video. The fact that Camp Inn's don't require sway control is part of the beauty of the design.
 
That makes perfect sense. Thank you. I was conflating the analysis in my mind. I was thinking about ICE, not WIND. Of course we've been in terrible, terrible side winds also, and we were solid as a rock with no worries at all.
 
Fortunately, these are three season campers, so driving in ice is not the norm for most of us. We've probably only driven long distance in icy conditions a total of almost a week. And probably 3/4ths of that was freeway driving, where roads are maintained constantly. That included one panic stop where the tow vehicle's anti-lock braking system kicked in. The camper behaved itself and never hinted that it was wanting to jackknife. But obviously I'm not one with lots of experience driving in icy conditions...
 
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