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Old March 4th 18, 06:32 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
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Default Towing trailer and glider with a honda civic

On Sunday, March 4, 2018 at 9:35:48 AM UTC-7, Bruce Hoult wrote:
On Sunday, March 4, 2018 at 6:51:51 PM UTC+3, wrote:
On Tuesday, February 27, 2018 at 4:09:43 PM UTC-7, wrote:
I have a 2016 honda civic. It’s my only car. Has any one towed their glider and trailer using a small sedan like a civic?


The only car Ive had that tows better than my Bugatti Veyron is my Rolls Royce
Corniche.
OK, Just a few musings you guys might comment on. I've towed Bickle and Cobra trailers and I have found that the type of tire matters. For some reason I have had better luck (Handling wise) with car specific tires and not trailer specific tires.


Sidewall stiffness helps. Either inherent -- crossplys are better than radials, all else being equal -- or created by pumping them up to the maximum pressure.

Has anyone tried putting bigger rims and low profile tyres on their trailer? That would be a very "car" thing.

Further, I have seen different model years of the same car (Ford Explorer in this case) have totally different towing qualities and behavior.


Was the worse one old enough that wear could be a factor?


Actually, The 93 2WD Explorer towed a Bickle trailer better than a 96 4WD. I installed new shocks and better tires on the car and no help. I replaced old (Really old) radial car tires on the trailer with bias ply trailer tires and the handling became scary at highway speeds.
My current Cobra trailer did better (At highway speeds) with the old bald car tires it had when I bought it than with current trailer specific tires. Currently tow with an F-150 and it does well but I did have to add a 50 pound bag of sand to the front of the trailer. For some reason the bag of sand helps substantially when towing behind the truck but was no help when towing behind the explorer. No longer own the explorer.
Should add that here in Utah everyone drives too fast and one needs to tow around 80 just to keep from getting cut off.