trailer sway mitigation TSM

On Monday, December 16, 2019 at 2:03:02 PM UTC-6, princiar wrote:
Anyone has experience towing a trailer with a car with the trailer sway mitigation installed?

Check out this technical paper (https://purehost.bath.ac.uk/ws/porta...JAUTO981.pdf); it is really pretty easy to digest.

Figures 9-14 provide the important results. Figure 10 shows that minimizing the yaw inertia of the trailer provides the largest impact on damping ratio, and thus the safe towing speed. Figure 9 shows that adding tongue weight above about 6-7% does not really improve the speed very much. Figure 11 shows that changes in the overall trailer mass do not greatly impact the safe towing speed. Figure 13 shows that making a large change in tire pressure (from 30 to 40 psi) only changes the speed for the same damping ratio by a couple of mph. Figure 14 shows that adding a friction stabilizer likewise only changes the speed a couple of mph.

Most composite glider since the 1970s load the wing roots to the front of the trailer, and this directly helps lower the yaw inertia of the trailer. However, many older wood gliders with large root chords load the wing roots aft. For these trailers, the axle must be mounted further aft to help control the yaw inertia so that the trailer can be pulled at highway speeds. Trailers that load over the tongue should have the wing roots forward, and these should be similar to more modern trailers. I have one of these for a Ka-6, and it is a real detriment for drag with the big flat door directly into the wind, even behind a full-size van.

As for tires, if one wants to travel above 65 mph, trailer tires are probably not what you want, since it is above their speed rating. If you drive on Interstate highways, this could be an issue, unless you are comfortable backing up traffic. I myself prefer the radial tires that are not speed limited (at least to normal road speed limits) and are likely to give a smoother ride for my glider as well.

As long as I load the trailer to have a safe margin with damping ratio and I have reasonable pressure in the tires, I have towed single-seat trailers with my Ford E-150 passenger van, my wife's 1999 Volvo V70, my 2003 Ford Focus, or even years ago, my old 1981 Volvo 245. Towing with the 245 (108 hp max at SL) limited my speed significantly when climbing over mountain passes in Oregon, but it did okay on the level, albeit normally not using overdrive. One should also respect the max speed when towing with a smaller car though, because of the time, distance, and stability to do a panic stop with the increase in total weight.

Read the paper and try not to overthink this topic. Load your trailer properly, air up whatever tires you choose, and drive safely.

... Neal P.