Russia Sailplanes website

(Mark James Boyd) wrote in message news:4035b4c5$1@darkstar...

A trailer+glider that requires a V8 truck to tow is different
from one I can tow with a 6 cylinder SUV. The weight is there,
and has other implications than just rigging...


WTF? I've owned two 600-lb 15m gliders, and I've never used more than
4 cylinders to tow them.

Perhaps you forgot to release the parking brake?

In article ,
Liam Finley wrote:
(Mark James Boyd) wrote in message news:4035b4c5$1@darkstar...

A trailer+glider that requires a V8 truck to tow is different
from one I can tow with a 6 cylinder SUV. The weight is there,
and has other implications than just rigging...


WTF? I've owned two 600-lb 15m gliders, and I've never used more than
4 cylinders to tow them.

Perhaps you forgot to release the parking brake?

LOL. I bet you live somewhere a bit flat? Good for you...

8 cylinders vs 4 cylinders
Tahoe vs Golf
USA vs the World
Diesel vs Gasoline

Does it seem like a longer than usual winter?

Liam Finley wrote:
(Mark James Boyd) wrote in message news:4035b4c5$1@darkstar...

A trailer+glider that requires a V8 truck to tow is different
from one I can tow with a 6 cylinder SUV. The weight is there,
and has other implications than just rigging...



WTF? I've owned two 600-lb 15m gliders, and I've never used more than
4 cylinders to tow them.

Perhaps you forgot to release the parking brake?

Maybe each poster should list his parameters at the start of a posting:

Typical towing speeds
Distance towed each year
Elevations towed over
Peak air temperatures while towing
Length of trip during towing (days, not distance)
Number of passengers and their luggage
Weight of trailer
Weight of tow vehicle

It'll bring some reality to the discussion when you realize one poster
tows his glider 50 miles to the gliderport at the start of the season
and back home at the end, while another is traveling 10,000 miles a
year, with his family and luggage for 3 weeks at a time, several times a
year.

I know, it won't be as much fun! It might let us figure out why there is
such a discrepancy in what is needed for an "adequate" tow vehicle.
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Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

(Liam Finley) wrote in message . com...
(Mark James Boyd) wrote in message news:4035b4c5$1@darkstar...
LOL. I bet you live somewhere a bit flat? Good for you...

Not exactly.

As much as I'd like to support yours and Greenwell's illusions, my
4-cylinder trailering experience includes trips of up to 1500 miles
covering mountainous terrain in the eastern Sierras and Nevada Great
Basin.

It's true, I've never towed my trailer to Lake Tahoe in the snow, but
given that the only soaring operation there closes in September, I
don't see the need.

Try towing something heavy uphill, both ways, in the snow. 3 percent
or
better grade. Sure sure, on the flat roads and beaches of Santa
Cruz I'd tow a catamaran, but a heavy trailer of ski gear up
to Tahoe with four people seemed to like a nice big engine...

The lengths people will go to to rationalize the purchase of these
expensive underperforming little gliders!

Liam Finley wrote:
(Liam Finley) wrote in message . com...

(Mark James Boyd) wrote in message news:4035b4c5$1@darkstar...
LOL. I bet you live somewhere a bit flat? Good for you...


Not exactly.

As much as I'd like to support yours and Greenwell's illusions, my
4-cylinder trailering experience includes trips of up to 1500 miles
covering mountainous terrain in the eastern Sierras and Nevada Great
Basin.

I have no illusions, just an interest in what people are towing, what
they're towing it with, and - what's often missing from the discussion -
the conditions under which they are doing it.

For example, I don't know these things about your towing:

Typical towing speeds
Distance towed each year
Elevations towed over
Peak air temperatures while towing
Length of trip during towing (days, not distance)
Number of passengers and their luggage
Weight of trailer
Weight of tow vehicle

And the number of cylinders isn't too useful: my six cylinder mini van
has less horsepower than my 4 cylinder sedan, and weighs more than the
sedan. I think the sedan would do a better job towing, but I haven't
tried it. It certainly would be more comfortable!

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Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

(Liam Finley) wrote in message . com...
(Liam Finley) wrote in message . com...
(Mark James Boyd) wrote in message news:4035b4c5$1@darkstar...
LOL. I bet you live somewhere a bit flat? Good for you...

Not exactly.

As much as I'd like to support yours and Greenwell's illusions, my
4-cylinder trailering experience includes trips of up to 1500 miles
covering mountainous terrain in the eastern Sierras and Nevada Great
Basin.

Try reading your owner's manual, especially the part about towing weight limits.

In article ,
Tom Seim wrote:
(Liam Finley) wrote in message . com...
(Liam Finley) wrote in message . com...
(Mark James Boyd) wrote in message news:4035b4c5$1@darkstar...
LOL. I bet you live somewhere a bit flat? Good for you...

Not exactly.

As much as I'd like to support yours and Greenwell's illusions, my
4-cylinder trailering experience includes trips of up to 1500 miles
covering mountainous terrain in the eastern Sierras and Nevada Great
Basin.

Try reading your owner's manual, especially the part about towing weight limits.

"Never tow anything with your Mazda." Hmmm...I guess
when I sell it I'm gonna say it was just for a mountain bike
rack :P

Tom Seim wrote:

(Liam Finley) wrote in message . com...
As much as I'd like to support yours and Greenwell's illusions, my
4-cylinder trailering experience includes trips of up to 1500 miles
covering mountainous terrain in the eastern Sierras and Nevada Great
Basin.

Try reading your owner's manual, especially the part about towing weight limits.

There are quite a few 4 cylinder vehicles available in the US with
specified towing capacities in the 1500 to 3000 lb range. VW Golf and
Jetta, Subaru Outback and Forester, Volvo V40, Saab 9-3, Toyota Tacoma...

Marc

Marc Ramsey skrev den Sat, 21 Feb 2004 08:27:59
GMT:

There are quite a few 4 cylinder vehicles available in the US with
specified towing capacities in the 1500 to 3000 lb range. VW Golf and
Jetta, Subaru Outback and Forester, Volvo V40, Saab 9-3, Toyota Tacoma...

Towed a Discus with my -87 Golf II, 70 hp. It was very doable, doing 90
km/h on the freeway with no problems. When I encountered some steep hills,
it was a different story though (we're talking steep here, normal road
gradients posed no trouble). Felt like I was driving a heavy truck
instead, having to downshift into second and pull onto the shoulder
climbing. Not something you're used to in your car! Under 30 km/h,
attention shifted to the engine temperature gauge rather than the speedo
as the thermostat was wide open by then, trying to find the balance
between speed (radiator airflow) and engine strain. Not something I cared
much to repeat.

It is legal and doable, but make sure there aren't any unusually long
and/or steep climbs along the way.

And if I _owned_ a glider, I would get a bigger car to go along with it.
Er, actually, I did that anyway. Too much rust!

Cheers,
Fred

Marc Ramsey wrote:
Tom Seim wrote:

(Liam Finley) wrote in message
. com...

As much as I'd like to support yours and Greenwell's illusions, my
4-cylinder trailering experience includes trips of up to 1500 miles
covering mountainous terrain in the eastern Sierras and Nevada Great
Basin.


Try reading your owner's manual, especially the part about towing
weight limits.


There are quite a few 4 cylinder vehicles available in the US with
specified towing capacities in the 1500 to 3000 lb range. VW Golf and
Jetta, Subaru Outback and Forester, Volvo V40, Saab 9-3, Toyota Tacoma...

Toyota Camry (2000 pound limit).
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Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA