I guess from the rumble strips that quite a few other people make the same mistake!
They should put a few small wiggles in the road before the big one to get peoples attention.
Is the car actually rated to tow that weight of trailer, or do you not have towing weight regulations in your country?
Thats a long story
short version is we have towing weight regulations for each province that are a little confusing. They dont mention weight ratings of the vehicle itself for pleasure use. The authorities are very picky with anything commercial or any pickups for pleasure use. But i think they understand a little bit that an suv thats rated to tow 3500 pounds in the uk is rated for 1500 pounds here. My wifes car is rated to tow zero here but 1000 pounds unbraked and 1700 pounds braked in australia. My brothers car was rated to tow 700 pounds here, nothing in the usa and 1500 pounds in the uk... i think they give cars and suv's a little leeway, but maybe not.
So i spent about a year reserching and 2 winters modifying the car. I talked a lot with a guy who has been towing way more than i did with these cars nearly stock and i made mine safer and towed less than him. Bigger brakes off another vehicle, all new suspension and steering components, bigger axles off another car, heavier suspension, custom tow hitch that distributed the weight very well. Bought the best tires i could find, had them shipped here from another country, bought the best tires i could get for the trailer. I built the trailer specifically to be towed by this car- i made them to match. It was a 2000 pound trailer and i put a 3500 pound braked axle on it so larger brakes than needed, i made sure i built it to meet every trailer spec from every province and the states i was going to even when some of them seemed silly. I emailed the departments of transportation in different areas i was going to get clarification on some things before i finished building. I built the trailer to be very stable and it was. No sway at all.
I drove it like i would a semi weighing 140,000 pounds. Very carefully, not like you would to commute. Checked bearing temps every day, started out checking my trailer brake adjustment every 2-3 days, always know who is behind you and so on.
I fully expected to be pulled over on this trip and have to justify what i was doing but it never happened. Follow all the rules and drive carefully and i guess they leave you alone.
Reality was the tongue weight was only 200 pounds (like a fat guy sitting in the back seat) and the entire deal- car and trailer weighed less than a dodge charger that some of our police drive with 3 people in it. I could probably stop as fast as a 90's lincoln town car that weighed the same. I just couldnt speed up any faster than a loaded semi..... :/
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