Warning about A-Frame towing

[barryd]

Sound like too many problems to me, I'll stick with my ECU'ed, fuel injected, VVT, electronic diff, Suzi with it's keyless ignition.

To be fair though if Putin drops an EMP bomb your car will be toast, Trevs will probably still go! Come to think of it so will my ancient motorhome probably!

 

[TonyEmm]

They require the green vacum hose changed as it holes after a few years and hard to set carb as drawing air and poor brakes, fuel line hose and green bleed hose from rad up drivers side top wing to heater, weller stat and 50/50 antifreeze to stop head gasket troubles with different metals.
Most of the dealers in n i sent there cars to me and ask about mods, i must be an ex pert.
The other problem was the winding wires on the starter parting from the comutator, easy sort before this happens was to tie down with string and cover in aroldite, forgot about that mod almost.

The “Estelle” as it was known in the uk was our 2nd best selling towbar back in the ‘80s! I fitted hundreds!!

 

[colinm]

To be fair though if Putin drops an EMP bomb your car will be toast, Trevs will probably still go! Come to think of it so will my ancient motorhome probably!

I have other vehicles which will be totally unaffected, but that might not be the main worry!

 

[TonyEmm]

20 odd years ago I wanted to tow a vehicle behind my 28 foot Gulfstream to use for local sightseeing where the Motorhome will not go and in 85,000 miles around Europe we have been in some very tight places.

In a "normal" trailer the coupling contracts to apply the trailer brakes using the force between the trailer and the towing vehicle.
There is a major defect in this system.
1 the difference in deceleration is integrated to a difference in velocity.
2 the difference in velocity is integrated into a difference in position which is used to apply the brakes.
3 Anyone who studied control theory knows that two integrators in a feedback loop will oscillate just as the old Rice trailers did. The "normal" solution is to apply a hydraulic damper (shock absorber) to quell the oscillations.
4. Apart from the initial shove from behind that lasts for nearly the maximum of 0.6 secs, the solution is only viable with a fixed trailer mass. It is very load dependant.
5 The "normal" system releases the brakes at 8% when reversing so the you do not need to get out to engage the old reversing lock because that could be left on and that is dangerous. However a fully loaded trailer when parked on an incline released its brakes at 8% and careered down hill killing two people

I don’t accept there is a “major defect” in overrun braking systems unless you go back to pre Oct ‘82, when spring actuated couplings were outlawed on new trailers. That’s over 40 years ago!
Back in the day, we referred to them as ‘Surge Brakes’. They did indeed oscillate as there was no damping effect. If you braked the towing vehicle, once the trailer was travelling faster than it, the trailer thumped you in the back, then the trailer brake almost immediately released. This continued to repeat until the trailer speed was reduced to a point that didn’t exceed the towing vehicle’s, or, until the combined mass and velocity of the trailer was insufficient to overcome the resistance of the spring.
Surge brakes were highly inefficient and grossly uncomfortable!

EC71/320 (and later legislation) changed everything. By Oct ‘82, all new (cat O2) trailer builds had to incorporate hydraulic or gas strut damping. By April ‘89, they also had to include an auto-reverse facility. This required energy stores on the handbrake of the coupling and an additional to the trailer’s brake mechanisms which released the brakes if the wheels were operating in a reverse direction. The maximum allowable drag while reversing was 8%.
It’s this that makes inertia (overrun) braking systems unsuitable for ‘towed cars’ as no car includes the necessary alteration to the brake mechanisms.

With a properly adjusted set-up, even a fully loaded trailer cannot runaway after the handbrake has been applied as the energy store is progressive. Even in reverse (where the brakes could theoretically release), the energy store will continue to take up any slack in the system and maintain the status quo.

The coupling’s handbrake itself is actuated (in the event of disconnection from the towball) by a, relatively lightweight, breakaway cable. https://spinner28.wixsite.com/tonys-towing-trivia/post/the-importance-of-breakaway-cables

Type approval and certification of trailers (with associated VIN numbers) wasn’t introduced until Oct 2012, by which time I had sold up and retired!! #TowLegal #TowSafe #TowSafe4Freddie

 

[Wully]

They have evolved a bit now, this is a picture of my Wife's Skoda Enyaq:

View attachment 127353

That’s a belter of a car I’ve been tempted by that very car and colour. Once I get my head round the electric thing.

 

[Tonybvi]

That’s a belter of a car I’ve been tempted by that very car and colour. Once I get my head round the electric thing.

My son in Guernsey has had an Enyaq since they appeared on the market. He loves it (admittedly an EV is ideal for island life) and has taken it to the Alps at least 3 times as well as up here to see us in NE Scotland several times. Needs a bit of planning to make sure you have the right cards for the various chargers (especially in France) but never had a problem. I’ve driven it a few times and it’s a really nice car.

 

[trevskoda]

They have evolved a bit now, this is a picture of my Wife's Skoda Enyaq:

View attachment 127353

Nice to look at but to hard to work on with to many gadgets, 2o mins to change a clutch on a estelle using a jack to hold the engine when you pushed the car away to clear the box.

 

[trevskoda]

The “Estelle” as it was known in the uk was our 2nd best selling towbar back in the ‘80s! I fitted hundreds!!

Yep i towed same behind me on a frame from my house to west ireland to deliver to customer.

 

[colinm]

Nice to look at but to hard to work on with to many gadgets, 2o mins to change a clutch on a estelle using a jack to hold the engine when you pushed the car away to clear the box.

Time taken to change a clutch on a Enyaq, 0mins as it hasn't got one.

 

[trevskoda]

Time taken to change a clutch on a Enyaq, 0mins as it hasn't got one.

Yep electric, shocking & expensive, but if someone wants to buy me one i wont refuse, honest.

 

[Millie Master]

But buying an EV car has hidden, enormous costs which very few think about!!

Whereas a petrol or diesel car can be expected to reliably last 15 years or more, any EV will have to have the battery replaced in approx. 10 years and they cost significantly more than the car is worth let alone the truly massive impact on our planet associated with making the batteries in the first instance.

Hydrogen is the answer

 

[mark61]

Yeah, a Tavascan Extreme E would look good on a trailer though, or A frame if you want.

 

[colinm]

But buying an EV car has hidden, enormous costs which very few think about!!

Whereas a petrol or diesel car can be expected to reliably last 15 years or more, any EV will have to have the battery replaced in approx. 10 years and they cost significantly more than the car is worth let alone the truly massive impact on our planet associated with making the batteries in the first instance.

Hydrogen is the answer

I wish people would do some research before posting, and not repeat 'big oils' lies.

 

[Admin]

But buying an EV car has hidden, enormous costs which very few think about!!

Whereas a petrol or diesel car can be expected to reliably last 15 years or more, any EV will have to have the battery replaced in approx. 10 years and they cost significantly more than the car is worth let alone the truly massive impact on our planet associated with making the batteries in the first instance.

Hydrogen is the answer

Please watch this video:

 

[guerdeval]

I have a video on WhatsApp that I cann’t seem to copy onto here, it’s a few double decker buses in Ireland being re-charged by large industrial diesel generators ,

 

[Admin]

I have a video on WhatsApp that I cann’t seem to copy onto here, it’s a few double decker buses in Ireland being re-charged by large industrial diesel generators ,

This method uses less diesel and has less negative impact than running diesel buses. The diesel generator only runs whilst charging the buses. Diesel buses burn fuel whilst sitting in traffic, electric buses don't. They are keeping the nasty fumes away from the people in towns and cities.

I guess it is a matter of perspective or bias.

 

[guerdeval]

This method uses less diesel and has less negative impact than running diesel buses. The diesel generator only runs whilst charging the buses. Diesel buses burn fuel whilst sitting in traffic, electric buses don't. They are keeping the nasty fumes away from the people in towns and cities.

I guess it is a matter of perspective or bias.

Fair enough, but cann’t they just plug them into the grid? Now that would make sense.

 

[mark61]

I would have thought it's very unlikely they are driving buses miles into the countryside to charge them, I guess they might do, but I doubt it.

 

[trevskoda]

I would have thought it's very unlikely they are driving buses miles into the countryside to charge them, I guess they might do, but I doubt it.

Some here in Belfast go to outskirts where i live which is about 7 miles from city centre.
Thing is everyone forgets about child labour digging up the cr-p for batteries, there is no such thing as a clean invioment.

 

[mark61]

Some here in Belfast go to outskirts where i live which is about 7 miles from city centre.
Thing is everyone forgets about child labour digging up the cr-p for batteries, there is no such thing as a clean invioment.View attachment 127419View attachment 127420

Child labour is used for many things Trev, I think that's a different issue, and I believe the newest batteries have reduced the amount of Cobalt used, some are Cobalt free now, I think?
I'm all in favour of electric public transport, but using a diesel generator to charge buses doesn't tick my boxes. Still we don't know, it may be a stop gap while bus depo is upgraded to charge from grid.

What I do know, hybrid style buses are completely pointless in a city like London, because now all the buses sit at the side of the roads reving away like mad while drivers are no their break, they can't get to the countryside on a full charge.