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 Dear
Andy,
A few years ago we purchased a 26 foot trailer to
tow behind our Safari van. It was not very stable,
so we traded it in for a Tahoe, which turned out to
be no more stable than the Safari. Like many men,
I must admit I felt it was my duty to drive it no
matter how bad it was, and I was not about to admit
that I could not handle it. After all, men are supposed
to be able to drive anything. My wife did not share
my macho opinion however. We picked up a copy of RV
Lifestyle at a show and she saw one of your columns
and suggested I contact you about the stability of
our trailer. You sent me instructions on how to set
the hitch up properly and it made a significant improvement
in the way it handled.
You also suggested that when I needed new tires, I
should switch to 225/75R16 LT tires from the P245/75R16.
Well I needed new tires this summer, but when I went
to purchase the tires you suggested I got all kinds
of different comments from each tire store I visited.
One store warned me that changing the size would prevent
my anti-lock brakes from working and cause my transmission
to fail, but before I left he suggested changing to
larger P265 tires. I emailed you three times for reassurance
and finally more or less forced a store to install
them. The minute I left the store I could feel the
difference in handling even without the trailer on.
The Tahoe always wandered a bit on windy days, even
by itself, but it now tracks dead straight. I fact,
I think it handles better now with the trailer on
than it did before without it. I have a bit more power
and I would say I have picked up a bit of fuel economy
as well. During my tire search I even called GM, who
told me in language that sounded like it was read
out of a form letter, "the original equipment tires
that came on my vehicle were designed for it and that
changing tires to a different size could seriously
affect handling." They were right. They just did not
say it would affect handling for the better. My question
is, how do you learn all this stuff and no one else
seems to?
Terry
...
The tow vehicle, trailer and hitch combination has
to be treated as a total package and you have to look
at all the factors when setting it up - not just zero
in on one or two such as engine size or wheelbase,
says trailering authority Andy Thomson.
(Read Andy's letter in the magazine.)
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