Caravan Stability Studies Game

[Ian K]

There has been some discussion on tow ball weights and configurations recently. The University of Bath in the UK have conducted Caravan Stability studies. Their website has an interesting interactive game that does provoke thought. Bear in mind it is a simulator, and does not depict a Kedron type van with tandem wheel layout, some sway damping via the WDH and the Kedron’s high weights. However, it can give you an indication on how easily Yaw Inertia and Damping is changed through loading and the consequential affect on Damping Speed.

60 MPH is 96 KPH.

http://www.towingstabilitystudies.co.uk/index.htm

[Rod and Mavis]

Greetings Ian

I myself have carried out stability studys on my 16"6' cross Country and can catagorically state that all sembalance of stability is completely lost upon losing a wheel from the van.

To this point, I have only experimented with the loss of the left hand rear wheel at 80 kilometers per hour in Kakadu. This resulted in an uncontrolable sway that could not be corrected with the manual activation of the brake controller.

Suffice to say that all ended well,with the car and van slowed under compression.

Another good point was that the brake drum did not touch the ground.

Joking aside.

I put this down to the lack of maintenance checking on my part (lesson learn't). I had rotated the wheels before leaving Brisbane and had not re checked them since.

I come to this conclusion by the fact that all of the wheel studs had broken off flush with the drum,indicating that the wheel had been loose for some time and weakend the studs before separating.

We managed to scrounge 5 old studs and nuts from the maintenance staff at Yellow water and fit them to the drum with a spare wheel.

When we reached Darwin we purchased a new wheel and tyre ( the wheel was never found) and 6 spare studs and nuts.

Hope this info is useful to all.

Mavis and Rod :thumbsup: