Jim Laguard will know the answer

[Erik712m]

Are there no car washes up there in Wichita Erik???

Just don't know how to use them.


One of the aircraft guys gave me some lead cloth!

[pinzwheeling]

Cause it's too pretty?

TexMex were you around when a guy towed his Newly purchased unimog from pinzwheeling and towed it to AZ with his Chrysler 300? Aren't there still pics on the forum some were?

LOL, oh yeah, I forgot about that one! Now that was a sight to see!!!

[Pinz Enthusiast]

I took my 712m in the day after I bought it to get it weighed, and it came to exactly 5000 lbs, the guy at the weigh station said he had never had a vehicle weigh an excat even number like that so he had me drive off and back on the scale, 5000 lbs again, no accessories like I now have, bare bones stock pinz.

[texas pinzgauer]

After rereading the postings abot that guy with the Chrysler towing the Mog, I'm certain that the best way for me to tow my 710M to Big Bend next week is my friend's Dodge diesel dually Crew Cab and renting a 20" trailer so the margin for error is "robust". (I can 18' or 16' too if anyone cares to weigh in.(

Unlike an ATV, these things are just too big and heavy to take a chance with some half a$$ed alternative to doing it right the first time.

[Erik712m]

David watch this Video.

http://real4x4forums.com/PinzgauerBBS/v ... ght=#23015

[Erik712m]

That little thriller was the direct result of improper tie down of a Unimog. They secured the driveline instead of the truck which left the suspension free to travel. With the suspension travel of a Mog you get a lot of sway.

Brian

Brian, I know you came apon that video after you watched Charlie bit me.

[ka]

that is a rare and valuable flik! amazing....

[pinztrek]

That little thriller was the direct result of improper tie down of a Unimog.

Looked to me like a classic case of trailer sway made worse by the suspension of the mog. The additional sway from the high Mog box CG with soft suspension was adding to the oscillation.

But the way it straightened out looked like like trailer sway caused by not enough tongue weight. The trailer/mog also looked to be slanting rearwards, which also makes me think that was the case.

You can get sway like that with even a properly tied down pinz on a proper trailer if you don't have it far enough forward. To avoid having to dial that in each time I trailered I marked the wheel locations on my trailer for proper pinz positioning to get the right tongue weight & CG.

If you do start to sway, the trick is not to panic and brake. Moderate acceleration usually stops trailer sway enough that you can regain control, then gently slow down, and correct the problem.

Not an issue now that I flat tow, and just find the whole stability challenge much improved.

Have fun,

Alan

[Erik712m]

If you watch for the truck in the video it is swerving through several lanes as well. Surely a little luck was involved as well. Bet he had to change his Pants.

[ka]

alan - how fast can you flat tow?

[pinztrek]

alan - how fast can you flat tow?

Typically 70. It's stable faster than that, and I can stop about as fast as I can with my trailer with brakes.

But I'm in a Cummins Ram 4 way disks with ABS. It's a heavy, solid truck and there is no way the pinz is going to push it around.

What people don't understand about flat towing is that unlike trailers, which inherently want to jackknife under braking, flat towed vehicles want to stay going straight.

Regarding stress on the pinz drivetrain, I routinely drive my pinz at 70 on the interstate if traffic allows for safe following distances. Not a stress issue on the drivetain. Rotational velocity on the hub seals is not an issue, and the overall drivetrain is under less load than you see on a typical trail in 4wd.

All that said, even with a very good trailer, top of the line intertial/proportional Tekonsah brake controller, it's just less tiring/risky to me as a driver to drive a given speed flat towing rather than on the trailer. For any given road/traffic condition, I probably average 10 mph faster flat towing. That's with the Krois designed tow bar that the factory also uses.

Not trying to talk folks into flat towing. And as discussed in detail in this forum, lot's of differing views as to what the state rules are.

But for me, that whole trailer sway thing to me is a far greater risk. I've had it happen trailering the pinz before I got tie down points dialed in, and another time trailering a small backhoe. You may think you have it right, but have a semi pass, or hit a bump, and it changes the dynamics enough that the oscillation starts. Some dampen themselves out. Others, like the mog, get (in engineering terms) positive feedback, and the oscillations increased. The only solution is to accelerate out.

One thing for sure, watching that video made my hair stand on end!!!!

Have fun,

Alan

[ka]

alan - thx! so... that towbar... herbert sells those? i need one, somehow. i need good advice with the design or i need to buy one!

[pinztrek]

[quote="ka"]alan - thx! so... that towbar... herbert sells those? quote]

Yes, he did for a while. I think I may have bought the 2nd to the last one, but I know he was looking to do another run of them.

I had a generic towbar on the shelf, and thought about making brackets to use. But once I borrowed one from Herbert I was sold and bought it.

Much better made than your typical U-Haul towbar.

He made a mod at my request that eliminates the requrement to remove the body bolts if you want to completely unmount the crossbar from the nose ring. So now I can drop the main tow bar by pulling two pins, and free up my nose ring with another 2 minutes by removing two bolts. Putting it back on may take 5 minutes max.

You'll need to plan on a decent pintle hitch on the tow vehicle, and I'd suggest tow vehicle at least half again the weight of the pinz. (full size truck, suburban, tahoe, RV, etc)

Have fun,

Alan

[texas pinzgauer]

In my haste to pose this question, I obviously wrote Jim LaGuardia's name incorrectly so no hexes please .

[andy]

Dave, man-up bro, drive that puppy out to the park.

If you are gonna take 90 holler at me as you get close. I probably won't leave Comstock to work fence until Friday am.

Andy