Common towing terms defined
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Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2001
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From: Drummonds, TN USA
Common towing terms defined
~ Okay, the reason I started this is because I was wracking my brain to decide what the term "CHUCKING" meant.
I could guess it is a condition where the weight of a trailer is so light that it hops up and down on its springs, by the sound of it (RV TECH's thread)
But I just don't know, and I bet anyone else that doesn't tow a lot is not aware of it either.
What I am asking you all is to not be judgemental of ignorance ("Hully crap Wolfy - I can't believe you dunno what that is...") but to set down in clear precise words exactly what is being said so that ANYONE can understand it.
As in "UNCOMPENSATED LAUNCHING of a TOW VEHICLE" which is what happened to me one fine day when I pulled a customers TT (Travel Trailer, as differentiated from a 5th Wheel or FIVER) using the shop truck without an adequate hitch setup. I had the truck (a Dodge 3500) literally LAUNCH off the pavement when coming out of a dip in the road because there was no LDH (Load Distribution Hitch) attached between....
* At the time, I thought to myself: "If I live through this I hope nobody at the shop ever hears about it..."
I was pulling a 36 foot TT, and when its front came UP - so did the back of the DODGE
You wanna talk about hairy? I had no idea that dip was in the road, but I will forever remember that spot on the Memphis highways.
I could guess it is a condition where the weight of a trailer is so light that it hops up and down on its springs, by the sound of it (RV TECH's thread)
But I just don't know, and I bet anyone else that doesn't tow a lot is not aware of it either.
What I am asking you all is to not be judgemental of ignorance ("Hully crap Wolfy - I can't believe you dunno what that is...") but to set down in clear precise words exactly what is being said so that ANYONE can understand it.
As in "UNCOMPENSATED LAUNCHING of a TOW VEHICLE" which is what happened to me one fine day when I pulled a customers TT (Travel Trailer, as differentiated from a 5th Wheel or FIVER) using the shop truck without an adequate hitch setup. I had the truck (a Dodge 3500) literally LAUNCH off the pavement when coming out of a dip in the road because there was no LDH (Load Distribution Hitch) attached between....
* At the time, I thought to myself: "If I live through this I hope nobody at the shop ever hears about it..."
I was pulling a 36 foot TT, and when its front came UP - so did the back of the DODGE
You wanna talk about hairy? I had no idea that dip was in the road, but I will forever remember that spot on the Memphis highways.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 6,801
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From: DFW, TX-GoldCanyon, AZ
Hully crap Wolfy!!!! Are you KIDDING????
LOL
Not really.. Interesting tid bit on the WDH being needed even on HD trucks like these.. I have been a believer for many years!!!
This is my opinion...
You will always get some chucking from a trailer.. Some people think of it as the trailer just reminding you that it is back there and they get used to it. If the trailer is heavy enough (more than the weight of the tow vehicle), it can get downright nasty as the trailer starts pushing the truck around.. It can feel like an 18 wheeler constantly thumping you in the rear end and actually cause a dangerous situation on roads with substandard surfaces and/or poor traction.. I have had to accelerate out of a condition where the trailer and the road got each other into an oscillating condition where I was starting to lose it.. But most of the time, you can tap on the trailer brakes to get things to settle down. Either way, you have to somehow put the truck and its pilot back in charge...
LOL
Not really.. Interesting tid bit on the WDH being needed even on HD trucks like these.. I have been a believer for many years!!!
This is my opinion...
You will always get some chucking from a trailer.. Some people think of it as the trailer just reminding you that it is back there and they get used to it. If the trailer is heavy enough (more than the weight of the tow vehicle), it can get downright nasty as the trailer starts pushing the truck around.. It can feel like an 18 wheeler constantly thumping you in the rear end and actually cause a dangerous situation on roads with substandard surfaces and/or poor traction.. I have had to accelerate out of a condition where the trailer and the road got each other into an oscillating condition where I was starting to lose it.. But most of the time, you can tap on the trailer brakes to get things to settle down. Either way, you have to somehow put the truck and its pilot back in charge...
Senior User
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 370
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From: Central Colorado
To me, chucking is a condition where the trailer is bouncing or jerking at odds with the TV. For example, those annoying differences between a bridge and the roadway. There you are going 65mph down the road. The truck hits that with a little bump. Then the trailer hits it with a little bump. The problem comes when the truck wants to go down and the trailer wants to go up, or vice versa. In the meantime you start to wish you were a bobble-head.
Thread Starter
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Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2001
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From: Drummonds, TN USA
Let me see if I have a correct SIGHT of the situation:
"CHUCKING" is when the vehicle being towed is pushing the tow vehicle around in a manner that results in a loss of the tow vehicle being in control
Does that spell it out?
IE: The tow machine is in danger of being overdriven by the trailer
(Clarify this, if you can)
"CHUCKING" is when the vehicle being towed is pushing the tow vehicle around in a manner that results in a loss of the tow vehicle being in control
Does that spell it out?
IE: The tow machine is in danger of being overdriven by the trailer
(Clarify this, if you can)
Senior User
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 370
Likes: 0
From: Central Colorado
Let me see if I have a correct SIGHT of the situation:
"CHUCKING" is when the vehicle being towed is pushing the tow vehicle around in a manner that results in a loss of the tow vehicle being in control
Does that spell it out?
IE: The tow machine is in danger of being overdriven by the trailer
(Clarify this, if you can)
"CHUCKING" is when the vehicle being towed is pushing the tow vehicle around in a manner that results in a loss of the tow vehicle being in control
Does that spell it out?
IE: The tow machine is in danger of being overdriven by the trailer
(Clarify this, if you can)
Hmm, perhaps I would say "... in a manner that could result in a loss...".
Chucking is not always so severe that it always causes loss of control.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,899
Likes: 12
From: Upstate NY
Let me see if I have a correct SIGHT of the situation:
"CHUCKING" is when the vehicle being towed is pushing the tow vehicle around in a manner that results in a loss of the tow vehicle being in control
Does that spell it out?
IE: The tow machine is in danger of being overdriven by the trailer
(Clarify this, if you can)
"CHUCKING" is when the vehicle being towed is pushing the tow vehicle around in a manner that results in a loss of the tow vehicle being in control
Does that spell it out?
IE: The tow machine is in danger of being overdriven by the trailer
(Clarify this, if you can)
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Post Fiend
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 11,314
Likes: 4
That much sums it up as for as MY understanding of chucking... many times replaced with "OH, SH_T" !!!
(of course many words are defined by the user differently than my use
)
the violent push/pull forward and back somewhat like when you were towing someone with a chain and the towER went forward while the towEE went backwards ...
(of course many words are defined by the user differently than my use
)the violent push/pull forward and back somewhat like when you were towing someone with a chain and the towER went forward while the towEE went backwards ...
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Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2001
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From: Drummonds, TN USA
"WALTZING" is when a high center of gravity trailer at a certain speed begins to hop from one wheel to another behind the tow vehicle.
It typically happens to high-loaded trailers made from pickup truck beds and back ends
It is more commonly called "LASHING" and the towed load can actually flip upside down, it is the most frightening thing you can see in your rear-view.
TANDEM trailers towed behind Semi trucks sometimes do this, the front and back vans begin to sway back and forth. It usually happens in high wind conditions.
If you see a tandem rig in front of you acting like that back down on the throttle and open up as much space as you can between you and IT
You will know it if you see it - it will make you think about train wrecks
It typically happens to high-loaded trailers made from pickup truck beds and back ends
It is more commonly called "LASHING" and the towed load can actually flip upside down, it is the most frightening thing you can see in your rear-view.
TANDEM trailers towed behind Semi trucks sometimes do this, the front and back vans begin to sway back and forth. It usually happens in high wind conditions.
If you see a tandem rig in front of you acting like that back down on the throttle and open up as much space as you can between you and IT
You will know it if you see it - it will make you think about train wrecks
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