Harry Krause wrote:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know...size matters.

But I'd appreciate it if someone would explain why the length of a
towing vehicle...pickup truck or whatever...seems to matter in towing a
boat.

I was looking at a shortbed truck today, and one of my trailerboating
buddies said, "Hey...get the long bed model...it tows better."



snip

He's right. Although "better" is a subjective term, the forces placed on the
tow vehicle, both laterally and vertically, will result in a response tha
varies with the length of the tow vehicle.

Think laterally for a minute. You are moving down the road and make a turn
or the towed vehicle sways for one reason or another. The wheelbase of the
tow vehicle is, essentially a lever with the rear wheels acting as the
fulcrum. With a longer lever, as in the longbase truck, less effort is
required to keep the vehicle moving straight. This lessened effort is
experienced by the driver as less sway and better driveability.

Now vertical. Pass over a bump in the road and the effective wieght on the
tongue cycles through increase then decrease until the suspension returns
the towed vehicle to a steady state. Increasing the tongue weight makes the
bow (since this is a boats forum) of the tow vehicle rise. Decreasing the
tongue weight makes the bow of the tow vehicle raise. Again, the rear wheels
are the fulcrum in the balancing act and again a longer lever, expressed as
wheelbase, leads to less effort required to maintain a steady state of the
load (towed vehicle). The front suspension works less on a longbed and you
experience a more stable, comfortable ride.

Why do you think truckers prefer conventional cabs as opposed to cab-overs?
They are longer and drive/ride better. Ever talk to a trucker on a CB?
Notice a tremor in some voices? Those are driving cab-overs, or they are
bobtailing.

Al (former trucker)
North Carolina