Also available made out of hockey sticks. Contact Ricky at the Sunnyvale Trailer Park, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Posted on 10/22/2015 7:00:44 PM PDT by Paul R.
I wonder if we have on FR someone familiar enough with aerodynamic design to roughly estimate the upward force ("lift"*) on a pop-up camper being towed at 60 mph if the camper is tilted, front up...
I had that problem once. A U-haul trailer I was towing pulled up beside me as I slightly slowed up, veered/jumped across the median, jumped/bounced over a pasture fence and scattered 30 dairy cows as it plowed up a swath in the pasture.
You probably already considered an adapter sleeve to go from 1-1/4” to a 2” receiver so you can get the drop you need. I have been looking for something to get you to 9” but they are all for class 3 receivers. :-(
I just know I will run into issues when I start towing equipment... at least I am starting out with a factory Class 3 receiver.
I tend to agree, but an being very cautious, I guess.
The 2nd part is indeed one of the advantages of a pop-up camper — the pop-up is much less of a “hit” on gas mileage than a conventional camper of the same weight. (Plus the pop-up seems palatial-size once set up, by comparison.)
A different consideration is that the refrigerators in small campers usually have to be level to work correctly IF the rig is stationary. However, I’ve also read that when on the road, the various motions and orientations preclude the “stationary tilt” problem with the fridge.
What if we look at a third way..
How fast can a Hovercraft go...
Thinking initially wheels that support basic movement although fan assisted would be a cool option for trailer positioning...
As you come up to speed forward facing aspects such as hitch and framing keep it all relatively rigid and
I envision electric fans driving a primary air cushion that can be supplemented with air captured using aerodynamically shaped inlets to keep the whole assembly “lifted” from the road surface and tethered to the vehicle..
Lateral stability (tracking) is another issue...
Yust my 2 cents
Also available made out of hockey sticks. Contact Ricky at the Sunnyvale Trailer Park, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
You can get an adapter for about $15 from here: http://www.harborfreight.com/1-1-4-quarter-inch-to-2-inch-hitch-adapter-65023.html
Your tow vehicle will block the air
Put some wings and a tail. Start at the top of a mountain and floor it up to 88 mph. You can time travel.
I studied Bernoulli’s Principle (just a day or 2, IIRC) in my college Physics course. :-)
And, as I said, I went to various sources online (NASA, Model Plane forums, etc.) The subject gets complicated quickly. But I don’t need a precise answer - just a rough “back of the napkin” type estimate would do.
That said, from what I do know, it looks to me like the shape of the camper would cause a slight downward force, and the design for that may be intentional. But, really, this thing’s cross-section is more like a block of wood with slightly angled / rounded corners, than a wing. And then the “front” is tilted up...
It would also depend on how heavy the pop-up trailer and how low it rides. We looked at buying a pop-up not too long ago for the advantages you cited, but I did not want the fridge or other appliances. We use a large marine cooler when camping for 4 days and I may have to add one bag of ice even in warm weather if we start out with 3 big bags that are completely frozen. Even better - freeze big blocks of water in your chest freezer for a couple of weeks before you go camping - those last a really long time - far longer than bagged ice.
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A trip to a welding shop may be in order.
Any competent welder can make what you need, and then heat treat it.
All of the materials are available at most trailer supply shops. Just cut and weld.
I have a Class III receiver on a Subaru Brat!
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To quote Les Nessmen “as God is my witness I thought trailers could fly”.
Not an expert by any stretch, but lots of experience with horse trailers. If they are not level they blow tires big time. Could be the weight factor but even with 2 horses...blown tires. Getting the right hitch to pull the trailer might be cheaper in the long run. We have tried to pull trailers that were a little off and I tell you blown tires, even a fairly short distance.
Wind Tunnel Division Chief
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/orgs/aeronautics/windtunnels/index.html
:-)
The pop-up has electric brakes and the proportional controller just showed up today!
No good way to add a Class III hitch (see my discussion of such in orig. post), and no one makes a Class II ball mount with “enough” drop. (This may be because most Class II hitches could not take the “torsion” of a ball mount that drops, say, 8”, coupled to one of the many Class II weight trailers that do not come with brakes installed.) In THIS case, the hitch is PLENTY strong, why Ford welded in a Class 2 receiver may have something to do with trying to minimize the transmission problems they’re known for... But, if one goes to Ford’s literature, the only thing “preventing” a max towing weight of over 5000 lbs. is the Class II hitch!
With a 2" ball?
Everything I own has both - or I have them cut off and a 2" hitch installed!
The receiver on the Brat is 2”, thus will take any ball mount up to 2-5/16”
Yes, I talked to a fellow at etrailer.com (VERY good & helpful seller, BTW) and he said the adaptor would tend to result in the trailer “really rattling around” in back. They sell the adaptors, but do not recommend them.
In the long run, since the hitch itself looks plenty good for Class III loads, what I may look into is whether some local shop can fabricate a “strong” Class II ball mount with 8” of drop. (8” should be “enough” to be “almost level” with the pop-up, and should also be a good compromise for our johnboat & utility trailers, too.
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