bobcat Posted October 14, 2006 Share Posted October 14, 2006 Hi, I'm planning on aquiring a 3/4T. Sankey Wolf trailer to tow behind my Defender (tdi/tgv). Being new to towing I'm wondering what kind of (safe) cruising speeds can be managed on good tarmac roads. (It'll be carrying about 400kg). Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Hancock Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 Hi,I'm planning on aquiring a 3/4T. Sankey Wolf trailer to tow behind my Defender (tdi/tgv). Being new to towing I'm wondering what kind of (safe) cruising speeds can be managed on good tarmac roads. (It'll be carrying about 400kg). Cheers The max speed for towing in the UK is 60mph, unless the road has a lower limit, then that applies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobcat Posted October 15, 2006 Author Share Posted October 15, 2006 The max speed for towing in the UK is 60mph, unless the road has a lower limit, then that applies. Ooops, should probably blow the dust of my highway code leaflet. How about in a less regulated environment? Say 3,000 miles of straight desert road without speed cameras? I've got a long way to go, so 5mph here and there is going to make a big difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasterdly Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 Ooops, should probably blow the dust of my highway code leaflet. How about in a less regulated environment? Say 3,000 miles of straight desert road without speed cameras? I've got a long way to go, so 5mph here and there is going to make a big difference. evening, without digging out the sankey manual, i think the military recommended a top speed of 45 mph, but thats not to say you cant tow one at the legal towing speed limit of the country you are in. towing isnt about how fast you can go, more, what happens if you need to brake quickly, road surfaces,side winds,load stability etc, safety should be paramount, for yourself, and other road users. cheers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobcat Posted October 15, 2006 Author Share Posted October 15, 2006 evening, without digging out the sankey manual, i think the military recommended a top speed of 45 mph, but thats not to say you cant tow one at the legal towing speed limit of the country you are in. towing isnt about how fast you can go, more, what happens if you need to brake quickly, road surfaces,side winds,load stability etc, safety should be paramount, for yourself, and other road users. cheers... Thanks, but I'm still trying to work out what that safe speed is likely to be in order to schedule my journey. You're right about the recommended speed, however the idea of crawling along at 45mph when normally I would do 75mph is a little daunting!! Just for the sake of theory, assuming the conditions were good to drive at 80mph (trailer-free) how fast could you safely tow a Sankey in the same situation? thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasterdly Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 Thanks, but I'm still trying to work out what that safe speed is likely to be in order to schedule my journey. You're right about the recommended speed, however the idea of crawling along at 45mph when normally I would do 75mph is a little daunting!!Just for the sake of theory, assuming the conditions were good to drive at 80mph (trailer-free) how fast could you safely tow a Sankey in the same situation? thanks in advance evening, the "safe speed " will be dictated by the load/road/weather conditions etc maybe a post in the international section will yeild an answer from a more experienced towing type person ? cheers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobcat Posted October 15, 2006 Author Share Posted October 15, 2006 Cheers anyway, For now and for calculations, I guess I'll assume a Sankey+400kg doesn't come apart over 55mph and is capable of safely cruising at 60-65mph when conditions allow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 If you are only concerned with stability and safety of the trailer, then loading it will be critical to ensure it behaves itself. I frequently towed a Sankey radio trailer, and getting it loaded correctly was very awkward. On one occasion it went badly wrong, and within a few seconmds the trailer was hopping from one wheel to the other, and I was lucky it didn't flip. The running gear should be tough enough as they were built for military use - wheel bearings etc are similar to series items. The radio trailer has Series 2 outer bearings, 750/16 tyres, and assisted brakes. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobcat Posted October 16, 2006 Author Share Posted October 16, 2006 If you are only concerned with stability and safety of the trailer, then loading it will be critical to ensure it behaves itself. I frequently towed a Sankey radio trailer, and getting it loaded correctly was very awkward. On one occasion it went badly wrong, and within a few seconmds the trailer was hopping from one wheel to the other, and I was lucky it didn't flip. The running gear should be tough enough as they were built for military use - wheel bearings etc are similar to series items. The radio trailer has Series 2 outer bearings, 750/16 tyres, and assisted brakes.Les. Thanks for this Les, I imagine it's a case of getting the load even, low and over the axle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b101uk Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 Recalling from memory, the maximum speed limit for trailers in the UK is 60mph on dual carriageway and motorway and 50mph on all other roads, obviously if no other limit is posted that is lower! As for initial trailer set-up when connected to the towing vehicle, a single axel trailer should on level ground be in a slight nose down position from horizontal >2deg to <5deg, this is so under sever braking it dose not unload the rear axel of the towing vehicle, with twin axel centre line trailers they should be set on level ground between horizontal (0deg) and 1deg nose down, no trailer should ever be nose up! You should always make full use of the maximum nose weight on the hitch, witch is normally between 50kg and 120kg dependent on both the trailer hitch and towing vehicle hitch always deferring to the lowest value for the combination Loads on trailers should be place as low as possible and as far forward as permitted by the static nose weight, if you were e.g. carrying sand bags rather than stack then just forward of the axel to get the correct static nose weight thus creating a high CoG you would utilise as much of the load bed as possible both fore and aft of the axel thus keeping the CoG low and the correct static nose weight as well as stopping the load from moving around as much. If you are not considering off-road forays with your trailer in tow I would suggest you look at different types of trailer more suited to high-speed roadwork, as a 3/4T. Sankey is an off-road trailer primarily by design. b101uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siearl Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 If you towing away from the main roads etc ie in the desert like you are saying i suppose you could go as fast as you feel comfortable with. I am sure you will be able to gauage what speed you can do from what the trailer is doing. if it is sitting nicely behind you without moving around you are fine where as on the other hand if it is jumping all over the place you are going to fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjojjas Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 I have one, and have towed outside the uk with it. If you load it correctly then you will struggle to find a more stable trailer at the maximum speed my 200tdi pull. Some good advice above about the set up and driving techniques, particuarly the distribution of weight. It will make all the difference. following this advice I have never had and sign of weaving or hopping, both of which I have seen with other trailers, particuarly an old twin axle that I used to move cars about with. good luck Jas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90hybrid Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 I have one, and have towed outside the uk with it. If you load it correctly then you will struggle to find a more stable trailer at the maximum speed my 200tdi pull. Some good advice above about the set up and driving techniques, particuarly the distribution of weight. It will make all the difference. following this advice I have never had and sign of weaving or hopping, both of which I have seen with other trailers, particuarly an old twin axle that I used to move cars about with. good luck Jas I agree with Jas. A cracking trailer, for very little money. Towed mine throughout the UK and in France at all speeds (err not PC but well over the speed limit sorry) and with varying loads with no hint of stability issues and as the trailer is braked it actually improves (well on mine it does) the overall braking. Tyres / rims fitted are from a defender. Just make sure the trailer is slightly nose heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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