FfionWinnie
Well-Known Member
You should slow down not speed up and you should do it very gradually.
It's the height of your towbar.
If your towbar is too low (I bet its on the lower of the two settings) it is basically pushing the trailer down and decreasing the stability. Stabalisers will not help. Go out and check it and I'll bet you'll find I'm right.
Only reason I'm so sure is that happened to me with a 510 who I took into dealers and they ended up repositioning bar to upper fixing and was then fine. Good luck!
Personally think you were going too fast. Trailer limit may be 60mph but that is not necessarily carrying a live load.
iCan I ask about this towbar height thing Are you talking about the hitch on the trailer as to me towbar is what is on your vehicle and the towbar on my vehicle is certainly not adustable I have a 505 and I cant say Ive ever noticed the hitch on the trailer is adjustable either
You dont alter the trailer, its the vehicle towbar.
My Landy has one that you can alter very easily, but they were designed to tow anything
A lot of towbars have a plate which can be altered. Usually by a garage as you have to undo bolts and sometimes add plates. Also need special high tensile bolts.
these little trailers are Not a very good idea from a enginering point of view due to the large distance between the tow car axle and trailer coulpling and if things are wrong as others have said like tyre presures or the tow bar on the car is a little low or the trailer is loaded wrong its a recipe for problems this is most likely cause of snaking, the other possibility is the trailer axle had moved because of a previous acident like clipping a curb or it was loose and moved on the road spring..
A 511 is not small it's designed to take two 17.2's
Sorry what I am trying to say is the way of towing isnt ideal from a technical point of view Ie there is a lot of leaverage and movement because the towing point is a long way behind the rear axle!!! this makes it unstable and easly affected by mismatched tow bar height, low tyre presures , load in the wrong place , the trailer axle out of line or bent , mecanical issue with the towing vehicle like worn shock absorbers etc or sudden driver stering inputs.. all or a combination of these can cause snakeing and possible loss of control!! if everything is right then towing at 60 mph or more is possible and safe I would say to anyone if your outfit starts to feel unstable at lower speeds ask questions before there is another nasty avoidable accident...Perfect11s... You've lost me?
We've got a HB511, and have no issues with it snaking, but that's because my mum sticks at 45mph.
Hers is towed with a Discovery 3, not a car type vehicle???
A few years ago, our neighbour was towing our horse and hers on the motorway in a HB510, behind a Discovery 3. She got a wobble, that resulted in the trailer becoming detached, the horses doing 360degree spin, nose to tail, and the vehicle bouncing off the crash barrier on it's roof, landing facing back up the motorway.
In this instance speed was a factor, and just before the wobble started my mum was about to ask her to slow down.
I think the camber and bend on the road, coupled with 2 horses shifting weight set the trailer off, and speed meant it could be controlled, leading to catastrophic consequences. One horse was thrown clear, and my mums horse, who had travelled on the left, ended up wedged in the front.
Thankfully everyone survived, but my mums horse had a wound that took 6 months to close on his stifle, and severe concussion (they hadnt expected him to survive the night due to shock)
OP, I think you have some excellent advise regards tow weights, tow ball height, and tyre pressure, and am so glad for you that you're all ok. Maybe you can get a ln independent inspection of the trailer regards road worthiness, however I'd be amazed if the trailer was at fault.
Sorry rubbish !!!!!We have an ifor510 and hadn't had any problems as we normally drive on small roads at no more than 40mph. However we once went on a dual carriageway and were doing over 50 and the trailer starting snaking. All was ok and we got it back under control but the lesson was don't do more than about 40. Think it may also have been due to tyre pressure which we always check now before a journey. Don't think it is a fault of the trailer - they are just not meant to be driven over 50. If you want to go faster than this I would get a lorry. Hope all is ok. It is a horrible experience.