| [GMCnet] TOW VEHICLES [message #104694] |
Sun, 31 October 2010 13:37  |
Charles Aulgur
Messages: 78
Registered: March 2006
Karma:
|
Member |
|
|
Doug posted:
To make a long story short, my wife and I are thinking of a Smart Car
to tow behind our (future) GMC.
But reading some of the reports on the Smart car got me to thinking
of other small(er) vehicles that could be towed.
Our specific requirement is a small vehicle that can be towed 4
wheels down AND have an automatic transmission. (or some form of auto-
manual, like the Smart Fortwo).
I'm okay with a manual, but my wife isn't.
I'm also thinking that a 2-seater towd might be a little small over
the long haul.
So I hope this helps!
Doug,
Recently a friend took his MB in for service and they gave him a
Smart car as a loner. He is kind of a "hotroder" so of course he had
to see how fast he could accelerate. What he experienced was every
time the Smart car shifted gears under full throttle, the back of the
car would jump up about two inches. He brought it by for me to take
a look at it. When I looked at the rear suspension, I found it has a
trailing arm suspension similar to a GMC rear wheels. The rear
suspension consists of a large pipe bent in a somewhat "U" shape with
the bottom of the U facing forward and attached in the center to the
body by a single flexible joint. The two rear wheels were hard
mounted to the two aft facing legs of the U. When the automatic
transmission shifts gears, the surge in torque applied to the rear
wheels wants to rotate the trailing arm suspension in a
counterclockwise manner, causing an upward force where the suspension
is attached to the vehicle; just opposite to the rear wheels on a GMC
when the brakes are applied. When the brakes are rapidly applied, the
opposite motion happens. When the braking torque is applied to the
rear wheels, the trailing arm suspension wants to rotate the
suspension in a clockwise manner which puts a downward force where
the suspension is attached to the vehicle, which causes the rear of
the car to drop rapidly.
Just what I observed which you may are my not want to consider in
purchasing a Smart Car.
Chuck Aulgur
La mesa, CA
76 Royale with great brakes
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
List Information and Subscription Options:
http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
|
|
|
|
GMCforum
Search
Help
Register
Login
Home
