Is towing on washboard roads cool?

[m.hony]

Here in Mississippi washboard gravel roads are basically caused by cars going too fast.
Sometimes you can move left or right and get out of the washboard. Sometimes it is all the way across. It comes back quickly after the county grades the roads because people go too fast. I think 20-25 mph is plenty on a gravel, but these impatient rednecks want to go 45-50 mph, which is destroying the road and their automobiles, not to mention the dust flying. The dust is a lot less if you go slow, too.
When a car goes too fast on a gravel road, the suspension begins hopping. This hopping beats the heck out of the road surface.

[EarlM]

With all the places to see in the US why would you want to beat the crap out of your trailer. I wouldn't do it 100k and try to destroy it is not prudent in my way of thinking.

If you want to go off roading maybe a tent and an atv would be the ticket

enjoy your investment don't destroy it.

[featherbedder]

If I had to drive on wash board I would go extra slow. I have done this many times. I see some yuppie 4 wheel drive vehicles w/ large brush guards huge spot lites on roof, jacked up so need step ladder and lunch to get in other off road equipment, and the only place they get off road is in mall parking lots. Some AS owners are afraid to go off road, just takes some sense to take it easy and enjoy your trailer

[AWCHIEF]

True off road 4wheelers know it is not about speed. It is about precision driving techniques. There are 4 wheel drive only cuts that I drive where the average speed is rarely if ever above 5 miles an hour. I have seen a few high bed horse trailers out that way but never anyone with the proper set up travel trailers to make the challenge. There are also a couple of fire tower/ponds where I boon dock. They are down gravel fire cut roads that are kept clear and grated by the NFS. Even then the run is slow and careful. Never can tell what is going to be around the next bend in the road. If I thought there was any danger to my trailer I would certainly not chance it.

[Adam Geuss]

Originally Posted by idroba

I hope everyone knows you are kidding.

Washboard dirt or gravel roads are created by the traffic over them and it is certainly NOT deliberately created by road graders. Here in North Idaho it is the bane of the Forest Service on heavily traveled gravel roads. They have to be re graded at great cost almost yearly so they can be driven over.

I read a detailed article once, years ago, on the specific mechanism which causes washboard roads, but it was a pretty complex subject when they actually studied how it happens.

Same thing happens in my 200 yard stone driveway. I have to rake it every couple weeks or it becomes filled with pot holes and such. I doubt I'd haul our 2014 23' International Serenity over a well rutted roadway unless under a few hundred meters at 5mph. They make off road trailers for such purposes and I'm sure are great fun. They are relatively light compared to the Airstream.

[Sodbust]

I have said this a few times before,, but will again.. For 1 we live in a area of NW Kansas that only has 1 stop light with over 900 square miles.. Our roads to our farm are better than in the past but still are by most standards,, pot holed and wash boarded..

I run LT radial tires with a high load rating but only inflate to around 28 lbs. Yes they have the natural radial tire squat,,, but have never ran hot at highway speeds..

When Radial tires first hit the market in the 1960s,, everyone would point or stop and tell you about your near flat tire.. Somehow with the EPA brain fart in the 1980s,, they came up with a whole new level of air pressure standards for fuel mileage and seldom does one see a radial tire with a healthy natural bulge at the road line.. (( Ok,,, I can get 0.27 better gas mpg at 80 psi than I can at 40 psi..)) But I cant stand to ride in my pu at that pressure.. !

They are made to flex,, and to give a little and depend on the steel belt to hold the tread square too the road..I feel let the tire assorbe 80% of the roads little ripples and stones and the trailer axles flex will handle the bigger bumps. But it does take that buzz and such away from the A$ so the rivets don't spin in there holes.

We do a lot of back trail roads in the high country of Colo.. and pulled 1000s of miles over roads that looked beyond safe for tires or trucks with no damage showing up to our Overlander.. When the dash starts jumping so is the trailer.. Just watch your speed..

Sodbust

[Goin camping]

Originally Posted by EarlM

With all the places to see in the US why would you want to beat the crap out of your trailer. I wouldn't do it 100k and try to destroy it is not prudent in my way of thinking.

If you want to go off roading maybe a tent and an atv would be the ticket

enjoy your investment don't destroy it.

I guess it depends on how you enjoy your Airstream.

We enjoy ours out in the middle of the open desert. You'd be surprised how well an Airstream does on dirt roads or even off road. All you have to do is what Wally did on bad or no roads in Africa. Slow down.

[interstateflyer]

These aren't your grandfather's Airstreams. They are made of different materials and with more delicate systems.

That being said...we drove our 2005 Airstream Interstate with Flying Cloud systems and interior on washboard roads regularly without a hitch in the Airstream added systems. But...that was on a very heavy duty Mercedes 2500 van chassis. I guess I have doubts about the durability today's (2014-15) AS trailer chassis when subjected to the same conditions.

[idroba]

Originally Posted by interstateflyer

These aren't your grandfather's Airstreams. They are made of different materials and with more delicate systems.

That being said...we drove our 2005 Airstream Interstate with Flying Cloud systems and interior on washboard roads regularly without a hitch in the Airstream added systems. But...that was on a very heavy duty Mercedes 2500 van chassis. I guess I have doubts about the durability today's (2014-15) AS trailer chassis when subjected to the same conditions.

My 2014 FC 20' has a full 5" frame, heavier and deeper than some longer AS trailers I have owned. My '74 Argosy 20 only has a 4" frame.

[slowmover]

But what is difference in weight between those two?

[idroba]

Argosy as ready to tow, 4200#. Airstream as ready to tow, 5100#. Both have a tongue weight of aprox. 700 #. All measured at scales.

[slowmover]

So the frame strength may be fine for each, with a small edge to the newer one. Or is it otherwise in your opinion?

[idroba]

From what little I recall of my courses in structures, the frame strength increases greatly with each added inch of depth. That is a 5" frame is much stronger than a 4" frame, the added inch adds far more than 20% capacity.

But, that said, those courses were over 50 years ago, so I have to put my comments in the opinion category, rather than being able to back them up with calculations. Some who worked in structures and structural calculations as their profession may be able to shed some light on my dim memories.

Does anyone have frame depth vs. length information on lets say 60's and 70's vs. 2010 and up Airstream trailers? This has now got me interested in frame strength of old vs. new rigs. Of course the metal thickness may have varied also so simple depth may not be the entire story.

[slowmover]

And alloy. And supplier.

I agree it can get deep without being revealing. So it wasn't quite a trick question, or being cute on my part just because we all know today's TT is heavier than yesterday's. It's not the direction to go, IMO.

The point of TT total length is apt. And THE ONE.

I would no more take my travel trailer down any of the oilfield lease roads I've travelled for work seeing how even high dollar semi trailers flex, than I would park it on the beachfront.

Those that want to with theirs are welcome, no criticism from me. But shorter is better no matter the frame rail depth. Travel trailers of our type can be tough, but the guys with toy-haulers and the rest tend to trade every six years as a result of hard use.

Suspensions, tire pressures, hitch setup, and so on . . some roads are just going to take a lot out of a trailer. There won't be an easy offset or fix. So it also comes down from another angle about preservation. Some will want to go where others won't.

I don't believe there is a fix outside of a custom engineered build. What would result would not be an Airstream as we've seen.

Now, mount one if ours onto a forty foot gooseneck with tandem tires riding on air and you may have something. But the axles would have to come off the A/S to meet the 13'5" overhead road clearance

Pirate 4x4 has plenty of interesting builds. Even an A/S some years back along this line.

[Ray Eklund]

I LOVE to drive washboard backroads and find it COOL. IF, it is YOUR truck and trailer.

I am sure Wally LOVED washboard roads. It is a great way to promote a product at the time, when you have lots of parts being towed behind the convoy. At Wally's era, most all rural roads in the USA were rutted and washboarded. How else to sell his airplane without wings? Even horse shoes come off...

If modern airliners need to be rebuilt just from flying in AIR... imagine the damage to rivets and hardware on the "Chaco Eyeball Shaker" at any speed. I upgraded all of my 2006 23 footer hardware just for "bumpy roads". The Airstream hardware must be in a carton somewhere of no value to anyone that travels a lot. The "Chaco Canyon Road Test" was made twice and the upgrades were successful, after the dental work and laxatives took effect.

If you want, experience moving in a straight line with trailer attached and feel the tow vehicle and trailer vibrated towards the guardrails or edge of the gravel road. Chaco is the best test of tooth enamel and holding back the strongest cursing in silence... or vocalized pain of travel.

Uphill / Downhill washboard roads are no more entertaining that those on flat roads. It is as if your V8 horsepower has been misdirected to displace dirt and call it "road work improvement ahead".

Cool, yes.

If the Chaco Eyeball Shaker is to prevent Looting of archaeological sites... then they should add more around Banks instead of a lone speed bump to slow traffic down. Chaco was looted before it became a Park. The washboard was created by the caretakers loading up trucks to sell the loot to those interested.

Something I would want to do often? Only if I did not own it and had to repair what is left after I am through with it. Much of this is pure made up boiler talk among those who do know better and profess to offer advice to those who want to experience a rare commodity today... washboard roads. They are getting hard to find and it will not be long that Chaco Canyon will be designated a Wally Ride worth Saving.

[J. Morgan]

Drive chill, use your trailer, enjoy it.

[Wingeezer]

Maybe it depends on your definition of "Cool." Not really something I would be doing unless I had no choice in order to get to someplace I REALLY wanted to be!

Brian.

[J. Morgan]

Things that get used and worn have a beauty of their own.

[switz]

I went to an off road camp site near the South rim of the Grand Ganyon for a family birthday celebration through ruts and pot holes on a dirt road. The 4 miles in took nearly an hour..... Folks blew past me with their SOBs bouncing up and down like a cork in a bathtub.

The only negative thing was the layer of dust that accumulated on the trailer. All the pillows and stuff were still where we put the items before starting the off road part of the trip.

It took me just as long coming out.

[JamuJoe]

If the destination is attractive to you, go for it. Washboard can be managed by tuning your speed to the road. Sometimes 30 mpg is far smoother than 5 mph. We did the infamous Chaco Culture NP access road when our 2011 FC23FB was two days old. Wonderful experience! Two loose screws on the microwave mount was the extent of 'damage'. No chassis or skin damage then, and none now after 40,000 miles with many hundreds on really bad roads. Well, a few dings on the rock guards, but that's what they are for. Secure the cargo inside, close the vents, and appreciate the adventure. Dust washes off.


Safe Travels,
Jamu Joe