[DK on the road]

Dave,

I base my comments on three pieces of data. The first is I saw a failed 20k hitch on a Newell pulling a stacker. The person had installed a commercially available wheeled device between the stacker and the coach in order to reduce the hitch weight of the stacker. When looking closely at the weld failure with the hitch supports attach to the engine subframe, it was very clear the weld failed from side forces. When you look at the vertical supports that the hitch is attached onto, there is NOTHING to resist side force. Some gussets would help tremendously.

The other two data points, both Newell, were failed tow vehicle base plate failures. Both obviously failed from side forces. Both were raised Jeeps with oversize tires.

My generic conclusion is that the exaggerated tail swing driven by the steerable tag, puts a sideways force in low speed maneuvers that may not have been considered in the original design.

This is my opinion, and I am just suggesting that one should at least be aware of the potential.

I always respect your input and thoughts.

 I found a trailer that has air bags for each axle and can be independently deflated. Unfortunately, all the switches are in the trailer, so as to facilitate low profile vehicle loading. It sounds like the trick would be to allow me, the driver, to deflate at least 1 if not 2 axles while doing tighter maneuvering like some Provost drivers do on their tag axles. I now have another project to conquer.