Hi, Thanks to all who replied on and off list.
The budget for the family car is flexible - what does not go on the car goes towards the glider +/or caravan. Or more expensive car means enforced cheaper glider/syndicate. So it is probably a used vehicle in question. Do catalytic converters get hot when a car is converted to LPG and running on LPG? ie is the catalytic reaction exothermic? Or are they hot because of the exhaust gasses? Regards Richard On 9/9/07 11:25, "Terry Neumann" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > G'day Richard, > > Whatever you get - and there has been plenty of advice so far - look for a > vehicle with sufficient weight (and this probably means size) to able to > remain the dominant influence in the towing combination. I know of several > road dramas with gliding trailers where the towing car had the horsepower - > but not the weight - to allow the driver to be in totally charge of what was > happening all of the time, and things went badly wrong when the trailer took > over. There were probably other factors in the instances I recall, but the > common question in those mentioned was a towing vehicle which on reflection, > was probably on the smaller (lighter) side of what perhaps should have been > used. > > The downward force on the hitch is a function of how the trailer is loaded. > Most vehicles have a section in the manual about towing limitations and > suggested weights for both the trailer itself, and the load at the coupling. > All of these things are important in managing the stability and therefore the > safety of the combination. An incorrectly loaded trailer appears to have been > the major factor in one mishap with an otherwise reasonable combination of > vehicle and glider trailer some years ago. > > Diesel engines are worth considering, especially in recent years. They > provide plenty of lugging power for towing, and a turbocharger assists > considerably in providing better performance and fuel economy. There is > another worthwhile benefit in having a diesel vehicle. Unlike their modern > petrol engine counterparts, diesel vehicles usually do not have a catalytic > converter in the exhaust system. This means that as a general rule they are > much less likely to start a fire when driven into standing stubble or long > grass, a potentially useful feature when retrieving in the fire danger season. > The obvious downside is that the fuel is more expensive and does not seem to > be subject to discounting wars to the same degree as ULP. In New Zealand > diesel fuel is considerably cheaper than petrol. The reason why is something > of a mystery. > > As in most situations, the final choice of vehicle may well be something of a > compromise. > > Regards, > Terry > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Aus-soaring mailing list > [email protected] > To check or change subscription details, visit: > http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
