Lateral/Directional Stability of Tow Dolly Type Combination Vehicles

Tow dolly type combination vehicles represent a unique configuration in that the tow dolly itself is essentially a simple “tow bar” with wheels, that does not apply a significant hitch load to the tow vehicle The resulting combination vehicle dynamics have been studied with a six degree of freedom linear mathematical model, which has been validated with full scale testing Results show that tow dolly combinations exhibit significantly higher yaw damping and do not degrade tow vehicle understeer as much as conventional trailers Other parameters studied include stiffness of the dolly swivel platform to rotation, tow dolly tire cornering stiffness and speed sensitivity