I have been doing a lot of research on trailer length and wheelbase. Here is my 2 cents:
The most important issue when towing is weight - weight of the trailer, weight of the tongue, GVWR, GCWR, etc. Exceeding the weight limits of ANY tow vehicle is dangerous and foolish. For my money, I wouldn't exceed 80% of any of the weight ratings to make sure I had an edge toward safety. Pushing the numbers just doesn't make sense.
However, when talking about length - that's another issue. The problem with length is the possibility of sway, which can be very dangerous in and of itself.
The longer the wheelbase (WB), the better a vehicle will tow and tow more safely when using only a hitch ball and/or ball and WD hitch. A long wheelbase vehicle will be more stable with a long trailer.
After about 25' - 27' feet of trailer (or 27' - 30', depending on your safety comfort zone), it gets harder to tow safely with any vehicle without some sort of additional sway control, be it friction, dual cam or a Hensley Arrow hitch.
For the TM's, sway is of little concern - the rear axle on the trailer is situated very far back and the tongue weights are relatively heavy for their size. Both of these lead to a very stable, low sway probability, tow. The more important number by far is weight. If the TM being towed is well within the towing recommendations of the vehicle manufacturer, the TV payload is within the limits of the TV, and a WDH hitch, properly setup, is used, then all should be okay.
The Escape would NOT be a good TV for the 3326 because the weight ratings are all wrong - the TM is too heavy for that vehicle - but the 3326 length is not an issue.
|