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Old 03-29-2014, 02:57 AM   #59 (permalink)
Teri_TX
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Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Central Tx USA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by freebeard View Post
A powered, castering wheel at the extreme rear could need an Arduino chip or some fancy analog computation to preclude unwanted surprises.
[QUOTE]

Freebeard,

You misunderstood me. I was asking about trailers that could be backed up so that NO special skill is require, i.e. the driver could back up without any more skill than the vehicle they're driving.

Afterwards, I did a Google search and there is a company in Florida that sells trailers with self castering wheel(s). They have a single wheeled trailer if that's all you need as well as multiple wheel versions. All have the problem of the trailer deck being high to clear the castering wheels.

I have some ideas of how to make trailer wheels self castering without the wheel having to swivel around like above mention company in Florida. The problem is that it requires power to activate motors to change the wheel's trail in reverse and then again then you want to go forward. Most trailer connections only need to power the various lights (brake, turn, running, side markers). Like the trailers from the company in Florida, dual ball hitches would be needed.

The idea as I said in my original post, is to have an APU for an EV for long(er) trips without the penalties of carrying around a gas motor all the time like the Chevy Volt.

-- Teri
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