A system for assessing the towing stability of a trailer 190 and a towing vehicle 100 comprises data processing apparatus such as a first electronic control unit (ECU) 110A. The first ECU 110A is configured to receive data from a second ECU 120A in the vehicle trunk. The data is typically derived from a strain gauge 101SG and corresponds to a measured nose weight of the trailer 190. The first ECU 110A ascertains towing stability using a measured trailer nose weight and by determining if the ratio of the nose weight to gross trailer weight complies with a condition. The first ECU 110A also comprises means for producing an output indicative of the towing stability of the trailer and towing vehicle. The invention improves on a prior art method which involved manual assessment and may have been subject to operator error.
Towing stability
2017-04-19
Patent
Electronic Resource
English