Moving to Class C from TT Need Guidance

NWboondocker wrote:

legolas wrote:
WOW, I knew I'd get good stuff thanks to all who took time to give advice. Not to appear to stupid ...just stupid enough.....I understand the definition of "tail swing" but not necessarily the actual working if that makes any sense. Perhaps someone can give me an example. I know it sounds dumb.

The most extreme case is cranking the steering wheel to the stops from a stopped position, then taking off. The back end pivots around the rear axle, leaving the body overhang to swing into whatever is adjacent (gas pump, car in next lane, etc.). You moderate it by starting to turn slowly as you pull away, then turning harder later in the turn once clear of potential obstructions.

If you're of a bit of a mathematical or mechanical bent, it can help your understanding to think a bit about the physics of a vehicle turning. At any given point in time, the motion at the wheels needs to be perpendicular to their axles (or the wheel will be skidding sideways in addition to rolling). This means that the axles all intersect the center point of your turning circle. The outside corner of the rear end of the vehicle (and, I guess, the inside corner too if it's long enough and you can turn sharply enough) will of necessity be at a greater radius from the center than the outside edge of the outside rear wheel.

When translated into practical terms on the ground, this means that the back corner swings further out than the back wheel when making a turn, and if you start off approaching the turn straight with an obstruction next to you on the outside edge, it will swing into the obstruction--something that doesn't intuitively feel right, even though it's physically sound.

This also helps explain why you need to pull further ahead than in a car or pickup before turning to avoid clipping curbs. The key consideration is where the back axle aligns with the center of your turn, but you're seeing things from the perspective of somewhere closer to the front axle, and with a longer vehicle there's a bigger difference between the two.