# 5552 / Vehicle drawbar test method with improved measurement and control Title: Vehicle drawbar test method with improved measurement and control Authors: Orian Welling, Zach Tomberg, and Mike Stearns Abstract: In this work, we show a new vehicle drawbar test method that allows simple regulation of a constant vehicle speed through the test while requiring relatively little training or practice from the test vehicle driver. The improved method relies on a capstan winch mounted on a fixed stable point with a controlled release of cable over a 600 foot distance. The winch and cable are capable of sustaining loads up to 20,000lbs at a constant cable speed. The load on the cable is measured with a vehicle mounted load cell. In the paper / presentation, we show a comparison of test data from drawbar tests utilizing a separate holdback vehicle and holdback driver with tests using the new methodology and show that measurement stability is improved and that the target vehicle speed is held much closer to the target point, eliminating error or need to correct for vehicle acceleration. Order the full paper: ISTVS members: receive three papers per year as part of your membership via the ISTVS Member Portal: --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://2023.istvs.org/submissions/papers/5552.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.