Question about towing bad experiences!

[TandE]

Originally Posted by {tpc}

That was crazy. It appeared to be fairly windy that day, at least from the sound on the video. That trailer was crazy long though, looked almost as long as an eighteen wheeler.

From the looks of the front of the trailer when it spun around it appears to be a resident style or park model. One that usually stays in a single spot. Most are around 37-43 feet long.

Travis

[zuley]

Here's my story sad but true, about a trailer we once had... Heading home from vacation towing our Coleman popup behind our brand new Jeep GC on hwy 401 just east of Oshawa. (that's in Ontario for you non Ontarians) The MTO had saw cut out a section of pavement about 2 inches deep, the width of the lane and about eight feet long. They had not marked it or left any warning. Traveling about 100 kph when we hit the cut out I saw in the rear view mirror the trailer bounce up. It started to sway once it hit the ground. I was thinking we had a blown tire not realizing when the trailer popped up it dislocated from the ball. The little cog in the hitch receiver actually broke the top of the ball off. The sway was getting worse. I was trying to use the trailer brake switch inside the vehicle to woe up but the wiring had pulled out when the trailer disconnected. As well the breakaway switch, unbeknown to me, was defective. The trailer ended up breaking the chains and passed me heading into the rhubarb. Luckily we had an OPP officer following us and witnessed the whole thing. She pulled into the centre lane and hit the rotators so that traffic could not pass us as the trailer was doing its little dance heading down the highway. Trailer managed to stay on it's wheels in the ditch with moderate cosmetic damage. In the end our insurance company put a claim into the MTO which they accepted without a fight, so there was no black mark on our insurance history. We were fortunate to have had the police officer witness and forward to our insurance company her account of the accident. Our dealer ended up allowing us more on a trade than we had paid for the thing three years prior after it was repaired.

[Pmedic4]

Actually I'm pretty pleased to see there aren't many issues that people have experienced towing.

The one example I posted was from very windy conditions, and a very long RV. As someone said, most the the equipment we can buy has been tested, approved and proven over years of towing so there should not be stupid failures of the hitches and towing gear.

Let's enjoy this season!

[Ken / Claudia]

Afew years ago while on patrol I noted a fixed load trailer bounceing alot, likely due to no springs, just soild axle. Within seconds it was moving side to side still bounceing. I turned on the police lights and before the driver slowed the coupler came undone and dropped the tougue onto the crossed safety chains. It stayed attached by the chains. It appeared that the latch on the coupler opened due to the high speed bouneing but, it may have not been locked/closed correctly. The driver and passengers hooked it back up and the coupler locked closed.

[JRTJH]

Sometimes we get caught up in the "my equipment is safe, so I'll be OK" syndrome. Occasionally even the best equipped rigs and most alert drivers can be dealt an unexpected hazard that creates a situation that can't be controlled.

The Mackinaw Bridge between the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan rises some 200 ft across the Straits of Mackinaw. Wind gusts can come out of "nowhere" and often do. Large vehicle traffic (including RV's) is controlled at 20MPH across the bridge and in windy conditions large vehicles are not allowed onto the bridge. We've sat in the UP for several hours waiting for the winds to calm before being allowed to cross with our fifth wheel.

Last July, on a "clear day with limited winds" this 18 wheeler was near the top of the bridge and "out of nowhere" a gust of wind estimated to be "about 60 MPH" hit this rig from the side blowing it over. There wasn't any controlling it in the single lane of travel with a side-rail/tire guard only a foot away while towing at 20 MPH.

While I don't think anyone but the driver knows exactly what happened, this incident demonstrates that even the heaviest of rigs aren't "invulnerable"...

No matter what you tow, keep all of your equipment in top shape and stay alert to the "unexpected"... You never know when you'll need to react to something that hits you, "out of the blue".....

[allmi01]

I got bit by black ice on jan 2 this year in Indiana. Luckily, the rig jack knifed at 45 MPH (going slower as it had snowed and the roads were "clear" but at 2 degrees, black ice will be there from what moisture is left from the salt melting snow.)

damage was C pillar, right rear and back windows on the TV and racked front cap, and left rear damage to the TT.

Sometimes all you can so is try to keep things straight as possible and hand on for the ride. Even if I had been towing with the F350 dually, I'm not sure the results would have been different.

Maybe someday I'll get my TT back form the shop. waiting on parts from Keystone (front cap and rear wall).

You just never know.

Mike

[{tpc}]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Sometimes we get caught up in the "my equipment is safe, so I'll be OK" syndrome. Occasionally even the best equipped rigs and most alert drivers can be dealt an unexpected hazard that creates a situation that can't be controlled.

The Mackinaw Bridge between the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan rises some 200 ft across the Straits of Mackinaw. Wind gusts can come out of "nowhere" and often do. Large vehicle traffic (including RV's) is controlled at 20MPH across the bridge and in windy conditions large vehicles are not allowed onto the bridge. We've sat in the UP for several hours waiting for the winds to calm before being allowed to cross with our fifth wheel.

Last July, on a "clear day with limited winds" this 18 wheeler was near the top of the bridge and "out of nowhere" a gust of wind estimated to be "about 60 MPH" hit this rig from the side blowing it over. There wasn't any controlling it in the single lane of travel with a side-rail/tire guard only a foot away while towing at 20 MPH.

While I don't think anyone but the driver knows exactly what happened, this incident demonstrates that even the heaviest of rigs aren't "invulnerable"...

No matter what you tow, keep all of your equipment in top shape and stay alert to the "unexpected"... You never know when you'll need to react to something that hits you, "out of the blue".....

Wow that dude almost went swimming!! I've crossed that bridge many times, and sometimes even in a car it doesn't feel the greatest. I've also walked it a few times, and well walking it is not as nerve racking, just try not to remember the things you saw the next time you drive over it. Thankfully I was younger then, so the memory is foggy, and I am sure its totally fine.

[Barbell]

We were leaving the campground at Cherry Point MCAS last October, when the fifth wheel separated from the truck. Cause was a defective Reese 16K hitch. I had pull tested after hooking up and all was well. Then loaded the family and went about 10 feet when trailer dropped on the truck bed. The pin in one side of the latch was not properly welded and came out. Reese squealed like a stuck pig for several months but finally paid about $6400 to fix the truck. No damage to the trailer. They also gave me a new hitch.

[sourdough]

Bought a new RV, WD hitch etc. and had it set up and installed at the Camping World dealership. They brought the trailer/pickup around to me and said you're good to go. So I did. Drove 60 miles home in 30 mph winds and a rough road. All the way I heard clanking and banging but did not see anything when I got out to look. Got home and unhitched the trailer. When I pulled the hitch out of my receiver I turned white as a sheet. I grabbed the ball to hold on to to carry it. When I picked it up the ball almost pulled out of its mounting hole. They had put the ball into the hitch and just started the nut and never tightened it. I had 2 thread left before the nut came off. Lesson learned; check, double check and re-check, plus, never trust someone else to do the critical stuff. I had a 8500 lb missile I was about to launch at someone due to their lack of attention.

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Bought a new RV, WD hitch etc. and had it set up and installed at the Camping World dealership. They brought the trailer/pickup around to me and said you're good to go. So I did. Drove 60 miles home in 30 mph winds and a rough road. All the way I heard clanking and banging but did not see anything when I got out to look. Got home and unhitched the trailer. When I pulled the hitch out of my receiver I turned white as a sheet. I grabbed the ball to hold on to to carry it. When I picked it up the ball almost pulled out of its mounting hole. They had put the ball into the hitch and just started the nut and never tightened it. I had 2 thread left before the nut came off. Lesson learned; check, double check and re-check, plus, never trust someone else to do the critical stuff. I had a 8500 lb missile I was about to launch at someone due to their lack of attention.

I had a nut come off about 20 years ago while pulling a car dolly, had pulled my boat cross country just a month earlier. I always checked that it was tight. My dad had one come loose a few years back as well, his had only been on the hitch for about 10 years before it came loose. We now tack weld the nut. The receiver is cheap so I have one set up with a 2" and another with a 2 5/16". I still check that the tack weld is good before hooking up, it's not fun to have a trailer bouncing around all over the place when it's only held on by the safety chains.