Lost the car

[JohnT]

What am I missing?
The coach is hooked up to the toad with the tow bars, pins and cables.
The base plate tore away from the toad. The car is loose.
Why wasn't the base plate still attached to the tow bars? The story says it was found 2 miles back up the highway.

So help me out here . What am I missing?

[twinboat]

I got it! The bar fell off the hitch, jammed into a crack in the road and valted under the car, snapping the pins and then taking the front clip with it.

[Dr4Film]

Originally Posted by JohnT

What am I missing?
The coach is hooked up to the toad with the tow bars, pins and cables.
The base plate tore away from the toad. The car is loose.
Why wasn't the base plate still attached to the tow bars? The story says it was found 2 miles back up the highway.

So help me out here . What am I missing?

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out!

You are missing the fact that once the owner discovered the car missing he obviously pulled off the road and disconnected the left over debris. Returned to find his car 2 miles back that had rolled off the highway into some brush.

Common sense tells me that this was an Uni-Body failure. There are no frames in most of the newer cars being towed today such as this one.

Obviously, the type of base-plate and how it was ultimately installed plays a role in this accident BUT it wouldn't have prevented the Uni-Body failure. Depending on the base-plate like the one in the Etrailer video that type of installation would have only prevented the runaway car.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

[JohnT]

Richard,
That's the conclusion I had. Sad that the story was told differently.

How do you drive two miles dragging the front end of the toad and not know it? Just asking.

[wa8yxm]

I thoght I said this.. That ALMOST (not quite) Happened to me.

I took my car into the body shop due to a symptom I had, and they found the front clip was disengaging from the frame rails.. EXACTLY what appears to have happened to that vehicle. IN my case, I sensed Something, I knew not what, and sought professional help to identify it, and thus the disaster was... Averted..

I might add, in the course of this we found (Also) that the tow bar was NOT properly installed, and thus was coming loose, it had yet to approach a danger point and what was happing to it had nothign to do with the major problem (Front clip).

But even had my tow bar been done right (it was the 2nd time) what happened to that chevy, would have happened to my chevy, had I not taken it in for repair.

The very same thing.

[96 Wideglide]

Originally Posted by Dr4Film

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out!

You are missing the fact that once the owner discovered the car missing he obviously pulled off the road and disconnected the left over debris. Returned to find his car 2 miles back that had rolled off the highway into some brush.



Dr4Film ----- Richard

Just going by what the news anchor said .........

The front bumper of the car was found 2 miles back !!

[zippo]

My neighbors Saturn did the same thing a few years back. He bought a brand new Saturn, had tow brackets installed (brand unknown). At about a 1500 miles of tow miles he was on I-75 headed for Florida when we looked in the mirror and told his wife some dummy was trying to pass using the shoulder. That's when he realized it was his Saturn, he slowed and when the car was beside him pushed it off the road with the motorhome. It jumped the fence and landed upside down in a swamp. Cause of the problem came down to the installer did not use the backup washers supplied, designed to keep the bolts from pulling through the thin backing material. His insurer pay the bill 100% including new car, tow brackets, tow bar and lighting. Far as I know nothing was ever recovered from the installer.

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by bruceisla

Because it was a "Speed Boat"

[SarahW]

Originally Posted by zippo

My neighbors Saturn did the same thing a few years back. He bought a brand new Saturn, had tow brackets installed (brand unknown). At about a 1500 miles of tow miles he was on I-75 headed for Florida when we looked in the mirror and told his wife some dummy was trying to pass using the shoulder. That's when he realized it was his Saturn, ....

And that's when the fight started.

[Blackcabby]

Originally Posted by rgvtexan

I am thinking that the photos were taken after he had disconnected the front end from the tow bar. He then dove the 2 miles back to find the car. The tow bar is a Demco Excalibar in the stored position. The base plate looks very much like a Demco, but all the bolts and side plates and the 2 L brackets are missing.

Yup. That's the only explanation so far that makes sense. The debris should have been in two places, not three. The force sufficient to separate the toad from the motorhome happened one time with the accident event. 2 places makes sense; 1) a bumperless car, and 2) a motorhome still connected to a ripped off bumper/baseplate assembly. 3 places makes no sense; 1) a bumperless car, 2) a disconnected bumper skin with baseplate and crossmember, 3) an undamaged motorhome attachment.

[BFlinn181]

Blue Ox, Roadmaster, and Demco all make base plates for Chevy Equinox. Watching video install of Blue Ox and Roadmaster installation, this wasn't a failure of their products, that leaves Demco.

Blue Ox drills and bolts to side of box holding the front bumper, then is further secured with a safety cable on each side wrapped around frame member further back.

Roadmaster REMOVES the front bumper, bolts it's replacement in it's place, then has a metal brace from the replacement back to a factory bolt holding the suspension sub frame in place, using a supplied replacement bolt.

Demco has a service bulletin for 2010-13 Equinox base plates because, "It has come to our attention that some Chevy Equinox vehicle may have inadequate design and/or construction in the front frame horn area to allow sufficient support of Demco baseplates." Interesting how Demco puts the error in Chevy's column, not that they created a weak design.

2010 - 2013 Chevrolet Equinox | Demco Products

While I haven't found the install instructions or a video of installing this Demco product, I'm pretty sure from the roadside photos of the remains, either this base plate wasn't properly installed or it's a Demco design failure.

Either Blue Ox or Roadmaster product installations would have prevented this.

[Dr4Film]

Personally I have never owned a Demco product and probably will never own one.

I have used primarily Blue-Ox products but would not hesitate to use RoadMaster as their products are excellent too.

Thanks for the research on this concern.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

[walt2137]

I have installed a Roadmaster base plate to a 2010 Chevy Equinox and that is not a Roadmaster base plate, the Roadmaster baseplate is bolted through the frame on the Equinox. The base plate does not look like a Blue Ox either.