Trailer towing fail captured on video

[kdauto]

Too much trailer, too little truck? Improper loading? Too much crap hanging on the rear bumper of the trailer causing too little tongue weight? We may never know, the answer is likely a little bit of everything I mentioned.

Stay safe and overestimate your needs and load. Slow down a bit and use common sense.

https://www.facebook.com/RoadTalesPo...A2MTgxNTAxNTU/

[Spk64]

We seen the results of something like this yesterday on I-17 headed to Phoenix on the long downhill grade.
Similar sized trailer flattened and exploded. Tow vehicle had already been removed.

[Mtn. Lion]

Originally Posted by Spk64

We seen the results of something like this yesterday on I-17 headed to Phoenix on the long downhill grade.
Similar sized trailer flattened and exploded. Tow vehicle had already been removed.
Attachment 287063

I'm not on facebook, but that pic above looks horrific.

But the way trailers are made, I wonder how much force was actually needed for it to come apart like that.

[tuffr2]

Why did that guy not take his foot off the gas and coast to a controlled speed? Seems he wanted to pass when he did not have enough truck.

[Ted Lambert]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

Why did that guy not take his foot off the gas and coast to a controlled speed? Seems he wanted to pass when he did not have enough truck.

If he would have hit the trailer brake only, when it started to sway He probably would have saved it.
Panic is easy when not expecting a situation like this.

It happened to me because I never had my EQ set up properly. Trailer brakes saved me!
I was lucky I learned a lot about towing and EQ hitches from this site.

[jergle]

Looks like he was pulling back in the right lane too soon, and jerked it back when he realized that, causing things to spiral out of control. As above, if he had let off the gas and applied the trailer brakes, he probably would have been fine. Trying to pass a big truck with that big camper probably wasn't the brightest move to begin with.

[swavescatter]

Don't you actually want slight throttle with full trailer brake to stop sway?

[RVPioneer]

Originally Posted by swavescatter

Don't you actually want slight throttle with full trailer brake to stop sway?

It looked like the truck and camper were already at full throttle.

[move on]

Most tow vehicles nowadays have electronic stability control that would have prevented something like this. The ESC would have detected the sway, selectively applied the left/right brakes and cut the throttle.

[tuffr2]

I think he had plenty of time to recover if he kept his cool. Passing a tractor trailer you have to get thru the big trucks bow wave. It looks like he did not anticipate the affect of the big truck and then panicked.

Kind like NASCAR when a car flys off the track. The air turbulance does affect travel trailers from the side the same way.

[aether_one]

Yep, captured on video OVER TWO YEARS AGO and posted on Youtube originally. Probably hundreds of posts judging this guy on this forum alone, already in numerous threads.

[RVPioneer]

You can still put a car, or a tow vehicle, in the ditch with ESC.

Now, add a 30-odd foot trailer and a dose of poor judgement and you’ve seen the results.

[mtofell]

Originally Posted by tfryman

Yep, captured on video OVER TWO YEARS AGO and posted on Youtube originally. Probably hundreds of posts judging this guy on this forum alone, already in numerous threads.

I've been on this board daily for the last 3+ years and have never seen it (I feared it was the collapsing bank drive-thru roof )

Yeah, I agree with the others..... dangerous idea to pass with that setup, trailer brake would have likely saved him. Probably too much trailer for his SUV - couldn't tell if that was a 1500 or 2500. In any case, I'm sure his insurance didn't pay and he's in jail

[move on]

It looks like a 1/2 ton to me. Too much trailer and not enough tow vehicle, perhaps poor trailer loading and too much speed.