Proper trailer towing saftey

[powerstroke444e]

I have a good friend/client that left his home to go about 3 miles down the road to do some work a few days ago, he had his 01 dodge with a 5.9L and a 20' trailer loaded up as he always does (14-19K). He always takes the time to put everything on correctly even if he is just going around the block(IE strap the ladders down with straps hook up the safety chains check trailer brakes put the bed cover over everything in the bed). 2 miles into the trip a 09 Hyundai Sonata (3200lbs) pulled out in front of him.

The dodge was going about 40mph when the car pulled out and the car was going about 20 mph according to the police on the scene. The dodge and trailer left 6' of brake marks before impact then jackknifed in the road when it hit the car as the car was entering the road from the right of the dodge and shoved the truck in to the other ditch, which pointed the truck in the opposite direction it was headed in.

IL State police inspected his truck and trailer to make sure everything was done correctly and was working before they would release the truck (everything was fine). The ball was rated for 12K and so was the receiver IE solid not tube both of which did bent as did the frame on the truck).The guy in the car never seen him and will have to have many surgeries do to being crushed in the accident. The driver of the dodge was beat up and missed some work also.
It stayed hooked up the straps held the ladders and walk board on but several did break and bend, don't ever use bungee straps as my friend would have most likely be killed if the ladders came off and into the truck


Moral of the story
1. Just because you are only going a few miles is no excuse for not doing it right or paying someone who can do it safely, you will kill someone just the same as if you where 100 miles from home.
2. Always buy proper rated hitches, straps and chains.
3. Odds are when the bad one happens you will be in no shape to tell anyone you were only going across town with unsafe equipment (safety matters) one time.
4. Just drive and watch out for others, one could only imagine how bad it would have been if the driver of the Dodge didn't hit his brakes before the impact.
5. Have the proper insurance so you dont have to wonder how will this be handled when you have the bad day, with good insurance you will know how its going to be handled.

 

[Big Bri]

Great story, glad your friend is ok. Should also post this one in safety Forum as well.

 

[dodge man]

Wow, that looks like a bad one. The guy in the car is lucky to be alive. Only 6 feet of skid marks, sounds like he barely had time to hit the brakes, but you are correct, he probably slowed down several mph's before the impact, which probably saved the driver of the cars life. BTW I think Hyundai's have side impact air bags, I'm sure that helped also.

 

[JasG]

Thanks for posting, good example of why to do it right everytime.

 

[LBrown59]

What did he have loaded on the trailer?

 

[funny farmer]

It's just a reminder of how fast things can happen. I'm guilty of not strapping things down properly if I'm only going a few miles. I hardly ever strap down hay bales, got me thinking now.

 

[MarkV]

Bad accident, I hope everyone is eventually OK. I hear so many people ask "can I pull this with this vehicle" and it always makes me think that it isn't what you can pull, it is what you can stop! Not to say your friend was wrong. It doesn't look like any set up would have avoided that accident.

MarkV

 

[Ken45101]

We recently noticed a local towing company moving a motorhome on a rollback without it being tied down at all! They were probably only going a block or two, but....

Oh, this was the same towing company that last year had a fire department ladder truck come off one of their tow trucks on a 60 mile trip. The fire truck was destroyed, several hundred thousands of dollars loss. I guess they haven't learned.

Ken

 

[powerstroke444e]

He had his normal tools and equipment in the trailer, and the truck and trailer were inspected. The truck was equiped as needed by law to handle a trailer of this size. The truck and trailer had been weighed by the state before and was sent down the road as it was with in the limits. If I had to guess the truck was 7,500 to 8,000lbs and the trailer was in the same range. Working brakes on all axles which was easy to tell by the skid marks in the road and flat spots on the tires, I know there are guys that would have put this behind a 1/2ton with weight distribution hitch, but I would say that would be pushing saftey limits big time. If you are going to tow anything on a regular basis get a 3/4 ton or bigger, as they have the brakes to handle the load, not just the HP.

FYI just because they have a tow truck with strobe lights don't mean they know what they are doing, the crew that picked this up are some of the best guys around but they are not the cheapest either.

I would say that there was nothing he could have done to keep this one from happening.

 

[LBrown59]

He had his normal tools and equipment in the trailer, and the truck and trailer were inspected. The truck was equiped as needed by law to handle a trailer of this size. The truck and trailer had been weighed by the state before and was sent down the road as it was with in the limits. If I had to guess the truck was 7,500 to 8,000lbs and the trailer was in the same range. Working brakes on all axles which was easy to tell by the skid marks in the road and flat spots on the tires, I know there are guys that would have put this behind a 1/2ton with weight distribution hitch, but I would say that would be pushing saftey limits big time. If you are going to tow anything on a regular basis get a 3/4 ton or bigger, as they have the brakes to handle the load, not just the HP.

FYI just because they have a tow truck with strobe lights don't mean they know what they are doing, the crew that picked this up are some of the best guys around but they are not the cheapest either.

I would say that there was nothing he could have done to keep this one from happening.

Except gone another way or left at a different time.

 

[RobertN]

I have towed with 1/2 tons, 3/4 tons, and a F450(1-1/4 ton?)

The 3/4 and up "tons" not only have heavier brakes, they have heavier frames, axles ect. They tow soo much nicer.

I had a borrowed trailer, was transporting my little Kubota. Someone cut me off bad on the freeway, and the brakes, well, were useless on the trailer. It was a mild load, maybe 4500lbs total. But it pushed me around pretty good. From my experience towing with 1/2 tons, I'm sure it would have been a wreck/crash.

Needless to say, I have my own trailers now... And the brakes ect work very well.

H I know there are guys that would have put this behind a 1/2ton with weight distribution hitch, but I would say that would be pushing saftey limits big time. If you are going to tow anything on a regular basis get a 3/4 ton or bigger, as they have the brakes to handle the load, not just the HP.

 

[RobertN]

So this thread relates to one of my pet peeves... No factory tiedowns worth a hoot on these expensive trucks. We live close to a couple feed stores. People are always buying hay/alfalfa. And hardly anyone ties it down.

There was a guy today; he had a 1 ton dually Ford loaded with hay. Over the cab. Hanging over the sides. Well stacked, But no rope. One hard stop, one emergency swerve, and a lot of hay/alfalfa would be all over the place.

A wreck like the one in this post, would have bales of hay all over the place; 90+lb bales flyinging thru the air. And a real hazard when they lay in the road.

 

[Diamondpilot]

The new Nissan and Toyotas have a bed utility system that contains 5 tracks. One across the front of the bed, one down the side of each bed rail, and 2 down the floor of the bed. My Titan came with 8 heavy tie downs that can be put anywhere along these tracks to allow for ease of tie down. The trucks also have the standard 4 rings in each bed corner.

2010 Nissan Titan Truck | Nissan USA Official Site

Chris

 

[taborekle]

Now how in the heck can that driver that pulled out have "not seen" this huge truck and trailer barreling down on him? I know! He didn't look.

 

[Ken45101]

Now how in the heck can that driver that pulled out have "not seen" this huge truck and trailer barreling down on him? I know! He didn't look.

There are people who don't see big fire trucks coming with lights and sirens. We even had a police cruiser rear ended on a traffic stop at night, well lit up. The guy claimed he didn't see it

 

[Bird]

Now how in the heck can that driver that pulled out have "not seen" this huge truck and trailer barreling down on him? I know! He didn't look.

I don't think I could explain it with just words, but get something the size of a postcard, draw a stick man a quarter inch tall in the middle, hold it out in front of your nose and eyes and slowly move it toward your eyes while you keep looking at the stick man you drew. Most people never realize there's blind spot which varies in size with the distance from you.

If you just glance quickly to the side, especially if you don't turn your head very far, so you're only seeing down the road with one eye (bridge of your nose blocking the other eye), you can very easily fail to see even a large vehicle coming. The first time I knew of such was demonstrations in the police academy in 1964, but I've seen it on more than one occasion since.

Always look in each direction twice or pause very briefly while looking each direction; only a second or two is required.

 

[radioman]

That is another one of my pet peeves, when I am towing something, no matter what I am towing with, people don't seem to realize about the extra weight I have behind me. Granted, it's my responsiblity to be safe, but a little respect goes a long way. I am glad your freind is ok- these pics is a god reminder of anything that can happen.

Bird- That was interesting description about blind spots. That certainly opened my eyes. I am just sitting here and wondering why don't they teach that in drivers ed and defensive driving courses? (well at least I haven't heard about it here in NYS)

 

[Bird]

[wondering why don't they teach that in drivers ed and defensive driving courses?

I don't know whether any of them teach it or not. I certainly did when I was teaching my grandson to drive.

Another little experiment you can do to prove the blind spot, is only glance quickly left, then right, then back left, and back right. No telling how many times I've done that myself and see a vehicle on the second glance that I did not see at all on the first glance.

 

[WH401]

That's a classic reason as to why you shouldn't drive a small car.

 

[JasG]

I've had people sit at an intersection looking right at me and "thinking" (?) about if they should go or not and then decide yes right when I'm almost on top of them. It really makes my day when nothing is behind me so it's not like they are going to have to wait any more than for me. Usually these people take there sweet time coming up to speed, about 1/2 of them turn left just up the road a little. I've also had people come up to stop sign and not even try to stop or look and pull out. Or just as bad, someone will pass me when I'm driving at least the speed limit or slightly faster. Only to jam on there brakes due to they are turning. Been a few times where I have had to slam on my brakes, and you wonder what are they thinking.