Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong

[BigBlue1]

The fact he is towing it with a pickup is what is bugging me. I can see it if it was a big truck. I would guess his load is about double what the pickup weighs. I tow heavy but always have part of the towed weight on the pickup. Some of those trailers are up to 20k gvw. I would think traction/control would be a problem with an empty pickup.

View attachment 752399

The header trailer may have a GW of 20k but it isn't really hitting that limit here. A 40' Draper header similar to what is show above is about 7500#. The Ford in the picture above is an HD (3/4 or 1 ton) so towing capacity is in the ballpark of what they're towing. Trailers like that aren't getting towed at 70 mph down the interstate either, probably under 40.

 

[4570Man]

The header trailer may have a GW of 20k but it isn't really hitting that limit here. A 40' Draper header similar to what is show above is about 7500#. The Ford in the picture above is an HD (3/4 or 1 ton) so towing capacity is in the ballpark of what they're towing. Trailers like that aren't getting towed at 70 mph down the interstate either, probably under 40.

He’s towing a fuel trailer as well. They’re usually around 1000 gallons of fuel and usually have 1-200 gallons of def. Assuming it’s full that trailer and the header trailer would be around 20k combined. I agree not super dangerous with working trailer brakes especially in a flatland state but without a doubles endorsement, a tanker endorsement and a hazmat endorsement for the fuel it’s still illegal. Even if he has all that which I doubt a double is required to be pulled off a 5th wheel trailer. If the farmer actually owned the picker and was picking his field there would be more leeway. But they often do contact harvesting and those guys are considering commercial truck drivers not farmers.

 

[KilroyJC]

Cars back then were tanks; even with all that weight it probably only squatted about an inch.....

Our neighbors back around 1975 had a four door Mercury sedan; don't know the model. I do remember that you could practically stand up and walk around the back seat area because there was so much room.

Hahah the rear springs were shot and a golf ball would have hit the oil pan

After that incident, I replaced the rear spring with front springs from a Ford E350 van - I snapped off the tops of three shock absorbers before they finally settled in! but I never bottomed out again no matter how much crap I loaded into the car.

 

[nisaacs]

The header trailer may have a GW of 20k but it isn't really hitting that limit here. A 40' Draper header similar to what is show above is about 7500#. The Ford in the picture above is an HD (3/4 or 1 ton) so towing capacity is in the ballpark of what they're towing. Trailers like that aren't getting towed at 70 mph down the interstate either, probably under 40.

It is the style of trailer that bugs me, towing with an empty pickup. I tow heavy with my 2500's but carry some of the trailer weight. When you panic stop you load the rear axle of the tow vehicle. That trailer would unload the rear axle of the pickup and be a hand full.

This was a custom harvesting crew, so I am pretty sure they travel some freeways, at speed. I have seen them regular over the years but not this type trailer and a pickup. It just seems funky.

This type would be fine towing with a pickup.

 

[Fallon]

Just missed being able to take a photo even with the wife driving... downtown Denver on I25, 5 lanes across 1 way & heavy traffic. Idiot red Doge 1/2 ton towing a 25' or so travel trailer. Hazards on doing 40 or so with a slide out hanging 4' into traffic on the driver's side.

 

[bcp]

Towing in the wrong place:

RV is free after spending a week stuck on Lime Creek Road

A Colorado man driving a 38-foot motor home is finally free after spending about a week marooned on Lime Creek Road, a narrow and rugged dirt road high in the San Juan Mountains north of Durango. The ...

www.durangoherald.com

Bruce

 

[oliver1555]

I went over to the site of the Amtrak wreck and looked it over. Pictures don’t reflect the grade very well - it’s steeper than it looks. The road comes in at an angle and turns abruptly and has a steep approach. Not good for a loaded truck, as you climb all the way to the tracks and it would be tough to get started again, if you stop. I heard on the radio that there are several wrongful death suits filed already, against the trucking company by Amtrak, against BNSF by the driver’s widow, and I’m not sure what else. There have been calls for years to improve this crossing.

Widow of dump truck driver killed in Chariton County train accident files wrongful death suit

 

[oliver1555]

 

[Jstpssng]

Now maybe they will mark the crossing with lights, the way that it should have been in the first place. Perhaps even change the approach to make it safer, although that's probably too much to ask.

 

[BravoXray]

What could go wrong?
Motorcycle, truck, trailer and boat, think the hitch on that RV is rated for all that weight?
And if you look close, I don't see any safety chains, but the is a 2" ball sticking out of the front of the truck. Interesting...

 

[oliver1555]

I’ll bet when the lawyers get done, the crossing will be fixed. My son said the next crossing after that is worse. He said they can run 70 MPH with a stack train through there. Amtrak can run 90 MPH.

 

[aczlan]

What could go wrong?
Motorcycle, truck, trailer and boat, think the hitch on that RV is rated for all that weight?
And if you look close, I don't see any safety chains, but the is a 2" ball sticking out of the front of the truck. Interesting...

View attachment 752502

The ball on the front of the truck is probably to put the boat trailer into the water with, that way you're driving for and can see what you're doing which could make it a little easier.
No idea on the weight rating of the hitch on the rv, but if they're doing it right the truck has toad or something similar that pushes the brake pedal when the RV brakes turn on.

Aaron Z

 

[nisaacs]

The widow's lawsuit won't go anywhere. The NTSB will find the truck at fault. The train always has the right of way. How many of this type crossings are there nationwide, thousands.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I don't know about the "widow's lawsuit", they (RR) may quietly settle, but yeah, there are crossings like that all over the country. There are probably "thousands" of them just inside North Dakota.

Here (ND) if there is not an "active" crossing signal, just a sign, you are just required to come to a full stop first, and look both ways, before you cross the tracks. Some crossings you can see miles of track in each direction, and some you can't. I guess you "rollz the dice, and takez your chances".

 

[Moxie 15]

The widow's lawsuit won't go anywhere. The NTSB will find the truck at fault. The train always has the right of way. How many of this type crossings are there nationwide, thousands.

Yes, the train always has the right of way, however that does not give the owner of the rail line the right of way to not maintain the crossing safely. Someone said that there have been several other accidents and law suits. The NTSB could very well recommend a light or change in the road or rail line to facilitate a safer crossing. If they have already recommended change and it was not done then there is plenty of room for a suit.

 

[gstrom99]

My son said Amtrak runs 90 MPH through there.

Yeah, but with the horn BLARING!

 

[Diggin It]

Towing in the wrong place:

RV is free after spending a week stuck on Lime Creek Road

A Colorado man driving a 38-foot motor home is finally free after spending about a week marooned on Lime Creek Road, a narrow and rugged dirt road high in the San Juan Mountains north of Durango. The ...

www.durangoherald.com

Bruce

I don't have a lot of sympathy for RVers that don't plan their trips/routes better.

I heard on the radio that there are several wrongful death suits filed already, against the trucking company by Amtrak, against BNSF by the driver’s widow, and I’m not sure what else. There have been calls for years to improve this crossing.

Widow of dump truck driver killed in Chariton County train accident files wrongful death suit

I don't see that one. That road has a number, but I'm not sure if it's a state or county road. In a sane world, the liability is a mix between the rail company, the road department or engineers that established that route and whatever entities are responsible for maintaining it. I see absolute zero liability on the truck driver. Those pictures make it appear there is a clear line of sight, but one story placed the train speed at 87 MPH. That means the train may have been well over a mile away and likely out of sight of the driver as he approached. Signals should detect a train at that speed something like five miles from the crossing, if not ten.

A motor vehicle operator can't yield to a train they don't know is approaching.

What could go wrong?
Motorcycle, truck, trailer and boat, think the hitch on that RV is rated for all that weight?
And if you look close, I don't see any safety chains, but the is a 2" ball sticking out of the front of the truck. Interesting...

Motor Carrier units should be all over that one. This is another one of those RVers that need to be dealt with.

 

[BigBlue1]

What could go wrong?
Motorcycle, truck, trailer and boat, think the hitch on that RV is rated for all that weight?
And if you look close, I don't see any safety chains, but the is a 2" ball sticking out of the front of the truck. Interesting...

The cycle is the only tongue weight on that RV's hitch. The drawbar for the truck would freely pivot. The truck/boat combo is the only towing weight on the hitch. A small pickup and boat likely aren't anywhere near the towing capacity of the RV. If you magnify the image there are several cables running along the drawbar which are probably the safety cables (they aren't always chains). Yes, it looks like an odd setup but it probably is fully within the ratings and is safe as long as everything is fastened properly.

 

[oliver1555]

Those pictures make it appear there is a clear line of sight

But there is not a clear line of sight in the direction the train came from. As I said, the pictures don’t give a true representation of the crossing. There is a pretty good climb coming up to the tracks. You don’t get a good look down the tracks until you were right at them. This is the main line with two tracks.

 

[California]

But there is not a clear line of sight in the direction the train came from. As I said, the pictures don’t give a true representation of the crossing. There is a pretty good climb coming up to the tracks. You don’t get a good look down the tracks until you were right at them. This is the main line with two tracks.

How many deaths there in recent years?

Is that a location where the solution to save lives could be to simply close, barricade, the crossing? (And remove the approach ramps).

Here, new freeway construction includes paying compensation for the loss in property value, to a landowner who will now have to go the long way around to get to his newly isolated back 40 on the far side of the new highway.

Or simpler, make the approach ramps there much longer so a full stop to look for a train, is on a level surface. A heavy truck would be more likely to make a full stop compared to now, climbing that grade. And re-align the approach so the area to Stop-Look-Listen is at a right angle to the track to improve line of sight.