Be careful out there

[awellis3]

Famous last words: "Let me show you what my truck can do."

[SpringerPop]

Originally Posted by awellis3

Famous last words: "Let me show you what my truck can do."

Ego and testosterone equals problems, whether on the road or sitting in the tavern.

Pop

[txredfish]

My pick up has an anti-sway system that automatically applies trailer and truck brakes in a sway condition. But I hope I never have to test it.

[jlgail4309]

Dont see any hitch at all. Hard to see but no bars or chains. Looks like he's riding on the ball and thats it. Hard to tell. But I get passed all the time and they out of level and wagging like a dog. Doing 75 or 80

[widogmom]

That speed is bad enough on I-17 (which I will never, ever drive again), but I can't imagine pulling a stunt like this on a state road. So many people out there whose right foot is writing checks their rig (and ability!) can't cover.

[V-Lite Fun]

That's why I bought a Hensley. Never ever any sway. It cost big bucks but worth every dime. Just finished a 5000 mile trip. Handles like a dream.

[walljammer]

The best thing is to not get yourself in that situation to start with! Once there it is usually to late.

[Wobbles]

Clearly this fellow was operating outside of his skill set and vehicle capacities.

Sometimes what I see makes my butt leave a hickey on the seat.

[dbarr]

Originally Posted by jlgail4309

Dont see any hitch at all. Hard to see but no bars or chains. Looks like he's riding on the ball and thats it. Hard to tell. But I get passed all the time and they out of level and wagging like a dog. Doing 75 or 80

Would surprise me. Had a 3/4T Chevy dura max pull in next to me with a 30ft on just the ball last June in Gatlinburg. Plates were Ohio.

[jevanb]

Plenty of trailers getting towed on the ball (no WD) all over. If your truck does not need it why use it? Would a DRW need one with a 30 ft TT? I think not, it is only relevant if the weight on the tongue is excessive. Only people using them are RV guys, never see a landscape, flatbed ect... using them. I always use the WD bars but know lots of people that don't, when I pulled a 7k 29ft boat i could not used them because of the surge brakes

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[dbarr]

Originally Posted by jevanb

Plenty of trailers getting towed on the ball (no WD) all over. If your truck does not need it why use it? Would a DRW need one with a 30 ft TT? I think not, it is only relevant if the weight on the tongue is excessive. Only people using them are RV guys, never see a landscape, flatbed ect... using them. I always use the WD bars but know lots of people that don't, when I pulled a 7k 29ft boat i could not used them because of the surge brakes

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That'd be great if I could shift my entire load like a boat, flatbed, utility or landscape trailer to lessen the dead weight on the tongue.

[boatman]

Most boats don't have a flat side that's 8' tall and 29' long that can catch a wind gust and push you into the next lane in the blink of an eye, I pull a 32' 5th wheel and I also tow my 24' 6500 lb boat and have wished that boat had a WD hitch and anti sway plenty of times. Most people don't head out on 1000 mile trips with there boat. Anyone who says I don't need a WD hitch and anti sway are really saying the safety of my passengers and people around me isn't worth $500 bucks


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[wamafi43]

If you see your TT swaying, stay on the gas and activate your trailer brakes without touching the truck brakes.
This will straighten out your TT, or buy a fifth wheel, no more sway then

[Blackrock]

That downhill run south out of Payson Az is crazy on Sunday afternoons.

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by 47chevy

Just another "1/2 ton idiot" trying to prove he "can do it". NOT ! ! ! !

I can find a lot of pictures of 1 ton and 3/4 ton idiots in wrecks, too. It's already been stated he was going way too fast and swaying, meaning he had an insufficient or improperly installed hitch. Driving like this will get you in a wreck sooner or later no matter what you're towing with.

[09grizzly1]

Hey, hold my beer and watch this.

[oldtool2]

Originally Posted by wbdavey

IMO the best way to stop sway is to manually engage the trailer brakes while holding the steering wheel very steady.

A few years back I had my trailer try to pass me. I feathered the trailer breaks while adding gas to my Jeep and pulled the trailer back in behind me. Problem was it kept on going, pulling me off the road and causing me to roll twice before I stopped. I couldn't figure out what I had done wrong!
There was a couple that had been following me for about 10 miles. I didn't know them. The trooper questioned them and they told him that I wasn't doing anything wrong. I had been doing the speed limit and seemed to know what I was doing so they decide to follow me. Thank God they stopped to help! I ended up on the roof but fortunately I was fine and so was my dog.

They come to find out that an axle had snapped near the tire on the drivers side. It was decided that the accident was not my fault and could not have been prevented. Thank God nobody was hurt! IMHO though I also blame myself. Even though the Jeep Renegade I was pulling with was rated high enough to pull that trailer I personally think it was too small. I might have been OK with a large SUV or a full size truck.
Yes, the best way to pull a trailer back in is to slowly feather the trailer brakes while slowly increasing your speed. This should pull the trailer back and then you can slow down as you normally would.

The problem many people have with this method is that their brake controller is mounted in a bad location and they cannot reach it. The dealer I bought my last trailer at did this to me and I've got to move it! I can reach it but not comfortably.

Jim

[jhoppmann]

Originally Posted by jlgail4309

Dont see any hitch at all. Hard to see but no bars or chains. Looks like he's riding on the ball and thats it. Hard to tell. But I get passed all the time and they out of level and wagging like a dog. Doing 75 or 80

I wish I had thought to look and see what he was running. I wonder if he did have a WDH/anti-sway hitch if that would have prevented it. Although another thought is that given his excessive speed, if the trailer did go over, would the added strength/rigidity of something like an Equalizer have taken the truck over as well? Bottom-line is that excessive speed was the root of the problem. Poor weight distribution(setup) and lack of anti-sway then compounded the problem.

[Timex]

When driving thru town, there is always some smarta$$ that can't wait to get to the next red light. I like to pull up beside them, toot the horn and wave at them while we wait for the light to change. They sometimes look at me like I'm crazy or can't see me as they are totally engrossed at looking at their dumb phone.

[vanreever]

Guy is an idiot. Simple as that. Does not matter if it is a 150, 250 or a 350 towing a trailer. If you go too fast, bad things happen. I am glad noone got hurt in this incident, but this driver should get a bloody lip from somebody for putting his wife and kids in harms way to save a few minutes. I drive under the speed limit and do not care what other drivers think. I check my hitch and tires every trip. Our lives are more important than getting somewhere a bit faster.