Here's the details.. Tow rig F450.. Trailer,totally restored Spartan trailer with a state of the art, no expense spared, frame, suspension and brake system. There was NO budget on this build [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]
First time out he lost control and hit the guardrail.
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2005 F250 6.0 PSD CC Auto, Dk toreador red/Ariz beige,Lariat Luxury 4x4 SB,TT Mirrors,Camper PKG,Roof lights,ADJ pedals,REV aid,Trailer hitch,TOW COMMAND,ESOF,PWR rear window,3.73 posi,SIRIUS SAT radio. Built 08/09/04 2005 F250SIRUS RADIO
2002 BUYBACK bad paint F250 7.3 PSD Auto CC Lariat 4x4 SB, TT mirrors,Camper pkg,Grille insert,Hood shield,Tow pkg,Adj pedals,Shift on fly,Trailer brake,Spray in bedliner,Dk highland green w/tan. 2002 F250
Dollars to donuts his load configuration and trailer load distribution (balance) was off. On top of that he had a new distribution setup and most likely it was not dialed in correctly for his application. (my speculation).
Another prime suspect is I suspect they may have not had the car tied down correctly. Side swiping or brushing a median wall like they did should not break a car free of it tie down points. He said it was towing fine, then snapped weird on them. There's a good chance the car came untied and started to move around before he lost it.
Also, if I read that thread correctly it sounded like his trailer brakes did not come on like they should've....at least on the 1st attempt. That's not good either.
Load distribution is critical on trailers, some more than others. My neighbor's toybox is a classsic example. If he puts his sandrail in front-facing i.e. drives it in, there's so much weight from the motor being over the rear end of the trailer he can't go over 55mph without the back wanting to pass up the front. Conversly, if he backs the car in which puts the motor over the rear axles the trailer is solid as a rock going down the road.
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05 F-350, PSD, 4x4, Crew Cab,6-Speed
2" Front Level Kit, Pro Comp ES9000 Shocks
Firestone Model 2400 Airbags (horrid engineering)
Tow 30' Toyhauler
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<font color="green">Number one suspect is speed and inexperience.
Number two is a long trailer with death-trap bumper-pull configuration.
I also suspect electric-over-hydraulic actuator lag, which can be quite significant.
I have had the misfortune of towing a few lengthy bumper-hitch trailers; without exception, they would start an un-controlable swaying, that the farther it went, the worse it got.
Had he had a gooseneck, the trip would have been un-eventful. </font>
im gonna go with to long a bumperbull for his inexperience driving........
long bumnperpulls suck, i have towed many a 53' semi trailers in bumperpull configuration WITHOUT a dolly, and it sucks......
i dont get why he had someone who hauls cars profesonally come and tie it down.....
most likely the things ripped out of the floor, as that track tie down system sucks for hevay objects.
he probably flew off the offramp and got out of control....
when i have stupid heavy loads, or long doubles i start getting down to 50 before i am even on the offramp with the stupid clovers and U turn ramps we have around here.
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lots of junk
97 f350, 7.3L, 2wd, auto, exhuast, intake, injectors, chip, IC, big gooseneck.
93 f350. 7.3L idi turbo, 2wd, 5 speed, dually. Pics
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There was NO budget on this build [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]
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Then he's either ignorant or stupid.
Folks get tired of my constant tooting the horn of the Hensley Arrow hitch for "bumper pull" trailers that gross more than 5,000-or-so pounds.
But if he had a Hensley Arrow instead of that cheaper weight-distributing hitch, he wouldn't be looking at the cost to repair a classic Porsche and a classic Lincoln and a classic car-hauler trailer.
Yes the Hensley Arrow is expensive. But not a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of repairing those three classics.
Sway is what did him in. He needed no sway. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]
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My Sierra Blanca is a '99.5 PSD CrewCab hot-rod Towing Machine! BTS tranny; TurboRamAir intake and 4" stainless turbo-back exhaust; DP-Tuner tunes flashed into an Edge Evolution tuner; ISSPRO EV gauges and TTM; AIC; SP-Diesel exhaust brake and torque converter controller. I special-ordered it new and plan to drive it until it quits.
Not to hijack, but what's too long for a bumper pull?
FS
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'01 X 7.3 to tow my racecar...
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I suspect that he took his eyes off of the road when he went for the manual brakes. I also suspect that he did not do any serious testing of the manual brakes.
Anything over twelve feet is trouble fixing to happen.
Two horse trailers are also deadly.
Go ahead flamers, I will stand by my statement on this. </font>
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I respectfully beg to differ. I have pulled up to 24 + 4 = 28' since 1969 in flatbeds, vans, campers and horse trailers and have pulled a number of two horse bumper pull trailers. I have also driven big trucks for 12 of the last 35 years. In my opinion much more of the problem lies in either inexperience or improper setup/loading than in equipment design. I agree fifth wheels and goosenecks are inherently more stable but disagree with the "trouble fixing to happen - deathtrap" generalization.
Dave / Believer45
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'95 F250 ext cab long bed, PSD, 5 speed manual, two wheel drive, 3.55 gears, LUK clutch conversion, 450 lb homemade REAR BUMPER, homemade open element AIR FILTER, aluminum bed cap. With me in the cab (285#) and full of fuel weighs 6,580 lbs (steer 3420 drive 3160)
Most trouble pulling horse trailers isn't the trailer, it's the horses and the driver/loader. You've really got to squeeze horses and cattle into the trailer where they can't really move around much, else they'll start to panic while you're going down the road, and then you've got real problems, especially with a bumper pull trailer. Several tons of horses or cattle jumping around and moving back and forth in your trailer will always make it sway and bounce down the road.
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I believe what happen had to do with the newly installed load distributing and sway control hitch. One of the torsion bars dropped out of its socket and hit the pavement as did the chain cinch it was attached to.
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Unless I missed something in the guys pictures I don't see any Sway Control Device anywhere. All I can see is the weight distributing head / bar assembly [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shrug.gif[/img]
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Bob
"I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed. But I do say no more than ten to twenty million killed, tops. Uh, depending on the breaks."
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Most trouble pulling horse trailers isn't the trailer, it's the horses and the driver/loader. You've really got to squeeze horses and cattle into the trailer where they can't really move around much, else they'll start to panic while you're going down the road, and then you've got real problems, especially with a bumper pull trailer. Several tons of horses or cattle jumping around and moving back and forth in your trailer will always make it sway and bounce down the road.
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That's what the rumble strips on the sides of the road are for...scares em stiff...they won't move a muscle!!! Had a crazy cow in a 3-4 cow trailer (bumper pull) we threw her in the front half with the cross gate (4-5 feet tall gate) she jumped the gate while driving down the road she was so crazy...we got her back in the front and when the trailer would start bouncing (cause she was running around banging into things) we'd just throw her on the rumble strips...it was hilarious!!
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2000 F-250 Powerstroke, 4" MBRP stainless exhaust, hi flow open air filter, gauges, 6 position TS Performance chip all from FKDP (Fat Kid Diesel Performance) Brush guard - 140k My Truck Pics
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Most trouble pulling horse trailers isn't the trailer, it's the horses and the driver/loader. You've really got to squeeze horses and cattle into the trailer where they can't really move around much, else they'll start to panic while you're going down the road, and then you've got real problems, especially with a bumper pull trailer. Several tons of horses or cattle jumping around and moving back and forth in your trailer will always make it sway and bounce down the road.
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I custom haul cattle and horses for a living.
If I "squeeze" them in there, like sardines, I won't have any customers, pretty soon.
Cattle have to have "lay down and get back up" room, especially on trips over a couple hundred miles.
When stock is stuffed in a trailer, redneck farmer style, they will smother to death, should a truck break down and sit still for a spell.
I have owned several gooseneck stock trailers.
No trailer I ever owned seemed to care where on the trailer, or how, or how many, cows were on there.
Empty, loaded, half loaded, all on the front, all on the back, I can never tell the difference driving down the road.
Every bumper-hitch stock or horse trailer I have ever had dealings with was a white knuckle experience.
They are all right to haul the riding mower to the shop, or a couple four-wheelers, but much else, and they are a wreck fixing to happen. </font>
1) He didn't have the load tied correctly. The right tie down goes left side anchor and the left side tie goes to the right side anchor or an "X" on both front and rear of the rolling load. Had the load been X'd it would not have shifted.
2) No pre-brake inspection nor testing was done. Had a brake test been completed, then he would have known his brake controller needed adjusted and if the delay was too long.
3) A very inexperienced driver. This type of person needs a professional driving school before pulling any type of load weight and maybe for just operating a car.
I have been pulling trailers for over 40yrs and have yet needed or required WD or sway control "if" I loaded my trailer correctly. I've never had severe sway that I did not cause myself by wrong load placement, however I have always used custom built hitching that did not need WD to strengthen the hitching.
His overall trailer length didn't contribute to the accident.
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T_Bone
02 F350, 4X6, Crew, DRW, LWB, PSD, 6spd, 3:73, Island Blue, Stock, AEB2, Phoenix Az
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F250 7.3 PSD Auto CC Lariat 4x4 SB, TT mirrors,Camper pkg,Grille insert,Hood shield,Tow pkg,Adj pedals,Shift on fly,Trailer brake,Spray in bedliner,Dk highland green w/tan.
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