My towing disaster (pictures)

[Frank Acampora]

AS I said, You can analyze it to death, but sometimes there simply is nothing you can do: Last winter I shortened my S10 on a hill with black ice. As soon as I topped the hill I saw four cars off the road with an overturned truck at the bottom. Just for the hell of it I tapped the brakes and there was nothing: So, I knew I was just along for the ride. I rode it out about 500 feet, accelerating all the way and by some miracle had just enough steering to avoid the overturned truck in the road. I hit an ice bank and wiped out the front end just as surely as if I had hit a tree.

I had been talking for about three years about buying a bigger truck to tow my cuddy. I regarded this as simply karma and the impetus to buy a 1500.

BTW: I did have my belts on. I am a firm believer in their use.

 

[smoedog]

The roads look dry but how were they when it happened. I can attest to how horrible the roads here in arkansas are when wet. I'm pretty sure they this some pea gravel in with bearing grease and pave away. It can be impossible to pull away from a stop sign without wheelspin

 

[White90GT]

I haven't read the entire thread, so I don't know if it was asked or suggested, but when going down that steep hill, were you only using the brakes to control your speed? If I'm in a hill infested area and see a long steep downward slope coming, I always slow down at the top and downshift to the lowest gear I can to maintain the speed I want, then use brakes on top of that if needed. Sometimes I do this even when not pulling a boat. Brakes aren't made to ride constantly, they will overheat and fail.

 

[roscoe]

""I just bought this bought in May and don't think it had trailer brakes. I managed to make the final turn but was going so fast with the boat I had no control and went straight into the tree. If I had to guess, I was going about 30mph when I hit the tree.""

Been thinking about this for 2 days.

Not to be mean to you, but to use this as a learning experience for others who will read this thread.

First off, you should know how much your rig weighs and if you need brakes on the trailer.
Second, you've had the rig for 3 months, and you don't know if it has brakes? Or if they work?
(Makes me wonder about other items, like bearings and air pressure.)

Trailer definitely should have brakes, even if not a legal requirement in your state.

Something doesn't quite add up.

I'm pretty sure you did not slow down after you left the roadway, and hit the wet grass.
So, how fast were you going on the descent?
Was the trailer swaying?
If it was, hitting the brakes likely caused the problem.
What is the posted speed limit?
It seems like you should have made the curve as long as the trailer wasn't swaying.

If the trailer was swaying, best to ride it out without hitting the brakes, until you were past the curves and the sway was under control.
Been there done that.
Was a passenger and we hit 95 at the bottom of the hill, narrow 2 lane bridge, and semi coming the other way.
The only way to reduce the sway and stay in our lane and not hit the semi, was to let her roll down the hill.
We pulled over about a mile down the road, and dad got a clean pair of shorts out of his suitcase.


According to my 2000 Explorer owners manual, the bumper mounted ball is rated at 3500#.

Also, many vehicle manufacturers recommend (or require) trailer brakes if the trailer exceeds 1500#, even though the tow vehicle is rated for 5000#.

 

[ssobol]

""...Also, many vehicle manufacturers recommend (or require) trailer brakes if the trailer exceeds 1500#, even though the tow vehicle is rated for 5000#.....

A lot of states require brakes on trailers that weigh/carry more than 2000#. Some states also require annual inspections of trailers over a certain size or any trailer that has brakes.

 

[Outsider]

"Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing."

Yeah, I had some student pilots that tried that. The big pink 'U' on the grade sheet usually convinced them it's not always the case ...

 

[Lou C]

No Title

First of all thank goodness you are OK....
When I bought my '88 FW H-200 the trailer had no brakes. The boat and trailer weigh at least 3700 by my estimate. I towed it exactly 2 times with my '98 Jeep Grand Cherokee and immediately called Champion Trailers in Slidell Louisiana and had a new axle made with brake mounting flanges. This was back in '04. I got a set of surge drum brakes and it was like night and day. I could easily stop the boat whereas before it was dangerous. Since we are in salt water most people here don't want to deal with brakes on boat trailers but I have found a way to make them last. Keep in mind that every vehicle has a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating which is the max the vehicle can weigh, but its also the max it can stop in my opinion. For that Jeep the GVWR is about 5100 lbs. The Jeep (4,000) + boat and trailer (3700) = a combined weight of 7700 lbs. No way the standard brake system was designed to stop that. And it sure felt that way. We have many steep and dangerous hills around here and I'd put brakes on any trailer that weighed more than 1500 lbs.
As far as tie downs, rear straps will only help the boat from not going off the trailer backwards. They do nothing in the forward direction. I have a roller trailer, and with all these hills, I have gone a bit above what most people do. I have the normal winch strap, and safety chain, and rear straps. I also have a turnbuckle that is attached to the frame to hold down the bow of the boat. I'm not sure if it would have helped in that accident but even if the winch stand failed, it would stop the boat from going forward into the tow vehicle.

Honestly after that experience, I'd only have a new trailer, with electric over hydraulic brakes. Surge have worked well for me but EOH is the best in terms of control.