Another RV Wreck

[Jim Godward]

http://komonews.com/news/local/couple-wrecks-trailer-on-silverdale-freeway-20-minutes-after-buying-it

 

[Ghostman]

And everyone thinks we are hard on people for telling them there vehicle will not tow the trailer they want. Just because it says or Dealer most of the time says it will tow it do your homework. For me stabilityis far more important than if I can pull it up a hill.

 

[Seilerbird]

This should be a sticky. We need to link to it every time some person wants to tow something too heavy with an SUV.

 

[UTTransplant]

The story says they aren?t going to be cited because the trailer had a bunch of 2x6s underneath. Take a close look at the picture. It is a used trailer, and someone ?reinforced? it with a huge amount of wood! I don?t doubt they would have been overweight without the wood, but why on earth would you buy a trailer and not at least look underneath it?

 

[lynnmor]

I noticed water spilled on the road and one tank between the axles and a large one in the rear.  While the tow vehicle might be inadequate, the extreme sway likely came from weight distribution. 

 

[ClickHill]

Lets assume a couple of things.

First - The Jeep Cherokee towing capacity should be around 7K
Second - The double axle Nomad TT weight (without the added 2x6 flooring) should be close to 6K + the additional weight of the flooring.

The tow capacity of the Jeep and the total (empty) weight of the TT should be relatively close (around 7K) .  Especially assuming the TT was empty since she had just bought it.  My questions are; how fast was she going? why was she in the center lane and not the right lane? (this will result in side draft from both sides), did she have a trailer brake in the Jeep and did she know how to use it when the TT began to sway?  Just taking your foot off the accelerator will do NOTHING to stop the trailer sway.  If she had a trailer brake controller in the jeep and she knew how to manually apply the trailer brakes this was most likely a recoverable event since it was a single vehicle accident caused by trailer sway.

Modify - I missed the water all over the road and at 8.35# per gal the TT may have started out over weight for the Jeep but my thought about the trailer brake remains.

With that said had they made it home as soon as they loaded the TT with ANYTHING, it would have been over weight for the Jeep and was most likely going to be the eventual outcome anyway.

If you tow a TT please know your weights and what the trailer brake does and how to use it.  The time to look for a plan is not when you need the plan.

 

[kportra]

Also - if it was just purchased, what type of towing setup did they have?  Our dealer told us we didn't need weight distribution or a sway bar.  My husband wouldn't have driven it off the lot without those things.  But the dealer knew budget was a serious factor for us and was trying to keep our costs down - at the expense of safety.

Does the shorter wheel base have anything to do with additional sway?

 

[Lou Schneider]

Also - if it was just purchased, what type of towing setup did they have?  Our dealer told us we didn't need weight distribution or a sway bar.  My husband wouldn't have driven it off the lot without those things.  But the dealer knew budget was a serious factor for us and was trying to keep our costs down - at the expense of safety.

Does the shorter wheel base have anything to do with additional sway?

I don't see any sign of equalizing bar brackets on the overturned trailer tongue, though there is a sway control bar mount in the third picture.  Don't know if it was utilized before the crash or was left over from the previous owner.

The ability of the trailer to affect the tow vehicle's direction of travel (sway) is determined by the ratio of the wheelbase to the distance of the hitch behind the rear axle.  This determines how much leverage side forces on the trailer have to affect the tow vehicle.  If the distance from the hitch to the rear axle remains the same, a shorter wheelbase will give the trailer more leverage over the towing vehicle versus one with a longer wheelbase.

Without weight equalizing bars, the trailer's tongue weight will raise the front end of the tow vehicle, removing weight from the front axle and reducing the steering tires' grip on the road.  Again, if the distance from the hitch to the rear axle is the same, this affects a short wheelbase vehicle more than one with a longer wheelbase.

Note that 5th wheels have the hitch either directly over or slightly ahead of the rear axle.  This is why a short wheelbase commercial tractor can easily control a 53 ft. van trailer - the hitch placement doesn't allow side forces to gain any leverage over the tractor.

I noticed water spilled on the road and one tank between the axles and a large one in the rear.  While the tow vehicle might be inadequate, the extreme sway likely came from weight distribution. 

You can see the freshwater tank in the last photo, with it's fill line stretched but still attached to the fill port at the extreme rear end of the trailer.  This is the worst place to put a water tank for both weight distribution and sway potential.  Unless the tank is either completely empty or completely full, the water inside will have space to slosh back and forth, with a half full tank generating the most sloshing force.  Being behind the trailer's axles gives the weight of the sloshing water leverage to set up sway.

 

[BoomerD]

Sadly, that happened just a few miles from where we live. I know both RV dealers i  the town where they bought...neither one seems to be  particularly scrupulous...

 

[Gods Country]

There was probably a lot of factors that went into this wreck.
Speed, weight, general inexperience, etc.

I am often surprised how quickly some people jump into buying a trailer having never pulled anything in their lives.

 

[Memtb]

Sadly, that happened just a few miles from where we live. I know both RV dealers i  the town where they bought...neither one seems to be  particularly scrupulous...

  Many RV dealerships are making  ?automobile salesmen? look good!

 

[S&L5er]

I see can future trailer endorsement on driver license if this trend continues and rightfully so. Price to be paid for the few that don't do their homework. Pitiful

 

[Back2PA]

I see can future trailer endorsement on driver license if this trend continues

I think the RV associations and dealers would fight hard against a rule like that - wouldn?t want to be required to tell prospective buyers they need an endorsement on their driver?s license before they can drive off the lot with their shiny new trailer.

 

[joanbill]

Try as I might I just can't understand the 2x6's.  Did someone lift the entire body off the frame to install them or was this a homemade coach on a used frame?  In either case I can offer a guess based on my experience - too much speed, too little control via sway control and failure to maintain control when sway started by slowing down incrementally.  As I said I had this experience - but not the wreck - after I had several years towing experience.  In any case, if a further story details the cause please post.

Bill

 

[Oscar Mike]

I see can future trailer endorsement on driver license if this trend continues and rightfully so. Price to be paid for the few that don't do their homework. Pitiful

The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles has "laws" that require Motor Home drivers be licensed with an additional endorsement for Non-Commercial either "A", or "B". The "A" endorsement allows you to drive a coach over 26,001# and tow a trailer over 10,000#. The "B" endorsement allows you to drive a coach over 26,001# and tow a trailer up to 10,000#. 

The funny part is, when the DMV classified my coach they listed is as a Small Class C Motor Home, without any weight classification(s). MY coach weighs slightly over 24,000# with a GVWR of 33,000#, is 39'-2" long & 12'-9" tall. Since I purchased out of state, I had to have a VIN Inspection, the Inspector was amused, asking, "How big does a Motor Home have to be to be classified as big?" The end result is that I am not required to have a Class A or B license endorsement. I am going to get the upgraded license anyway, because as we all know, it ain't a problem until it's a problem.

 

[owgpz]

I cannot count the number of times I see people improperly using weight distributing hitches and/or speeding on the highways. Reading questions asking about tow vehicles in Trailer Life and on other forums, quite often the desire is to tow a trailer too large with a vehicle too small. I almost wish there was a separate license requirement for people wanting to tow a trailer because there are so many disasters waiting to happen.

 

[rvannie23]

I cannot count the number of times I see people improperly using weight distributing hitches and/or speeding on the highways. Reading questions asking about tow vehicles in Trailer Life and on other forums, quite often the desire is to tow a trailer too large with a vehicle too small. I almost wish there was a separate license requirement for people wanting to tow a trailer because there are so many disasters waiting to happen.

I second this. I see it ALL the time on I-10 through Houston to San Antonio. Huge trailers, inadequate vehicles, blatantly too high or too low on the nose, no sway bars,  trucks/SUVs totally bottomed out in the back. It?s actually insane. Most are speeding by at well over 70 mph. I get annoyed at the fact that if one of these things swayed and went over, I?d most likely be involved as well just by being in the vicinity. I agree it will never happen, but a license endorsement would be nice.

 

[Gods Country]

A license endorsement will do nothing, but generate more revenue, and do little to halt the problem.  I see my share of dangerous professional drivers as well.  You cannot legislate away stupidity.

 

[Ghostman]

The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles has "laws" that require Motor Home drivers be licensed with an additional endorsement for Non-Commercial either "A", or "B". The "A" endorsement allows you to drive a coach over 26,001# and tow a trailer over 10,000#. The "B" endorsement allows you to drive a coach over 26,001# and tow a trailer up to 10,000#. 

There are several states that require a certain endorsement for a motorhome over a certain weight and some lengths or combination of the 2. Illinois is one. It requires a non commercial class B. I never checked into it because i carry a class A commercial drivers license. I didnt check until someone mentioned it in case my wife is driving.

 

[Oscar Mike]

A license endorsement will do nothing, but generate more revenue, and do little to halt the problem.  I see my share of dangerous professional drivers as well.  You cannot legislate away stupidity.

While there is nothing that will fix stupid, we can educate ourselves, and prove our current experience, and knowledge. A license endorsement will at least test you on weights, which may have prevented this wreck.