I knew I was wrong, but I did it anyway

[davygp38]

I have been searching this site for info on trailer deals, and what the best rig might be for my needs for some time. The reason was,that I knew my 19' 9000# bumper pull was not big enough for my current machine. That being said, I had a small job lined up about 25 miles away. I loaded up the machine, and headed down the road. I was coming down a moderately steep hill at about 65 mph, when I looked in the rear view, and saw the trailer start to fishtail. In the blink of an eye it started to oscillate, and it was in the other lane. I hit the brakes, and steered in to the other lane to straighten it out, and was able to get it under control. My friend was behind me in his car, and said there had been no indication to him, that this was going to happen. I checked the tires,and the bearings they were a little warm, but that was all. I kept it under 50 the rest of the way. The thing I want to point out, is we sometimes know we need to do the right thing, and we do the wrong one anyway. In my case I kept saying to myself, "it's OK, your going to to replace the trailer soon." To make a long story short. The trailer is now for sale. I have ordered a goos neck hitch for my truck. Once the hitch is in I will order the trailer.

 

[Thomas]

That sounded to close for comfort..whew.

Willing to bet most of us here.."I knew I was wrong, but I did it anyway " one time or another,and we also learn...sometimes the hard way.

 

[rpirkle1]

While most of us have done the "I knew I was wrong..." usually we try to take steps to offset the risk. In the case of overloading a trailer or truck... one of the first steps is to SLOW down. Lesson for everyone...

 

[westbrooklawn]

Been there on the "I knew it was wrong, but did it anyway" trailer overload. The difference is that I would never go 65mph in that situation. In fact I kept it between 45 and 50, and still felt uncomfortable. Lesson learned for everyone is that if you choose to overload your trailer occasionally make sure you have good trailer brakes, and drive slowly.

 

[DanD78]

That's a good reason to have a long trailer (between the axles and hitch) with plenty of toung weight. The very reason you talk about made me switch to a goose neck. Keep the brakes in good shape and drive any speed your truck can handle.

Dan

 

[dodge man]

I agree, the 65mph was too fast, and of course you know that now. I realize how easy it is to get comfortable driving a certain speed, everything is going fine, so no problem keep going 65mph. How overloaded were you?

Another question for everyone, I have seen trailer wag once before, and it was also going down a hill. Is this where it will normally happen?

 

[greasemonkeyok]

Sounds as if you may have had too much weight on the back end of the trailer. Try moving the CG forward some, that should help.

 

[/pine]

65 mph

sorry but you were just asking for trouble...

 

[tractorsanmore]

Another question for everyone, I have seen trailer wag once before, and it was also going down a hill. Is this where it will normally happen?

Yes , especially if the road has any curve to it

 

[davygp38]

Sounds as if you may have had too much weight on the back end of the trailer. Try moving the CG forward some, that should help.

The trailer was definitely to short. It is only 16 feet long, so I could not get it balanced right. I was going down a hill, and I normally don't have to use a highway, so I was not expecting this to happen. I learned my lesson, and I learned it cheap this time, and it definitely was all my fault. I finally found a goose neck trailer, that seems to be a perfect fit, and as soon as I sell my trailer, I will order the new one.