keep yer brakes maintained.. etc!!!!!

Soundguy · Mar 22, 2011

had to trailer the 850 with loader/hay spear over to my other farm property to feed out some hay.. on the way home, turing into the neighborhood I live, 2 lil girls ( 5-8ys old? )were riding their bikes down the center of the road!! ditch on one side, and fences and cluster mail boxes on the other.. I was doingf 20 in a 30mph as I had just come out of a turn.. they rode right thru a stop in front of me.. instead of them both choosing the same direction to 'evade' to.. they both rode in front then started for different sides even as I was turning for the ditch.. made it darn hard for me to evade them with them taking both my escape routes about 10' in front of me. I was loaded legal.. 7k trailer loaded to full weight on a 3/4 ton truck.. older flatbed with only 1 brake axle. Normally I use my f450 and gooseneck.. but for this lil trip I took the 250 and the 16' car hauler.. Was a panicked few seconds there. managed to control entry into the ditch with no issues.. finally stopped and by the time I hopped out to see where the kids went they were already crossing the highway.. :

I wasn't a happy camper.. their parents aren't teaching them good habbits.

Luckilly I clean and adjust my brakes, and check air pressure and such before leaving my place each time or that could have been bad!

keep yer maintenance up! saved me some grief last night.

soundguy

Diamondpilot · Mar 22, 2011

Glad it turned out like it did.

Chris

powerstroke444e · Mar 22, 2011

Glad all turned out well. I had something like that happen in a construction zone once, thus the reason one should not say its only across the town or a few miles as it could be your kid.
Hope everyone on here reads this and even if it only makes one guy be a little more safe.

nike · Mar 23, 2011

Good advice about the breaks. good to check.

I always try to look for a positive, you got a free stress test.

slowzuki · Mar 23, 2011

You may want a set of brakes on that second axle. All axles required to be braked in many areas.

Soundguy · Mar 23, 2011

new ones are required to have brakes on all here.. but they don't make you retrofit. this trailer is 11ys old now.

I rarely use it anymore. not worth it to slap another axle under it or swap hubs ( dexter ).. most o fhte stuff I do is on my gooseneck now.

what the parents need to do is teach their kids better.. riding thru a stop sign / bar and down the middle of the road, against traffic? someone needs to be beat.. and I'm not specifically talking about the kids...

soundguy

rd_macgregor · Mar 23, 2011

Here's a cheery thought: in a few years they'll be driving a car and using all the road savvy they learned as bike riders!

BOB

boggen · Mar 23, 2011

glad know one was hurt!

folks in there regular vehicles never have pulled a trailer. or have a bunch of weight in there vehicle, just have no idea. how long it takes to slow down and distance it takes to come to a complete stop.

it be a scary thing at times. though for me, i go through brakes at min once a year on the vehicle. if i drive at night, there be min 90 percent chance a deer comes out in front of me. if it wasn't for them deer. i might actually have brakes lasting me. on other hand, i do get good break testing done. and making sure all 4 brakes on the vehicle work equally. without tossing me into an angle or spin. at times i hate anti lock brakes, and other times i like them, to help keep steering under control. it bugs me when i feel the pulsing of the breaks as the anti lock kicks in. it puts that edge of O......... i hope nothing happens.

after hitting brakes so often due to deer. i hate to say it, but i have started getting use to it. i just hope i don't get to use to it.

what is more annoying though, is getting whip lash, when the trailer brakes kick in good. and pull your rear end of the tow vehicle out from under ya. and taking time to re-grab the steering wheel. then in adrenaline rush panic mode. trying to whip that steering wheel to keep it under control.

jimmysisson · Mar 24, 2011

I think everyone getting a license should be required to take a 20 minute passenger ride in a ten wheeler towing a dozer or excavator, or just filled with gravel. It's a real different view of what happens on the road than from momma's Pontiac. Glad no one was injured SG.
Jim