Proper trailer towing saftey

powerstroke444e · Sep 16, 2009

I have a good friend/client that left his home to go about 3 miles down the road to do some work a few days ago, he had his 01 dodge with a 5.9L and a 20' trailer loaded up as he always does (14-19K). He always takes the time to put everything on correctly even if he is just going around the block(IE strap the ladders down with straps hook up the safety chains check trailer brakes put the bed cover over everything in the bed). 2 miles into the trip a 09 Hyundai Sonata (3200lbs) pulled out in front of him.

The dodge was going about 40mph when the car pulled out and the car was going about 20 mph according to the police on the scene. The dodge and trailer left 6' of brake marks before impact then jackknifed in the road when it hit the car as the car was entering the road from the right of the dodge and shoved the truck in to the other ditch, which pointed the truck in the opposite direction it was headed in.

IL State police inspected his truck and trailer to make sure everything was done correctly and was working before they would release the truck (everything was fine). The ball was rated for 12K and so was the receiver IE solid not tube both of which did bent as did the frame on the truck).The guy in the car never seen him and will have to have many surgeries do to being crushed in the accident. The driver of the dodge was beat up and missed some work also.
It stayed hooked up the straps held the ladders and walk board on but several did break and bend, don't ever use bungee straps as my friend would have most likely be killed if the ladders came off and into the truck

Moral of the story
1. Just because you are only going a few miles is no excuse for not doing it right or paying someone who can do it safely, you will kill someone just the same as if you where 100 miles from home.
2. Always buy proper rated hitches, straps and chains.
3. Odds are when the bad one happens you will be in no shape to tell anyone you were only going across town with unsafe equipment (safety matters) one time.
4. Just drive and watch out for others, one could only imagine how bad it would have been if the driver of the Dodge didn't hit his brakes before the impact.
5. Have the proper insurance so you dont have to wonder how will this be handled when you have the bad day, with good insurance you will know how its going to be handled.

Big Bri · Sep 16, 2009

Great story, glad your friend is ok. Should also post this one in safety Forum as well.

dodge man · Sep 16, 2009

Wow, that looks like a bad one. The guy in the car is lucky to be alive. Only 6 feet of skid marks, sounds like he barely had time to hit the brakes, but you are correct, he probably slowed down several mph's before the impact, which probably saved the driver of the cars life. BTW I think Hyundai's have side impact air bags, I'm sure that helped also.

JasG · Sep 16, 2009

Thanks for posting, good example of why to do it right everytime.

LBrown59 · Sep 16, 2009

What did he have loaded on the trailer?

funny farmer · Sep 16, 2009

It's just a reminder of how fast things can happen. I'm guilty of not strapping things down properly if I'm only going a few miles. I hardly ever strap down hay bales, got me thinking now.

MarkV · Sep 17, 2009

Bad accident, I hope everyone is eventually OK. I hear so many people ask "can I pull this with this vehicle" and it always makes me think that it isn't what you can pull, it is what you can stop! Not to say your friend was wrong. It doesn't look like any set up would have avoided that accident.

MarkV

Ken45101 · Sep 17, 2009

We recently noticed a local towing company moving a motorhome on a rollback without it being tied down at all! They were probably only going a block or two, but....

Oh, this was the same towing company that last year had a fire department ladder truck come off one of their tow trucks on a 60 mile trip. The fire truck was destroyed, several hundred thousands of dollars loss. I guess they haven't learned.

Ken

powerstroke444e · Sep 17, 2009

He had his normal tools and equipment in the trailer, and the truck and trailer were inspected. The truck was equiped as needed by law to handle a trailer of this size. The truck and trailer had been weighed by the state before and was sent down the road as it was with in the limits. If I had to guess the truck was 7,500 to 8,000lbs and the trailer was in the same range. Working brakes on all axles which was easy to tell by the skid marks in the road and flat spots on the tires, I know there are guys that would have put this behind a 1/2ton with weight distribution hitch, but I would say that would be pushing saftey limits big time. If you are going to tow anything on a regular basis get a 3/4 ton or bigger, as they have the brakes to handle the load, not just the HP.

FYI just because they have a tow truck with strobe lights don't mean they know what they are doing, the crew that picked this up are some of the best guys around but they are not the cheapest either.

I would say that there was nothing he could have done to keep this one from happening.

LBrown59 · Sep 17, 2009

powerstroke444e said:
He had his normal tools and equipment in the trailer, and the truck and trailer were inspected. The truck was equiped as needed by law to handle a trailer of this size. The truck and trailer had been weighed by the state before and was sent down the road as it was with in the limits. If I had to guess the truck was 7,500 to 8,000lbs and the trailer was in the same range. Working brakes on all axles which was easy to tell by the skid marks in the road and flat spots on the tires, I know there are guys that would have put this behind a 1/2ton with weight distribution hitch, but I would say that would be pushing saftey limits big time. If you are going to tow anything on a regular basis get a 3/4 ton or bigger, as they have the brakes to handle the load, not just the HP.

FYI just because they have a tow truck with strobe lights don't mean they know what they are doing, the crew that picked this up are some of the best guys around but they are not the cheapest either.

I would say that there was nothing he could have done to keep this one from happening.

Except gone another way or left at a different time.