Super Truckers Take Heed - f350 towing a supposedly 710JD Backhoe Fatality

[Soundguy]

I still do not understand why when moving over loaded like that people do not get geared down before they start down so the brakes as only used as a secondary way of stopping. The trailer brakes may not have been able to do their share either. It is a very sad case that keeps repeating. Growing up our farm trucks where often grossly overloaded so we had to break over some hills already geared down.

We have a 310B and it weights about 12,500 pounds I think.

Agreed, I'd like to know why he sped up.. That tells me -0- brakes, not even e brake.

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[ultrarunner]

Thinks like this could have a medical cause... seizure, heart attack?

 

[Soundguy]

Sounds plausible. I've seen 3 siezure cases where the driver accelerated into people/ objects.

 

[newbury]

How much time does it take to maintain and did it affect you insurance having a CDL?

I think what sticks with some of us is a neighbor can head down the road with a monster motorhome or a boat on a 3 axle trailer... no problem.

If I want to take my backhoe to the folks house to help with a project I'm an outlaw...

Or "a monster motorhome WITH a boat on a 3 axle trailer".

My F350 dually is rated for 12,500 lbs I think. My Hudson equipment trailer is rated for 12K (trailer is 2K, so I can carry a 10K load) . I ONLY haul for personal, not commercial, like getting my stuff from Virginia to Mississippi. I've put about 8K on it twice and it hauls very well.

In a previous life, right after I got out of college, I had a job as a hot tar roofer at a very small family owned company (7 employees). For some unfathomable reason within a couple of months they had me driving the 5 ton loaded with tar and materials and pulling the big hot tar kettle. I'm sure it would be CDL territory today. Previously I had driven a '67 VW Beetle and a '59 Harley.

I cannot understand how the laws can trust certified old f@4%s like me to climb into a 40 foot long Class A and tow a 20' or longer trailer with a car or boat on it WITHOUT passing some certification and be safe. "Yeh, I drove a Honda Civic. Let me take that 40' 2014 FOREST RIVER BERKSHIRE across country, hold my drink. But it happens all the time in the U.S. .

 

[Ron50]

I know that I'm going to sound like an old guy, but I think the country needs to go to an apprentice program for class A on up through tank endorsement and heavy haul. What I've seen out on the road nowdays seems like fresh out of truck driving school. They follow way too close, too many lane changes, drive too fast for the conditions, and you had better stay clear of them in the mountains in the winter.
I was lucky and started out driving on farms way before I had a license and drove some semi at night before I had a chauffeurs license. Tough for kids nowdays to get much experience in our over lawyered naney state. I'd really like for new drivers to spend some time with older experienced drivers. Too many seem to think that 80,000# plus is just a bigger car. Ofcourse not many places nowdays where you can drive for 2 hours at night and never see another vehicle.

 

[4570Man]

I wonder what brake failure killed both truck hyd and e brake, and trailer brakes. Before I'd flip and hurt others I'd be downshifting.. You can replace a trans. Heck, lots of options to get some drag in an emergency..

All of the brakes wouldn't have to have failed. Just loosing trailer brakes with that combo and your toast. Especially since he didn't downshift.

 

[joefromga]

Seems legit.

 

[ultrarunner]

^^^Quite a load...

 

[Cord]

I wonder what brake failure killed both truck hyd and e brake, and trailer brakes. Before I'd flip and hurt others I'd be downshifting.. You can replace a trans. Heck, lots of options to get some drag in an emergency..

Newer trucks are autos and they'll won't let you damage the vehicle. If you try to shift too low, the computer won't give you the gear and if the engine starts to over rev in the current gear it will force a up shift. If you have an older vehicle you could always catch a low gear, shut the ignition off and then rotate the switch back to run so the wheel isn't locked. After that, I'd grind the rig into a guardrail.

 

[Paystar]

Besides big trucks, I also used to have a business delivering new RV trailers from the factories to dealers all over Canada. I was shocked to see the insurance on my pickup trucks for doing this was more expensive than what I paid in my big trucks.
Reason from insurance company......anybody and everybody with a pickup thinks they can hook on to big trailers and hit the highway. And there are a crazy amount of claims for wrote-off trucks and travel trailers. So that's why you pay.

And we all see this every day. Especially with the travel trailers. I once delivered a 14,000 pound 43 foot toy hauler to a dealer. When I pulled in the staff gathered around in shock and asked how it pulled. Then they told me the guy that bought it is 65 years old and is going to tow it with a Ram 2500!!!
Imagine once he fills it with atv's, fuel, groceries.
Wait until he gets in high cross winds at 55 MPH.