Holy Cow!

[LarryJ]

Yesterday coming back from Eau Claire WI on I94 there was a really strong cross wind and we notice ahead of us a TT swaying so much using all of the slow lane and some shoulder, occasionally seemed the TV was following the lead of the TT in going from side to side of highway. The TT was about 29' and towed by a Suburban. Considered not trying to pass it (we're in our car) but this rig was backing up traffic even though going near the speed limit of 70mph.
Finally zipped past and notice it did in deed have weight and sway control setup in use.
I've towed in such wind and noted some discomfort with control but nothing like that, though I was keeping speed down to 60mph or so. Someday going to get that 5th wheel cause you just never know what nature is going to throw at you..

Larry J
2015 SLX 264BHW
2007 Ram 1500, Equalizer, brake control, overloads, etc...

[Jagiven]

Personaly, I was that person once, my issue was not checking tire pressures on the htt. Even cars passing me was pushing me around. Checked the tire pressure when I got home and they where down 5 to 7 psi. I now always top them off and have never experienced anything like that again, and I have been in some hefty wind since then.

[milw156]

I was that guy as well back when I was brand new to all this.

The WDH & Sway Control was not set up properly and I had too much weight still off the steer axle.

I finally visited a CAT Scale and dialed in the WDH and rebalanced the trailer, and instantly the sway was gone.

Visiting a scale is a must.

[Nukeneck]

I don't think I would pull my TT at 70 mph with no wind. That seems like he was asking for trouble. If that guy is concerned with keeping up with traffic, his priorities are misplaced. My .02 cents

[northwindone]

Originally Posted by Nukeneck

I don't think I would pull my TT at 70 mph with no wind. That seems like he was asking for trouble. If that guy is concerned with keeping up with traffic, his priorities are misplaced. My .02 cents

I agree as well, with and without wind. Speed limit while towing here in CA is 55 MPH. I still see folks towing at 70 all the time, you are out to enjoy yourself, slow down! Best part of towing at 55 is you get much better mileage, which means less spent on gas and more money for other stuff!

I have towed though with heavy crosswinds (30-40 mph gusts) with my old TT and it was not fun since we had no WDH or anti-sway. It was only a 19' trailer though coming in under 4,000 lbs and was towing it with my 350. Just cruised along at 55 and we were fine. Even the semi-truck in front of me was swerving a bit and his trailer was leaning over on the big gusts.

A few hours later that same section of freeway was closed for a few hours after 3 or 4 semi trucks and a toy hauler went over on their sides in 50+MPH gusts, happens fairly often around here though. We have one section of freeway just north of us that routinely sees 80+ MPH gusts during stronger wind storms.

[Moon8211]

We left the same area yesterday (Cadott, WI) and agree the wind was terrible-we stayed off of I-94 and kept it to 55mph because of the wind which made it tolerable.

When we got home my husband said it was time to get a 5th Wheel.

[Snake Plissken]

Originally Posted by Nukeneck

I don't think I would pull my TT at 70 mph with no wind. That seems like he was asking for trouble. If that guy is concerned with keeping up with traffic, his priorities are misplaced. My .02 cents

On a windy day 50-55 max

[bakeras]

I agree with the Holy Cow! I was towing south on I75 and US23 in Michigan yesterday. Winds were 20 mph with 40 mph gusts. It was definitely not an easy drive, even with an Equal-i-zer and proper WD setup. It was the random gusts that will keep you on your toes. Drove between 55 and 65 depending on whether I was on open road or there was some sort of windbreak. I used a semi as a windbreak going over the Zilwaukee bridge.

[norty1]

Home made arrangement, small trailer towing a fifth wheel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TrailerScott]

Originally Posted by norty1

Home made arrangement, small trailer towing a fifth wheel.

Interesting, though I suspect that might get sticky with trailer law depending on where you go.

[Fire_Instructor]

Because it's got two pivot points, it's considered tandem towing by most state laws. I've done a LOT of research on this over the last six months, because if you look at my sig block, you may ask yourself "how does he pull that big a 5'er with a ¾ ton truck. I don't!

I leave NYS on a "turn and burn" to Sanger, TX tomorrow morning to pick-up my new Automated Safety Hitch. Since the ASH attaches to the truck frame in three locations, it's considered a tag axle (like a concrete truck extra axle). It will GREATLY increase my pin weight capacity, give me my truck bed and roof (kayaks) back, PLUS, the ASH will greatly increase my braking ability.

You can check it out at The Automated Safety Hitch | Trailer Hitch | Gooseneck Horse Trailers | 5th Wheel RVs | Flatbed Goosenecks | Fifth Wheel

[clutch]

That guy was an accident that hasn't happened yet. 70 in the wind is a death wish.

[Gunnar]

Had this happen just a week ago. On the way home it was a bit windy but nothing out of the ordinary. We got hit by a couple of cross winds that were stronger than I have ever been hit with before. I swear we moved over at least half a lane. White knuckle driving for a bit after that.

[Seann45]

Winds like that I PARK IT there is nothing worth risking your life over

[Camping Grandpa]

That story takes me back a lot of years....my folks were traveling across country back in 1970 and encountered winds in Indiana. Their car and trailer Jack knifed on the highway and sent them sluding sideways down the road. A semi behind them stopped and helped out...driver said he watched the trailer start to sway and knew my dad was in trouble.
Dad had a Reese WD hitch with the then "state of the art" Magic Cam anti sway bars and even that didn't stop the wind induced sway.
They were just outside Elkhart, Indiana so they were towed to the Mfg. Turns out the hitch was set too high and the weight was out of balance....rear heavy.
Dad learned a valuable lesson and I've never forgotten it either.
Long story but worth sharing. Wind, speed, weight distribution, hitch height, tire pressure and condition are all factors. Pulling a trailer or 5er is serious business....and the DW wonders why I'm so anal about all the little things when we hitch up and head out. Guess I prefer to arrive alive.

Happy Camping and stay safe!

[mike837go]

[QUOTE=...snip... Pulling a trailer or 5er is serious business....and the DW wonders why I'm so anal about all the little things when we hitch up and head out. Guess I prefer to arrive alive.

Happy Camping and stay safe![/QUOTE]

I'm the one that checks and double-checks the hitching, lights, brakes, etc. Then keeps a good feel of what is going on with the whole rig 100% of the time I'm at the wheel. And giving the tires a temp check, visual on the hitch, nudge the tops of the trailer tires (bearing check) at every rest stop.
SWMBO still nags when we go over 60, get within 4 seconds of the vehicle in front or the engine goes over 3500 RPM (that's when you can hear the engine fan over the open window wind noise).

I guess that makes us both rather anal, don't it?

So far, we have always arrived at our destination without incident.

[DocBrown]

Unfortunatly I see this far too much. Many people think it's just "hook it up and go". Many don't even use a WDH even though it's clear they need one.

I suspect that he was not setup right. If the front end does not have enough weight on it a cross wind like that blow you all over and make it hard to control, and introduce sway even with sway control. Imagine what he would have looked like without sway control.

Even properly setup it's not fun to tow in high cross winds.

I'm glad my gets it. She wants to be safe too. I just put a small boatload of money into tires, brakes, and upper & lower control arms because it's got to be right.

My favorite quote: "Adventure is just bad planning" - explorer Roald Amundsen

[northwindone]

Here is a good lesson on towing safety:

I'm always extremely careful towing, especially up in the mountains knowing what happened to my Grandparents back around 1990.


They were towing an early 80s 28' Prowler with their '78 Grand Wagoneer back home to Grants Pass Oregon from Eastern Oregon. They had a WDH and anti-sway all setup correctly and had towed with this setup all over the Southwest over the previous years before this including some very steep terrain. They were coming down a fairly steep hill and he hit the brakes only to find the electric brakes had stopped working. The trailer then pushed the back of the Wagoneer around, jackknifed the rig, and pushed them right over a cliff. They tumbled down a boulder field rolling the Jeep 3 or 4 times and the TT completely disintegrated.

My grandfather walked away and my grandmother took a fairly hard hit to the head which knocked her unconscious for a few minutes leaving her hanging upside down in her seat. Despite the totaled Jeep and them being in their early 80s they both ended up being okay with just some bumps and bruises(though grandma's dementia started shortly after, which always made me wonder).

Because of this I'm always careful to check my setup every time and to do periodic checks of my brakes, especially before descending a steep grade. Although I came down the 8 mile 6% Sherwin summit after this weekend and only touched the brakes once. It's amazing what using low gear and starting the descent at a reasonable speed can do.

[Murff]

Ya can't change stupid.

Not related to sway, but on Monday as we traveled down I25 in New Mexico, we spotted a construction sign stated there was a striping crew ahead as far as 25 miles. It was nearly 25 miles when we spotted the first DOT truck with flashing arrow sign closing the left lane. We were traveling about 60 mph with trailer in tow and I looked in the left rear view mirror and see Stupidman#1 coming up fast (speed limit is 80 here) and passes us with a little room to spare. I then look in the mirror again and here comes Stupidman#2 with no where to go and I thought he would cream the work crew truck. I had already slowed to a bout 50 and again checked the mirror and see Stupid #2 coming from the Median between the first and second DOT trucks.

I am not sure who's shorts were more soiled, the work crew's or Stupid #2. After getting by the striping crew,, it took a long time for Stupid2 to pass us,

I figure, the Good Lord must have a gorier end planned for this individual.

Murff

[CassRose47]

Originally Posted by Fire_Instructor

Because it's got two pivot points, it's considered tandem towing by most state laws. I've done a LOT of research on this over the last six months, because if you look at my sig block, you may ask yourself "how does he pull that big a 5'er with a ¾ ton truck. I don't!

I leave NYS on a "turn and burn" to Sanger, TX tomorrow morning to pick-up my new Automated Safety Hitch. Since the ASH attaches to the truck frame in three locations, it's considered a tag axle (like a concrete truck extra axle). It will GREATLY increase my pin weight capacity, give me my truck bed and roof (kayaks) back, PLUS, the ASH will greatly increase my braking ability.

You can check it out at The Automated Safety Hitch | Trailer Hitch | Gooseneck Horse Trailers | 5th Wheel RVs | Flatbed Goosenecks | Fifth Wheel

Rick, we are about to begin towing our NorthPoint 377RLBH with my husband's F-250 and an ASH. How are you liking yours so far? We've only taken a couple of around-town jaunts so far. Any tips/tricks?