Trailer Accident in NJ

[bondo303]

Not sure if this was posted already but it shows how fast sway can get out of control. We were just here last week on this same highway. This is why a few months ago we went 20 miles out of the way to get on a cat scale on our way to a campground. My wife was arguing with me as to why we need to go to a scale to weigh everything and this is exactly why. For our safety and everyone around us.

'Dude slow down:' Driver who took Parkway video thankful accident wasn't worse

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[Kim Gass]

Yikes. No effort to slow down ?

[Grumpy]

When that starts, manually hit the trailer brake controller and back off the throttle

[Kim Gass]

Not sure he had one!

[bondo303]

I feel that this video shows how crucial it is to properly match a tv and trailer and to weigh it to accurately know where the weight is and where to move it to should it need to be moved as well as a properly adjusted wdh. I understand that sway can happen but doing your part from the beginning to prevent it is paramount.

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[farnik78]

Looks like the idiot had plenty of time to get it slowed down. Once it started swaying a little bit he just kept going until it got worse.


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[RedHorse1]

Sheds a little light on the question of having passengers in the TT.
Moves the answer from "no" to "Hell NO!"

[bap]

Probably no sway control and maybe even no WDH. Marginal TV on top of that.

[repacs0103]

Actually if they had no wdh the accident never would have happened. Plain and simple, tongue weight prevents sway. The commercial world has known this forever, but the rv world, in trying to push people into towing big trailers with small trucks, has established the mindset that a wdh and sway control is mandatory.


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[Macrosill]

Originally Posted by repacs0103

Actually if they had no wdh the accident never would have happened. Plain and simple, tongue weight prevents sway. The commercial world has known this forever, but the rv world, in trying to push people into towing big trailers with small trucks, has established the mindset that a wdh and sway control is mandatory.


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I am no expert but I was under the impression that a wdh does not eliminate tongue weight, it helps transfer some to the front wheels to keep the tow vehicle level.

[wabirch]

Sobering, that's a nightmare.

[rkresge]

Originally Posted by repacs0103

Actually if they had no wdh the accident never would have happened. Plain and simple, tongue weight prevents sway. The commercial world has known this forever, but the rv world, in trying to push people into towing big trailers with small trucks, has established the mindset that a wdh and sway control is mandatory.

Uhhh.... I'm thinking you've got two misconceptions here for the price of one!

WDH in and of itself has almost nothing to do with sway one way or the other. Tongue weight is not removed, it's just more evenly distributed between the front and rear axles of the tow vehicle. That does allow us to tow safely with smaller trucks, but you should never exceed the limits of your rig (both tow vehicle and trailer) anyway. That's just stupid, but I'll agree that too many people do it. It is much too easy to overload a half-ton pickup when towing a travel trailer.

As for sway, a travel trailer with insufficient tongue weight will result in sway at highway speeds; proper cargo loading of your trailer will provide stability. Sway control provides safety margin that protects against sway caused by other factors, like sudden gusts of wind, "truck suck", and so on. That has nothing to do with big trailers and small trucks, and everything to do with the huge "sail area" of a travel trailer.

I'll stick with my F150 and both WDH and sway control, thank you!

Roger

[01tundra]

Saw this on another site......now this guy gets the whole "always have enough tongue weight" concept

[Hazman65]

Very sobering! I have always been taught to back off the throttle on the tow vehicle and manually apply the trailer brakes if sway starts to occur. I have even practiced reaching for the slide on my trailer brake controller. Watching the video I don't see any indication that this driver ever tried to slow down or apply his brakes?? I assume that when I manually apply the trailer brakes that the brake lights on the trailer will come on. I will have to check that.

[DocBrown]

Originally Posted by Macrosill

I am no expert but I was under the impression that a wdh does not eliminate tongue weight, it helps transfer some to the front wheels to keep the tow vehicle level.

More important it puts weight back on the front wheels thereby restoring full steering control and your safety.

Without a WDH, too much weight is taken off the front wheels and it becomes a very scary ride. Boats and utility trailers don't usually need a WDH because they are more balanced due to the way the wheels are placed. Same for European trailers.

[farnik78]

Originally Posted by repacs0103

Actually if they had no wdh the accident never would have happened. Plain and simple, tongue weight prevents sway. The commercial world has known this forever, but the rv world, in trying to push people into towing big trailers with small trucks, has established the mindset that a wdh and sway control is mandatory.


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I want to make sure people reading this completely disregard this statement for their own safety and the safety of everyone on the road. Overloading the tongue weight on a vehicle that isn't capable of pulling the load does not reduce sway. Yes commercial semi drivers like to have their load weight forward to reduce trailer sway but the comparison is apples to oranges. A semi trailer connects to the tow vehicle above the axles where a travel trailer hooks up behind the axles so the swaying trailer has much more leverage to throw the vehicle around. The physics involved are completely different.

So please don't believe this garbage that overloaded tongue weight on a bumper pull travel trailer eliminates sway.


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[michael.g]

Before we took delivery of our HTT back in 2005, I asked the salesman about a Weight Distribution Hitch. He told me we might not need it and that we should wait to hitch up the trailer before deciding. Our previous camper was a light pop-up and we didn't need WDH and didn't know much about it. When we took delivery, the salesman thought everything looked good after hitching up and that we'd be okay without a WDH. Although he was wrong, he did offer one bit of advice that saved our camper when a very similar situation occurred.

Our first few trips with the HTT were either on local roads (slow speeds) or on NJ toll roads, which are generally flat and well maintained. Even being passed by large buses while driving 65 mph caused no sway issues while driving. The first time we took it out of state to central PA, we quickly learned we needed a WDH. While driving on I-476 outside Philly, I hit a pot hole and than right afterwards a tractor trailer passed and caused serious sway.

The camper was moving the tow vehicle exactly like the camper in the video. My first instinct was to hit the brakes, but I remembered that one bit of advice the salesman gave us. He said instead of hitting the brakes, give it gas to help pull the trailer back in line. At the time, I was doing about 60 mph. When I finally got the trailer under control, I was doing 80 mph. If I had more experience, I should have used the manual override on the brake controller, but I really didn't feel comfortable taking a hand off the steering wheel to do that.

I was amazed at how quickly the trailer went from a little bouncy and tail wagging to moving across 2 lanes of traffic and chirping the trailer's tires. My wife and kids where in another vehicle behind me and all traffic behind me slowed down to give me room. Once I got it under control, I pulled over to calm my nerves. I did the rest of the trip there and back at 50 mph. First purchase when we got home was an Equal-i-zer hitch system since we had another trip to Hershey Park the next weekend. Never had an issue again.

Weight distribution doesn't reduce tongue weight, it evenly distributes it out across both the front and rear axle, reducing drop in the rear of the tow vehicle. I could feel a big difference in the handling of our TV after we bought the Equal-i-zer.

-Michael

[bedrck46]

Originally Posted by Hazman65

Very sobering! I have always been taught to back off the throttle on the tow vehicle and manually apply the trailer brakes if sway starts to occur. I have even practiced reaching for the slide on my trailer brake controller. Watching the video I don't see any indication that this driver ever tried to slow down or apply his brakes?? I assume that when I manually apply the trailer brakes that the brake lights on the trailer will come on. I will have to check that.

Even without the TT being on the ball You brake lights on the TV should light up when you manually use the brake controller Mine do and have on previously owned TV's I like it as I can keep my foot on the pedal and have the brake lights come on if someone is tailgating me. Causes them to back down while I still maintain my speed