"Just Say No" to towing in snow.

[ahaywood5785]

He was going a LOT faster than 33 MPH

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by ahaywood5785

He was going a LOT faster than 33 MPH

IDK, I thought that too, but that's what the man said... Video can be tricky sometimes like that. He showed footage of the damage toward the end of his "followup" video, and it didn't look like 33mph damage to me; it looked not as bad as I would've expected at that speed...

But even 33 was too fast IMO given the conditions. I'm not sure I would've been going much faster than that in perfect conditions.

ETA: Just went back and looked at the video in full-screen on YT, and in the bottom right, the dashcam has a speed indicator. The chase Jeep was going 39mph at the time of loss of control.

[jimmoore13]

That was not snow. That was freezing rain....look at the windshield in the follow vehicle. And he was bookin'.
I live in the Rockies in CO. I would never tow in a situation like that.

Is that blame? Maybe. We all get in over our heads now and again. This time, he was in WAY over his head.

I'm glad he's OK and the damage to his TV and rig appear to be minimal. If I were a cop, I'd ticket him for sure.

[Frozen North]

Drop-off on the right? How about he truck on the left? Take your pick.

[Hollander Mutthaulers]

Can't really pass judgement, but sudden snow causes huge problems with or without a trailer. First, I would not tow in snow, but if a squall comes up in the mountains? Good luck with that! But slow is the key.

Couple weeks ago had heavy wet blinding snow blow off the lake. Drove 80 miles at 20 mph following tractor-trailer taillights, all I could see. I-94 and I-196 along the lake at times brings visibility to virtually nothing, not the shoulder, not the tire marks on the road; following safely behind a truck at 10-20 mph and hoping he's on the road is the only way forward in a whiteout. Problems are you can't see exits to get off, you can't stop or pull over or someone behind you won't and the snow can overwhelm the windshield wipers. Several years ago was headed south to Chicago area for Thanksgiving, got to the edge of the lake around Ganges, saw dark heavy clouds, got into snow, couldn't see a thing, had a nice quiet Thanksgiving at home instead. Three experiences with terrible snow is enough and I'm too old for that stuff now.

Guess if I got caught in snow like this fellow, I'd put the car in M4, turn on the flashers, keep it at 10-20 mph, and extremely gently feather the accelerator and brake if they were absolutely necessary and turn the steering wheel as imperceptibly as possible. On ice or snow pack even without a trailer any sudden steering, braking, or acceleration will send you out of control and into the ditch.

[DesertRam]

In November 2019, I got stuck in conditions very much like those. I drove 15 miles in 4 low bouncing between 1st and 2nd gears in my 6-speed manual Ram. Never even slipped a tire, but it took over 2 hours to drive that 15 miles. Scary stuff. I'm glad that dude came out all right in the end and that his daughter got to see him walk away.

[TWX]

Originally Posted by THE MEEKER

I also noticed he seemed to be pumping his brakes as his tail lights were going on/off. That was a mistake as he should have had his ABS/traction control slow him down. He was in trouble 1/2 mile before the accident.

If you're referring to the apparent rapid strobing of the brake lights on the trailer, you can't go by that. Many modern automotive lighting systems don't constantly illuminate LED lamps in the same fashion that an incandescent or halogen bulb is illuminated, the LED lamps are being rapiddly toggled on and off, faster than the human eye can perceive. It's common for contrast between the video camera's frame rate and the flicker-rate to manifest on-video like the lights are flickering slowly on and off when in-person they would appear to be solidly lit.