How not to tow your 5th wheel.

KATOOM wrote:
What a sad deal. I feel for those people no matter how it happened. If they "truly" ignored any warning road signs and took their trailer where it shouldn't have gone then shame on them for that decision but really..........besides the A/C unit being torn off in the tunnel, ALL the other damage was a result of the few helpful clowns who think they know everything about getting a vehicle unstuck because they have a winch but actually know nothing. That poor trailer could have suffered far less carnage if they didn't try to pull the whole trailer sideways while the driver moved.....and then go and allow him to crank the wheel shoving the whole thing into the guardrail. :h

Similar feelings from me.

While not wishing to beat to death the reasons they were on that road I would like to address the issue of allowing momentary stress force you into making bad decisions which in this case was to go through that first tunnel rather than force compliance by following traffic to simply allow you to reverse to a location where you could safely park the rig on the shoulder where bum swing would not be an issue.

If you have one, use an on board compressor to inflate trailer tires to 10 or 15lbs above max, set up cones or a traffic director to allow you to unhook, stop traffic in both directions, position the truck at right angles to the trailer and gently re-hook to perform a very tight, slow, tire scrubbing jackknifed U-turn to then go back the way you came and park to let your blood pressure resume norms and reduce your tire pressures back to where they belong.

Those who think they've seen semi-drivers perform amazing feats unparalled by RV towers need to rethink that a bit as having performed both I can assure you, having your towed vehicle axles under the center of the length of your trailer in no way makes it a easy feat to keep your 'bum swing-out' in mind while negotiating tight areas.

Any semi driver who is honest, will readily tell you having those trailer axles at the very rear of the rig and ONLY having to consider where they're going, rather than where that, possibly up to 20', rear overhang is going, simplifies your life in no small measure.

These poor folks allowed the stress of the moment to reduce their ability to make rational decision making and then it accelerated away from them from there on.