Towing wreck - overloaded hitch

it is clear from the picture that the receiver,ball mount and ball are still intact on the van. The investigators would not put it back on so it was always there.

The failure was entirely with the home made trailer obviously. My manufacturer built hybrid I am sure is just fine.

I am sure there is much more to this story. Yes it is tragic. But the media rarely gets the whole story out there (I have been dealing with them on accidents for years). & more than likely when there is a death someone will be charged for something. Most of the time media will loose interest & the outcome will be never known other than to the parties involved. If any one is scared of this I would not drive anything any more, we can just do the best we can. Something can be found wrong with probably 80% of private towing setups at some point ......

To also add here I just finished my custom built trailer I am about 500lbs over the trailer weight limit on motorhome, but not my total GVWR..

However I have added reinforcement to hitch and back of RV and 10,000lb ball setup, 4 brakes on trailer, break away switch, two 6000lb axels and 4 tires that have a max weight carrying of 11,500 lbs and safety chains.

Its a stacker trailer, carry's my Jeep on bottom and a small boat on top that raises up and down when Jeep is off trailer, I feel its very safe and strong.

If you look at the hitch and ball on back of van it appears to be fine, I don't think 450 lbs over the weight was the issue here, I think a poorly made trailer and no brake away switch and in proper chains was the issue here.

Manufactures ratings (door sticker) has no legal ramifications. It is strictly for warrantee.

Oaklevel wrote:
The biggest problem that I can see with this accident is the trailer was not hitched properly...... Nothing failed but the operators lack of knowledge.

Also keep in mind this would be looked at harder as commercial/ business (not necessarily CDL type) it as it belonged to a restaurant.

While that might be true look at what they are using as the basis for charging the legal reason for the accident "exceeding the "MANUFACTURERS RATING"". This should open folks eyes in that even if it wasn't a direct failure of overloading something, that is being used as the basis for the legal violation and charging. This should scare the Bejesus out of the "OK to EXCEED" advocates in that doing so opens you up to a world of hurt should "ANYTHING" go wrong and to even hint that it's O.K. is IMO exceedingly irresponsible.

Larry

Oaklevel wrote:
The biggest problem that I can see with this accident is the trailer was not hitched properly...... Nothing failed but the operators lack of knowledge.

Also keep in mind this would be looked at harder as commercial/ business (not necessarily CDL type) it as it belonged to a restaurant.

X2!

There is no mention of how the Coupler came off the ball.

Did it deform due to being over weight?
Was it correctly latched when hooked up?
Were the safety chains correctly sized for the trailer?
Were they even attached?
They mention lack of spring latches on the safety chain hooks?
No break away brake device?

Nothing fails like failure!

The biggest problem that I can see with this accident is the trailer was not hitched properly...... Nothing failed but the operators lack of knowledge.

Also keep in mind this would be looked at harder as commercial/ business (not necessarily CDL type) it as it belonged to a restaurant.

This one covers many of the Polly Anna positions and advice on these
types of forums...including the ones we don't normally hear about (NDA
and if the NDA is violated...have to pay back their money and get
sued for damages)

• Never heard of a law suit...now this one addresses that
• Nothing Wrong with over loading
• They never check overload
• OK to modify and the OEM still has the liability
• Just return it to stock when you go back for warranty
• It is OK to go over the speed rating
• I've been doing it for decades with no problems
• and a BIG ETC

Sure this owner modified, or had it modified and goes to taking the
OEM off the liability hook. Those who modified it are now on the liability
hook

Again, design teams spec out the ratings to both meet the regulatory
agency requirements (min) and design margin for warranty (AKA Safety
Margin)

Those who always say it's okay to go over the limits should take
note of this and think about what they advise...and to those who
think it only happens to the other guy...well tell that to the family
of the deceased innocent's...

Key to this one is that a DA has filed charges...where as the NDA'd
ones did NOT have a DA file charges...