Trailer crash on mountain road.

Towin Toys wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Down hill towing a TT can be a dangerous combo, I know from personal experience!

People that are considering a RV do your self a favor and start out with a 5er!!!

I've been towing up and down steep grades with curves for many many years with no issues whatsoever. And all were/are bumper pull TT's. If set up right they tow just fine and are safe.

^^^ Totally agree.

I've towed our TT thousands of miles on all sorts of twisty, steep and sometimes narrow mountain roads in WA, OR & CA with our TT and never had a problem. Never a road twisty or steep enough for me - can't get enough of it. It's all about having things set up properly and the right equipment. We installed shocks on the TT which really helps and they should be standard on all TTs.

IMO some think their TTs are well set up when there's actually more they could or should do (or maybe shouldn't be doing as well).

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Down hill towing a TT can be a dangerous combo, I know from personal experience!

People that are considering a RV do your self a favor and start out with a 5er!!!

I've been towing up and down steep grades with curves for many many years with no issues whatsoever. And all were/are bumper pull TT's. If set up right they tow just fine and are safe.

One of the most prolific craftsman in the world was Paul White. Among many things, he is the only person to hand build a 1/10 scale fully functional jet engine in his shop. Over the shop door was a sign, it read "Never get in a hurry" Getting in a hurry has brought me a lot of grief, and that driver as well.

Max62, I have nothing but, respect for you.

bikendan wrote:
I agree on the assessment on the Anderson for larger trailers.
IMHO, it's a great choice for 25' or less trailers.
But I don't think it's a good choice for 30' or bigger trailers.

^^^ Agree with this. Really poor choice for a WDH for a 35' TT IMHO.

One of the WDHs with integral sway control like Equal-i-zer, Reese DC, etc. would have been a good choice. Also, generally not a good idea to get a hitch shop or RV dealer to recommend and/or install any WDH. I like the Reese DC because of it's pro-active self-centering action and it wants to snap back into line with the truck. From what I've read, the Anderson is only good up to around 600 lbs of TW. The TW of the Keystone 31BH is likely around 1200-1500 lbs. I would guess the Excursion was well over it's payload capacity with passengers, 130 lb dog and camping related "stuff".

We've got the Reese DC and I have towed thousand of miles all over the place up & down the west coast and never feel sway and always feel 100% in control from interstates to twisty mountain roads. But it's more than just a WDH brand/type. It's about setting it up properly, having correct spring bar ratings, having correct tire pressure in TV & TT tires, having LT tires on the TV, having the TT level to slightly nose down, etc. - it's an overall package of different things. Took me a full season of playing around with all the variables to get it optimized and wasn't until I adjusted the TT to slightly nose down that I finally got it.

Curious if the owner or anyone else at least ever checked the before & after front fender height or inflated tires to correct psi? It's also always good idea to take a TV & TT to a scale and get weights to know where you stand on wts. & capacities. It's also a good idea for all TT owners to learn how to properly set up a WDH. Excellent sticky info. in the towing forum.

Glad that nobody got seriously injured or worse. Far too many unhelpful comments in the numerous threads out there as well as some sick individuals in this world.

.....

I agree on the assessment on the Anderson for larger trailers.
IMHO, it's a great choice for 25' or less trailers.
But I don't think it's a good choice for 30' or bigger trailers.

I posted in another thread on here about the SUV having too much tongue weight and improperly adjusted WDH by view of the rear end sagging. As well as the back of the trailer heavily loaded to the point the bumper or rack was bent.

I think I'm dead nuts, spot on in my observation and assumptions now knowing some actual facts to add in.

The owner mentions his hitch was cracked and he got a new Anderson put on just prior to this event. His SUV has a payload of 1700lbs, and his trailer tongue weight was likely 1200-1500lbs.

The Anderson in my experience is the worst option for large TT's. Actually, I've never once come across someone using the Anderson on a trailer that large until now. It just cannot transfer enough weight when its used on large trailers. With larger trucks, sometimes this is ok, but not an SUV.

Thus, without significant weight distribution shown by the sagging rear, and the family all loaded in the SUV, plus a very 130lb dog, and "stuff"...that SUV was certainly overloaded.

Root cause? Well, there isnt just "one" root cause to point at. There's a few small to medium issues that all contributed to the heavy sway that was not recoverable.

Towing at max (as this rig was, if not over) does not allow for much error. There is little forgiveness for an improperly loaded and set up trailer. It can be done very safely, but every detail matters.

Down hill towing a TT can be a dangerous combo, I know from personal experience!

People that are considering a RV do your self a favor and start out with a 5er!!!

Btw that trucker was awesome for stopping to help.
What he should have done as well was immediately hammer his brakes and get you out ahead of him and flash you that you were clear.
If you could have used the whole road sooner when pulling out of it , it may have made the difference.