You had close call, scary moment, or accident, towing?

New home has nice lot on the side. We decided we were going to utilize it for trailer storage. We live on and easment, four homes on a small road and our driveways is short. With the nose of my extended cab long bed f-250 nosed up against the house it bearing is off the street. It required backing around two corners to put it in. A little stressful, but got used to it. The second time coming out is when it happened you have to pull quite a ways out before you turn because the roof comes down close. Well I wasnt paying attention ad the back ran right into the fence punching a nice hole in it. Not a good way to start the trip. We have since gotten a shorter trailer and extended our gate opening. Now our only enemy is the six to seven cars our on the main street when we pull in and out.

Well I just backed mine into the house and tore up the ladder if that counts. :M :S :o

Best advice:

JoeTampa wrote:
My advice:

1. Take your time. If you are in a rush while towing the camper, you're doing something wrong.

2. Begin braking well before you normally would. You need that extra time.

3. Leave a larger than normal gap in front of you. Yes, cars will fill that gap; just slow down and open it up again. See #1.

4. Anything that is hazardous to normal driving (slick roads, etc) is significantly more dangerous when towing.

5. Too little truck = lots less luck. Take it from someone who got away with it for a few years but drove white-knuckled the entire time. Always a nice wind gust away from potential disaster.

You know those words really resonate with me. I started at the dangerous small end towing my TT home with a 06 Explorer Ltd. I learned about tongue weight on that tow, even with the dealer installed (yes they let me leave like this) WD bars tight the rear of the Explorer was really really sagging. I made it home (40 miles) during a snow fall so I had to use 4x4 to back into my snow filled driveway. I immediately bought a 00 Excursion V10 (4.30) and left soon for my first of trip of 3300 miles with no problems. I got ADD with TV's so from that I had a Suburban 2500 (7.4), a 99 GMC 3500 CC DRW (7.4), 02 E350 ext van V10, to a 03 Navigator. I then decided to try diesel so a 03 Excursion Ltd (6.0L) but loaded with trailer approached (if not exceed) the GVWR so I went to a 07 F250 KR CC SB (6.0l) that handled that trailer much better because of the stronger springs in the suspension.

I liked towing so much I got a part time job transporting RV trailers so I leased a company 15 F250 XLT CC LB (6.7l), I wanted a 350 DRW but they were out. I towed trailers from 19' TT's to 37' 5ver's in all types of weather and traffic and those experiences really transformed me from my minimalist perspective. I now see why people with the bigger trailers get 350/450/550 or even MDT's. I actually had a 08 F450 for a short while until those mpgs from the 4.88 got old with me. I understand there are budgetary limits but I am now a firm supporter of getting the biggest you can to comfortably take the limits of your trailer weights. I also understand that many like me might have to deal with the constraints of what you already have.

Grapehound wrote:

Also agree with several writers that you are risking your life if you try to skimp on your tow vehicle and live near its upper limits.
With the Ram 3500 dually and a half-ton towable fifth wheel, I have excess suspension and stopping power for towing which having reduced weight and improved trailer stability behind me. It just feels safer. More $$ for the bigger truck but much more peace of mind.

We had several blowouts with our Sandpiper 9,000 lb. 31FKD TT but the trailer handled fine until we could pull off the highway. One was on the Dan Ryan expressway in Chi-town at morning rush hour. A road crew stopped to warn traffic and allow me to change out the tire. Never had a blowout on the tow vehicle.

I towed wih a diesel Excursion for a while and with an 8.1 litre Suburban 2500 still but had a lot of sway unless I used double sway bars.

I always seem to hit traffic lights wrong at 55mph. I don't want to slow down and slow other traffic if the signal stays green but the lights can change right at the spot where it's hard to get stopped from 55. Just need to be alert I guess.

I also upgraded my tow vehicle to a Ram 3500 Megacab with 4 wheel discs so that eliminated sway and gave me great stopping power.

We just bought a Rockwood Signature 8282 fifth wheel so I am looking forward to improved towability, handling and (hopefully) better fuel mileage.

Also agree with several writers that you are risking your life if you try to skimp on your tow vehicle and live near its upper limits. I started with a 5000 lb Forest River TT while using a short-bed F-150 with "tow package" and a 6,800 towing max. It was legal But did not have the suspension or brakes I needed to have excess capacity. If a texting teen looks up and slams on the brakes in the sports car ahead of you, it may be all you can do to get your rig stopped and also avoid a coronary arrest.

With the Ram 3500 dually and a half-ton towable fifth wheel, I have excess suspension and stopping power for towing which having reduced weight and improved trailer stability behind me. It just feels safer. More $$ for the bigger truck but much more peace of mind.

I've been a passenger in a few scary "pucker factor" towing moments, but that's a longs story.....my own personal incidents where:
1: heavily loaded utility trailer on a light TV (small SUV) in the snow - it nearly slid around and became the trailer dragging the vehicle when I hit a turn too fast...I became more cautious after that near miss.
2: one-ton Dually work truck with about 20K lbs of gooseneck trailer with equipment on it -- came out of a customers yard in and unfamiliar area in Washington DC and ended up in heavy traffic into / through construction zone. Just about the time I realized there where nothing but cars around me, I saw the "no trucks --> " and "<--truck detour" signs go past me as I was, of course, in the wrong lane. I drug that trailer down the wrong lane through the site, zig zagging between a line of curbs, climbing first on one side then the other, while the construction crews gawked at me and I prayed I wouldn't actually damage anything!...It made some awful scraping noises when the dove tail drug concrete...but inspecting it back at the shop it all seemed superficial / cosmetic.
3: Hit a construction zone in the middle of PA somewhere with the travel trailer in tow. I remember it was near Bucknell University. They where working in the middle and had the lane shifted off on to the right shoulder. You entered the zone at speed (50-ish since it was highway) and it narrowed down to just barely wide enough. Traffic was backed up a long way and I didn't want to make it worse. I was trying to stay in the even flow and go. I saw workers ahead move a few cones out more while they moved a machine around. This of course was also right where signs hung over the edge of the shoulder. I gritted my teeth and shot through the "eye of the needle" at speed, aiming for the cones rather than dragging signs along the side of the TT. I at least nicked / shook every cone they'd moved out and ran completely over one and got a shocked look from one worker standing nearby. I thought for sure the wheel well trim of the camper would be damaged when I saw the cone make it flop around, but it turned out to be fine.

My advice:

1. Take your time. If you are in a rush while towing the camper, you're doing something wrong.

2. Begin braking well before you normally would. You need that extra time.

3. Leave a larger than normal gap in front of you. Yes, cars will fill that gap; just slow down and open it up again. See #1.

4. Anything that is hazardous to normal driving (slick roads, etc) is significantly more dangerous when towing.

5. Too little truck = lots less luck. Take it from someone who got away with it for a few years but drove white-knuckled the entire time. Always a nice wind gust away from potential disaster.

In my 2011 truck loaded heavy with truck camper and pulling our toy box trailer.....Coming in on I84 into Portland and taking the exiting Tunnel to get onto I205 to head south towards Salem and traffic was STOPPED in front of me. Slammed on brakes and barely was able to stop in time....

Since then they now have warning lights in the tunnel warning if and when there is stopped traffic (very limited sight).

I also take that tunnel exit much much slower now.

And our 2016 truck has much better GVW and brakes then our old truck. Camper and trailer w/brakes are the same but braking has improved a lot.

When the TT was brand new we bought a new 1200lb WDH to go with it. Third trip we came home and one of the snap up brackets for the chains was bent to the point of nearly being ripped off the A frame. Went and replaced it under warranty. Next trip both were bent. That really scared me. What would have happened if they have come off with the bars still attached? Battery and Propane tanks all sitting up there. Could have been a disaster.
Dealer contacted Reese and found out that the 1200lb brackets were defective and we were upgraded to the 1500lb brackets immediately.

Wrecked: Avoid all suburban 55mph roadways with stoplights every 1/2 mile.