Dangerous TV/TT/hitch combo - so hard to bite my lip
A family with 2 young children pulled in yesterday evening next to us towing a Jayco Eagle 284BHS with an Escalade with NO WDH.
The "vee formation" really caught our eyes from a distance as it pulled in. Rear of the Escalade nearly dragging on the ground and coupler on the TT nearly digging into the ground. Yikes. Clearly newbies judging by the new TT and TV and how they proceeded to set up. (Painful to watch) Worst setup I've seen to date.
Eagle specs shows the 31'-8" trailer to have a GVWR of 9,000 lbs making the TW something like around 1100 lbs (maybe more?). The Escalade has a payload capacity of about 1500 lbs. With the gear they had in the back along with 2 adults, 2 kids and one large dog, the Escalade would have to be well overloaded. Combine that with a long TT and short wheelbase TV and lack of a WDH, this has to be a very dangerous scenario. Scary...
It's pretty hard to turn a blind eye to something like this, especially when innocent kids are involved, not to mention others at risk on public roads.
While a dealer may be partly to blame, I would say this is a good illustration of why RV owners should be required to pass a gov't test before getting a plate and/or upgraded DL and there should be regs, for towing trailers. Otherwise, there's no way an owner is made aware of the need for WDHs and towing/payload ratings, tire info., etc. Can't report this sort of thing because they're not doing anything illegal. It's sad that folks have to go to RV forums to learn this stuff, which the vast majority of RV owners don't.
The "vee formation" really caught our eyes from a distance as it pulled in. Rear of the Escalade nearly dragging on the ground and coupler on the TT nearly digging into the ground. Yikes. Clearly newbies judging by the new TT and TV and how they proceeded to set up. (Painful to watch) Worst setup I've seen to date.
Eagle specs shows the 31'-8" trailer to have a GVWR of 9,000 lbs making the TW something like around 1100 lbs (maybe more?). The Escalade has a payload capacity of about 1500 lbs. With the gear they had in the back along with 2 adults, 2 kids and one large dog, the Escalade would have to be well overloaded. Combine that with a long TT and short wheelbase TV and lack of a WDH, this has to be a very dangerous scenario. Scary...
It's pretty hard to turn a blind eye to something like this, especially when innocent kids are involved, not to mention others at risk on public roads.
While a dealer may be partly to blame, I would say this is a good illustration of why RV owners should be required to pass a gov't test before getting a plate and/or upgraded DL and there should be regs, for towing trailers. Otherwise, there's no way an owner is made aware of the need for WDHs and towing/payload ratings, tire info., etc. Can't report this sort of thing because they're not doing anything illegal. It's sad that folks have to go to RV forums to learn this stuff, which the vast majority of RV owners don't.
