Interesting TV over the weekend.

45Ricochet wrote:
Heck I saw a mid eighties Datsun pickup towing a very small 5er couple of days back. I was PO'ed I couldn't get a pic since I was driving making a left turn at the time. In all fairness though some of our firewood guys around here are out of spring in their 15 series trucks. Always see at least one per year with a broken axle on the side of the road.

That reminded me of some of the watermelon loads I see traveling on I75 in Florida and lower Georgia ...sometimes even into Tennessee...

Typically you will see a dually long bed with a mound of watermelons in the bed...then the dually is pulling a double axle utility trailer with a mound of watermelons loaded from front to back...the trucks headlights are usually pointing at the sky.

Usually you will see a half ton with a similar load...they have to be on the bump stops. They just have too. Seem them broke down on the side of the road at least once or twice a year in my travels.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

Heck I saw a mid eighties Datsun pickup towing a very small 5er couple of days back. I was PO'ed I couldn't get a pic since I was driving making a left turn at the time. In all fairness though some of our firewood guys around here are out of spring in their 15 series trucks. Always see at least one per year with a broken axle on the side of the road.

Add that more and more of the advice here is off to dangerous

Like on another thread over the Towing forum...a guy is complaining about a
'white knuckle for 600 miles'...

He has no clue, but says towing for years...argumentative when advice was given
(not just from me). Guess he only wanted to hear what he wanted to hear...

Now he is coming around after days...weeks of the same advice

Just like this original...the pictures are of folks who think it is just ducky
for towing or a TV

My cousin quit the highway patrol because of the continual dealings with folks
who are a danger to the rest of us on the same roads.

Yes, the numbers/percentages are small...but there are accidents that take out
innocents out there

I no longer argue/say yes or no and just provide information for them to make
their own decisions...but way too many only want to hear: "sure you can" stuff

Ditto no longer try to help at camp grounds. Folks get upset. I just ID them and
try to remember to avoid them if I see them out there...

Saw a terrible combo on the road today coming home from work.

It was a 24 ish ft Hallmark type enclosed cargo/car hauler. That trailer was swaying all over the road and and was pushing the truck out of the lanes and onto the hard shoulders..

Truck was a 2011 and up F250 PSD Crew Cab 4x4...

Trailer should have been a great match for the truck...heck.. my old 97 F150 would have safely towed that trailer..if pulled by ME.

Not sure what was wrong with the set up as I worked hard to pass him before something bad happened.

Operator error I suppose... but its not the first time I have seen a relatively small trailer bully a big truck around... Owner probably says that he "can't even feel the trailer back there" which I would argue is NOT a good thing.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

spoon059 wrote:

Bedlam wrote:

With about 10K miles a year taking trips with our RV, I see at least one bad RV accident each year and plenty of disabled RV's on the shoulder. These have all been the aftermath of something that went wrong, but I didn't see the cause.

I see at least one unsafe tow every other month where the vehicle or driver is not in full control. This could be anything from chains dragging, the front end of the vehicle pointed up at the sky, the driver outside his lane markers, etc.

Again... what proof do we have that its too light of tow vehicle and overloaded? On top of about 3000 miles a year towing, which is less than yours, I am a police officer. I investigate a LOT of wrecks. In my entire 12 years, I have investigated ONE wreck involving a trailer. It was a newer 1 ton Ford pulling a wheeled Bobcat. This guy owned the truck, trailer and Bobcat for years. This one time, the guy failed to properly load the Bobcat far enough forward. He had too little hitch weight and lost control. Flipped his truck and trailer. Its not that he had the wrong truck, its that it was IMPROPERLY LOADED.

There is a thread on this very forum about some guy pulling a relatively light trailer with a 3/4 ton truck and he is complaining about it being "white knuckle (600 miles too...)". Its not that he doesn't have enough truck... its that its improperly set up.

Even if you see a wreck on the side of the road, you have NO CLUE how it happened unless you actually stop and investigate. Maybe that Ford F150 was overloaded and lost control... but maybe the trailer was empty and well under the trucks ratings and someone crashed into him. Maybe that Ram 3500 dually had a mechanical failure that caused the crash... but maybe the driver was eating lunch, dropped his sandwich and took his eyes off the road.

Maybe the vehicles described in this thread are LESS SAFE, but the drivers managed to overcome the inherent unsafe aspects of the rig and get to their destination safely.

I would argue that SAFETY has a lot more to do with the driver and conditions more than the truck. Studies prove that younger drivers tend to have faster reflexes than older drivers. Studies prove that distracted driving (texting, talking on phone, eating, reading a map, adjusting GPS, etc) can be just as dangerous as drunken driving.

I would argue that it is very easy for me (34 years old) to safely drive an overloaded Tundra, but pay attention to the road, know the route, constantly scan the road ahead and beside me and not allow myself to be distracted. I would argue it is VASTLY LESS SAFE for a 60 year to drive a 40' motorhome towing a toad and trying to hold a conversation with his wife who is in the kitchen making him a sandwich to eat while he tries to navigate a busy stretch of highway that he isn't familiar with.

BUT... we on RV.net don't talk about the newly retired guy with a 40,000 lbs class a pulling another 5,000 lbs behind him driving distracted. We inherently ignore that and chose to yell and scream about the guy in the Tundra who is pulling at his rated maximum weight... or God forbid 500 lbs over that weight.

Its foolish and ignorant, yet the hyperbole continues at a frantic rate as people try to insult half ton owners (grocery getters) and justify their own overloaded rigs (3/4 ton owners) and bash owners of other brands (blind brand loyalists).

A long time ago this forum used to be a good source of information that really helped educate people and encouraged safe travel and our fraternal brotherhood as RVers.

Now it is a huge complaint board where we find reasons to distance ourselves from the others. The divisiveness on this forum has turned off a lot of people and has really done a disservice to the original intent of HELPING people and ENCOURAGING others.

Threads like this just further lead to the downward spiral. Just an opportunity for people to speculate and spread more fear and misinformation and divisiveness...

As a police officer you should be aware of the maximum legal weights in your area of jurisdiction. Additionally, you speak of divisiveness in the forum. For your information, I am 62 years of age and I take offense at your statement that older drivers are more likely to be involved in accidents. Look at the NHTSA web site for data. Younger drivers text more, are involved in accidents more often (why do you think insurance rates are higher for younger drivers) and are distracted more. As for divisiveness, I have always encouraged people to look at the weight their vehicle was rated to tow, rear axle weight rating, and so on before making a decision. Yes I agree with you entirely on the bashing brands and lighter truck owners. I have never agreed with the "my truck is better than yours". Your example of the Bobcat is a prime example of just because you can move it does not mean that you can tow it safely and control it. May the Lord bless you and keep you and thank you for your service as a police officer. I retired from LE in 2005.

I won't say I see a bad combo every trip but they are out there. I have seen more than one poorly matched combo. However only the bad ones stick in your mind.
So out of hundreds of RV's I may see while driving about only a small 1-2% minority stick out. Nevertheless this small minority are still a danger to themselves and others.
In reference to safety is more about driving conditions and the driver. Tell that to the guys that work the weigh and inspection stations. Seems like the state of MD and lots of other states are wasting a lot of time inspecting and weighing trucks.
Those trucks I see impounded at the Baltimore Harbor Tunnels on sunny days must all be due to bad drivers. Since the condition of the truck trailer combo really never comes into play...........Good Grief

An Avalanche towing about a 35 foot fifth wheel. Doesn't an avalanche have a carbon fiber bed?

I just stay away from them when I see them. Unless it is a slow news day, most accidents don't make the news. I would say less than 1% of all accident make the news. I have seen a class A over on its side, two TT rolled, and a fifth wheel in a ditch. Again, I stay away from unsafe combinations. When safety is involved, to quote the movie, "Failure is not an option".

Check GM's body builder site for rim and tire capacities. I know the the Ford site gave the highest ratings to their 18" wheel combinations while the 17" and 20" were rated for less when I purchased mine.

While I was building my Chevy 2500 online, they had an option for 265/60r 20E vs 265/70r 18E. In this case, if you like the look of the 20" makes sense if you dont mind a stiffer sidewall. I beleive both would be rated for capacity of the truck.