Pickup truck tow vehicle stability tests
Always lots of anecdotal statements on rv.net around dual wheel vs single rear wheel "stability". Anyone have any links that point to actual testing results under controlled conditions?
Forum Discussion
The Mad Norsky wrote:
There is a forum member who uses the user name Veebyes.
Driving through Wyoming somewhere near Laramie on I-80 pulling their fifth wheel with dually truck, they got hit with a huge side burst of wind.
The kingpin of the fifth wheel was torn out of the hitch in the box and the fifth wheel ended up rolling down an embankment, destroying itself in the process.
The fifth wheel dragged the truck some over towards the shoulder of the road before the kingpin tore loose, but the truck stayed upright.
Veebyes has stated he believes the dual's prevented the truck from following the fifth wheel on down the embankment and rolling too.
Anecdotal, yes, but had this operator had a single rear wheel vehicle, would the results have been the same??????
Probably yes. It's a thin line between both would stay upright or both would roll over.
To claim that during one panic situation, he had any realistic clue that it was the dually's that made the difference is just silly.
