5er accidents

[Terryallan]

seems like the last few weeks have been really bad for 5ers here in NC. Why? My opinion.
Many have been sold that story about how 5ers tow so good that you don't even know there are there, and that is how they drive. Like it is not there, and they get themselves into situations they don't have to skills to get out of, or don't have the Tv to get them out of it. Also many don't appear to have a 5th wheel capable TV. As in. I'll just put airbags on it, and it will be fine. WRONG. Airbags do not increase it capacity of your TV.

Bottom line. Yes a 5er may or may not tow better than a tag along. But it is still a trailer hanging off the back of your truck, and it is still heavy, and it still moves the TV around some. Especially in the wind, and if your TV is not capable enough., and especially if you are tow really fast, and ignoring the trailer. You wouldn't believe the number of 5th wheels that pass me on the highway running 80, and 85 MPH. That folks is too fast. Even the big trucks don't run that fast as a rule.

So don't fall for the myth that "you won't even feel it" You will, and if you aren't being careful. It may feel you right off the road. Drive like you are towing a trailer, because you are. You can't change lanes as fast, you can't accelerate as fast, and you can't stop as fast. You can't do anything like you can with out a trailer behind you. Drive accordingly.

I'm tired of seeing campers scattered out all over the road. And yes. That goes for the tag alongs as well. But it just seems the 5ers are being driven with less caution than needed.

[laknox]

Michelle.S wrote:
Yes, but to do it right it must have a complete delete, so it pours out the Black as Coal Smoke when goosed.

If I did that, I'd paint the nose grey and my plates would read BIG BOY and I'd have 4014 painted on the sides. 🙂

Lyle

[jffnkrn]

well, I am going to chime in after reading through the majority. We are Arizona residents, drive I-17 quite a bit, to and from we see a bunch, a lot, and may I say too many people driving way to fast especially coming down the hills. We have seen a few over the years, mostly near the bottom as they "almost" made it. must have been going to fast and were tangled up with themselves on the side of the road or all over the road. Now I might add, we were recently in an accident in South Lake Tahoe, while we were in the fast lane, about 30mph, the lady that hit us came from the side merge lane, crossed it crossed the slow lane, T boned at an angle the front right of our truck, then I zigged into the center lane, then zagged across all lanes, with the final zig onto the curb / gutter / sidewalk. All was done in a few seconds and scarred the you know what out of us. Everyone was fine, just a lot of damage. Thankfully no-one was hurt, but a lot of inconvenience, cost, time loss etc. That happened on July 1, 2021 and we may have truck back next week, trailer will be probably another month. so for what it is worth, not all accident are the cause of the Fiver Drivers like us, but we have to be ready, prepared, and always cautious of what is happening behind, up ahead and along side of us. And we do the speed limit or less. Let the others go on and get there or not. Have a great day! ! ! Be Safe ! ! !

[Michelle_S]

Yes, but to do it right it must have a complete delete, so it pours out the Black as Coal Smoke when goosed.

[noteven]

In west Canada if you drive a F 350 you are required to goose it wherever you go.

[nhshep]

Lesson learned. Keep away from NC & SC to minimize accident risk.
Keep away from Florida if you don't like thunderstorms.

On a serious note. Compact cars are a pain. You see them merge on highways with no regard of trucks or tow vehicles which cannot break or accelerate like they can. They pass you, pull directly in front then break. They cut lanes to take the next exit. They are in the jet fighter we are the ones in the C130.

It is noticed some people in all vahicles seem to drive erratic. Not saying politics or the stress of the virus has anything to do with it but you have to notice todays drivers are not as polite as 20 years ago. A car driver today goes to dunkin donuts for a coffee and they drive like they are in a formula one race. Tempers flair, road rage is at an all time high. Be careful.

[TXiceman]

Pete_k wrote:
But the Woe part not so good.

He has woe because it will not WHOA.

Ken

[Pete_k]

Hard for these people today. They run out and buy a big RV. Never been in anything other then there normal car. But expect that truck and camper to be just like that car. Speeding everywhere, cutting off people. Plus just dumb as a box of rocks. When Common Sense should be applied.

Had a half ton truck with 35ft 5th wheel. Pass me going down a 6% grade last week. Left lane running 65+ in a 45 MPH speed limit. 3 miles down the road, he was on the shoulder with brakes smoking. Kid may have been 20 years old. Big lift on the 4x4. Guess he found out, it will pull it. But the Woe part not so good.

[laknox]

TXiceman wrote:


Lyle, I was in a high dollar technical sales for close to 30 years and there were projects that I walked away from due to the poorly written specs for the system they wanted. I liked living where I did and did not want to be tossed out of town. I would not be able to sleep at night if I had tried to put in some of the equipment.

When we sold one 5th wheel, I would not sell it to one buyer as he did not have enough truck for the trailer. He was mad and said he was told his 1/2 ton truck could pull my 15,000# 5er by his friend. I did sell it to a fellow that showed up with a big enough truck.

Some of the dealers and sales people have no morals and all they want is the all might DOLLARS.

Ken

You, like noteven, are pretty smart! 🙂

Lyle

[laknox]

noteven wrote:

ferndaleflyer wrote:
Family owns a towing company. Its good for business. Most of those dealers will tell you you can tow a 35ft bumper pull with a Smart car just to sell it and yes there are those that believe anything they are told.

"Most" could be the case - but -

I bought a new truck camper 3 year ago from a dealer in Canada. I had to sign a waiver that I knew and understood the loaded weight of the camper and that I understood the truck I loaded it on was capable of carrying the camper in the course of writing the offer to purchase.

I have a 5th wheel type trailer for sale used. I have turned away 3 buyers from coming to look at it because they don't want to change trucks too and their trucks do not have enough capacity to haul the trailer safely.

And I am not a "200lbs over GVW you will crash AND burn" person. Far from it.

Back to regular programming

Sounds like both your dealer and you are pretty smart people; i.e. who want to avoid liability. 🙂

Lyle

[Splashers3]

You're correct Ken - MOST dealers & salesmen live for the dollar and that next sale, disregarding safety standards.

[TXiceman]

laknox wrote:

Walaby wrote:

laknox wrote:


I'm in agreement that RV dealers need to be held liable if they sell a rig to someone they =know= will be towing with a truck that's simply not meant for hauling something that size. Doubly liable if they actually set up the truck for the customer. There =are= the occasional dealers that will refuse to sell a trailer to someone if their truck's too small. With FWs, =tow= ratings mean almost nothing; it's =payload= that's the controlling factor.
Lyle

While I agree there's dealers that will sell anyone anything to make a buck, isn't it the consumer who should be held accountable? Or maybe it should be the truck manufacturer, because after all, they show a Toyota Tundra pulling a Space Shuttle.

Mike

Oh, absolutely, but you get a newbie, who doesn't have any RVing friends, and, even with research, can get talked into just about anything by a good salesman. At the same time, were I the owner of a dealership, I can tell you that my "company lawyer" would likely have kittens if it came to their attention that my salesmen were actively selling setups that simply weren't safe. The cost of being sued, even if I prevailed, would likely cost the profits on 2 or 3 dozen, or more, sales. Why take the risk? All I know is that I'd tell everyone involved to acquaint themselves with tow/payload numbers and they'd be out the door in an hour if I caught them selling something that simply wouldn't work. I'd rather lose a sale than have someone's injuries or death on my conscious. And then you have the mechanical side of things, where someone blows a transmission because a Tacoma simply isn't capable of towing a 10k lb trailer, or something similar. Just too d@mn many headaches to deal with that kind of stuff. 'Sides, I like to be able to look at myself in the mirror without flinching.

Lyle

Lyle, I was in a high dollar technical sales for close to 30 years and there were projects that I walked away from due to the poorly written specs for the system they wanted. I liked living where I did and did not want to be tossed out of town. I would not be able to sleep at night if I had tried to put in some of the equipment.

When we sold one 5th wheel, I would not sell it to one buyer as he did not have enough truck for the trailer. He was mad and said he was told his 1/2 ton truck could pull my 15,000# 5er by his friend. I did sell it to a fellow that showed up with a big enough truck.

Some of the dealers and sales people have no morals and all they want is the all might DOLLARS.

Ken

[noteven]

ferndaleflyer wrote:
Family owns a towing company. Its good for business. Most of those dealers will tell you you can tow a 35ft bumper pull with a Smart car just to sell it and yes there are those that believe anything they are told.

"Most" could be the case - but -

I bought a new truck camper 3 year ago from a dealer in Canada. I had to sign a waiver that I knew and understood the loaded weight of the camper and that I understood the truck I loaded it on was capable of carrying the camper in the course of writing the offer to purchase.

I have a 5th wheel type trailer for sale used. I have turned away 3 buyers from coming to look at it because they don't want to change trucks too and their trucks do not have enough capacity to haul the trailer safely.

And I am not a "200lbs over GVW you will crash AND burn" person. Far from it.

Back to regular programming

[laknox]

Terryallan wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:

rlw999 wrote:
I'm always amazed at how fast people tow. Like in an area with 70mph speed limit for cars, and 60mph for trucks+trailers, I regularly see people towing RV's (both 5th wheel and bumper tow) at 75mph+, keeping up with the car traffic.

I don't tow, but when I drive my Class C, I generally stick with the truck speed limit... not only is it safer, but the gas mileage is better too. Just because you *can* drive at 75mph, doesn't mean you *should*, or that you can do so safely.

Unless there is weather or other conditions coming into play...on a clear dry day, keeping up with traffic is generally safer on freeways.

Truck speed limits are put forth by politicians not traffic engineers.

Now if it's a lightly traveled rural freeway, doing 60-65 isn't a big problem but as traffic builds keeping up so you don't create a rolling road block is safest.

But I'm with the other post asking what data is there that a lot of 5th wheel crashes are happening? I've seen far more bumper pulls in crashes over the years.

Only data I have is the news. And it tells me all the RV accidents in the past month in this area have been 5ers. My only reason for posting is to remind people that even though a 5er does tow pretty good. You are still towing.

As for those advocating that you "keep up with traffic flow" remember as well. that unless you have replaced your ST tires. They are rated for 65 mph. Not realy safe to run them at 80.

Just towed my rig down to the Phoenix area from where we had it at my sister-in-law's place N of Prescott for the summer. The "sweet spot" with my old D'max is about 62-63 mph; my mileage drops 1-2 mpg when I run 65, and about 3 at 70. I did not pass a single RV on the way down I-17 and most passed me at 70-80. Glad they've got some deep pockets, I sure don't. FWIW, going UP there, running 75 empty, I averaged only 14.5. I have a 4" Banks Monster Exhaust, K&N filter and was running Diesel Kleen cetane boost on that tank.

Lyle

[laknox]

Walaby wrote:

laknox wrote:


I'm in agreement that RV dealers need to be held liable if they sell a rig to someone they =know= will be towing with a truck that's simply not meant for hauling something that size. Doubly liable if they actually set up the truck for the customer. There =are= the occasional dealers that will refuse to sell a trailer to someone if their truck's too small. With FWs, =tow= ratings mean almost nothing; it's =payload= that's the controlling factor.
Lyle

While I agree there's dealers that will sell anyone anything to make a buck, isn't it the consumer who should be held accountable? Or maybe it should be the truck manufacturer, because after all, they show a Toyota Tundra pulling a Space Shuttle.

Mike

Oh, absolutely, but you get a newbie, who doesn't have any RVing friends, and, even with research, can get talked into just about anything by a good salesman. At the same time, were I the owner of a dealership, I can tell you that my "company lawyer" would likely have kittens if it came to their attention that my salesmen were actively selling setups that simply weren't safe. The cost of being sued, even if I prevailed, would likely cost the profits on 2 or 3 dozen, or more, sales. Why take the risk? All I know is that I'd tell everyone involved to acquaint themselves with tow/payload numbers and they'd be out the door in an hour if I caught them selling something that simply wouldn't work. I'd rather lose a sale than have someone's injuries or death on my conscious. And then you have the mechanical side of things, where someone blows a transmission because a Tacoma simply isn't capable of towing a 10k lb trailer, or something similar. Just too d@mn many headaches to deal with that kind of stuff. 'Sides, I like to be able to look at myself in the mirror without flinching.

Lyle