Toad hit three times

[BCK]

Ok folks lets hear some comment. Maybe some good ideas will help.

My ford focus towed behind my class A has been hit three times in two years. Most recently this weekend. Seems same problem all three times. Two times in bumper to bumper traffic. Seems as soon as the rv goes by, the truck drivers think they can turn in behind me. I have a rotating becon on the car, a sign on the back of the RV, and flags in the window. I drive very defensively now as I can, I pay attention especially to the left side, as the truck drivers have limited view on that side. This weekend in PA on I78 I think the tractor trailer was just sloppy driver and he was merging onto the hwy behind me and got to close and took out the right side of my car.

I have a feeling towing a taller car would be better?? SUV??

Comment?

[Mr_Mark1]

We have towed a vehicle behind our motorhomes since 2007. Both of our tow vehicles were/are Honda CR-V's (2007 and now a 2013) accumulating 87,000 total miles of towing.

So far, no problems with anyone hitting our tow vehicle.

Another thought like the post above, what about putting those 'sport' flags where the support fit in the top of the windows that stick above the roof-line of the car? (maybe that is what you mean't by having flags in the window).

Good luck,
MM.

[cmcdar]

NOT something taller - Something WIDER.

From the angle you are describing (vehicles entering highway from a ramp), your MH undoubtedly obscures the visibility of the much narrower Focus.

You can see my TV/TT set up below in my sig. I STILL get nervous in merging traffic. If I can't get far enough ahead of the merger, I will slow up to let them on.

Defensive driving - I trust no one to be a good driver.

[doxiemom11]

I agree that having something taller on the rear of the toad will make it more visible as they will see there is a continuation of something behind the rv. It's also been shown in studies that for some reason RED is one of the colors not seen most by other drivers along with tan, silver and white. I'd try those flexible little pole things with the orange flags on time - mounted on the rear bumper. If someone is waiting to make a left hand turn after you pass, they probably can't see all the signs, lights etc because the rv blocks the view. They should however be able to see the higher orange flags on the rear.

[down_home]

We've had semis come over on us behind the door, on passenger side. Hadn't been for brakes on mh and toad we might not be here.
We towed a Saturn Ion, best little car we ever had. The 2.4 motor ould run away from most.
We towed it about 20,000 miles and never had anyone hit us or the two Edges since then. We keep up with the traffic and the rear camera on and have avoided some bad situations, in the nick of time. Perhaps we run the left lane more than the right because the semis, in the Midwest run slower, as well as most occasions everywhere else.
I'm not going to tell you to adjust your self defense driving but perhaps slight alteration might help.
Some places it is like combat driving, and all we can do is drink coffee and be alert as possible, along with the co pilot.
Good luck, stay safe.

[toedtoes]

J-Rooster wrote:
I can't believe some of the answers from your post. All you need is "Car in Tow" sign to protect yourself. Your not doing anything wrong too many aggressive drivers out there on the road!

If the other drivers don't see the toad, why would one think they'd see a sign? And where exactly would you put this sign to ensure that any merger will see it?

[cross_country]

how about a convex mirror fixed to the ladder? like the UPS drivers have etc

[Supercharged]

BCK wrote:
Ok folks lets hear some comment. Maybe some good ideas will help.

My ford focus towed behind my class A has been hit three times in two years. Most recently this weekend. Seems same problem all three times. Two times in bumper to bumper traffic. Seems as soon as the rv goes by, the truck drivers think they can turn in behind me. I have a rotating becon on the car, a sign on the back of the RV, and flags in the window. I drive very defensively now as I can, I pay attention especially to the left side, as the truck drivers have limited view on that side. This weekend in PA on I78 I think the tractor trailer was just sloppy driver and he was merging onto the hwy behind me and got to close and took out the right side of my car.

I have a feeling towing a taller car would be better?? SUV??

Comment?

Had my inlaws car get hit three times one night in the Hotel parking lot,didn't know untel the next morning. Ice over snow everywhere.They just kept hitting it all night.

[J-Rooster]

I can't believe some of the answers from your post. All you need is "Car in Tow" sign to protect yourself. Your not doing anything wrong too many aggressive drivers out there on the road!

[cmeade]

jerseyjim wrote:
A motorhome pulling a toad...on a 3 line highway (interstate) I almost always take the middle lane. Then I don't have to worry about cars entering the highway, and having the toad "fake them out" and cause sudden braking (theirs) or any other problem related to that. The only time I move (on a 3 lane road) to the right lane is when a 18 wheeler is coming up on me fast. He's working...I'm not.
Then...back to the middle lane ASAP.

On a two lane (or one lane) I just hope for the best when cars are entering the road. Nothing else to do.

.

Hopefully you don't plan to drive in CA cuz driving combination of vehicle in the middle lane is ILLEGAL unless passing or lane is designated for it. Just saying.

[2gypsies1]

We've seen Smart Cars being towed - much smaller than your Focus. Are you basically an unlucky person? 🙂

[toedtoes]

This happened to me a lot when I had the trailer. It was easy to see behind the SUV, but people still kept trying to merge in between the SUV and TT.

I don't think it's about visibility - it's about people not thinking that those two vehicles are connected in the middle. They just see two vehicles and figure they can cram their way between them.

Not much you can do except to use standard procedures:

1. try not to travel in heavy rush hour traffic;
2. keep to a lane that has as minimal merging as possible (e.g., middle lane of three lane freeway);
3. keep plenty of distance between you and the vehicle in front of you - the 3-second rule - regardless of how heavy the traffic is. The more room you keep between you and the vehicle in front of you, the more maneuverability you have to avoid the idiot trying to merge between your RV and Toad. Don't worry that people will move into that empty space, just adjust and recreate the space - it really doesn't slow you down at all because you should rarely ever have to hit the brakes if you have that space between you and the vehicle in front of you.
4. Be aware of the drivers behind you and watch for signs that someone is likely to merge quickly (e.g., have they been changing lanes; is there a slowdown in their lane up ahead; etc.).

[rexlion]

What color is the toad? Maybe your next one should be red; red would be the most likely color to get noticed, I think.

How about a flashing LED sign in each window, running off the battery? A variety of LED messages come to mind... "HEY WATCH OUT!" would be one of the nicer messages I can think of.

[deandec]

pauldub wrote:
Try not to be in a situation where you are passing on the right.

:B :C

[jerseyjim]

A motorhome pulling a toad...on a 3 line highway (interstate) I almost always take the middle lane. Then I don't have to worry about cars entering the highway, and having the toad "fake them out" and cause sudden braking (theirs) or any other problem related to that. The only time I move (on a 3 lane road) to the right lane is when a 18 wheeler is coming up on me fast. He's working...I'm not.
Then...back to the middle lane ASAP.

On a two lane (or one lane) I just hope for the best when cars are entering the road. Nothing else to do.

[pauldub]

Try not to be in a situation where you are passing on the right.