Hook up those safety chains
Authorities say a set of camp trailer safety chains and quick, careful work by emergency crews saved two people after their pickup truck plunged off a bridge, leaving them dangling above a deep gorge ...
Forum Discussion
Ivylog wrote:
Once the trailer started to sway, this accident could have been avoided IF the driver had manually put on just the trailer brakes. This increases the tongue weight and makes it harder for the trailer to sway while slowing down.
A first responder account with more information:
“ This F350 single rear wheel truck was equipped with a Reese WDH with a sway bar, but he also had a rack on the back with a large generator, spare tire, firewood, and other camping gear on a Curt receiver hitch cargo rack.
The skid marks told the story, with evidence of multiple sway action as he entered a curve on the interstate, which in Idaho has a speed limit of 80 mph. The trailer overtook the truck, causing it to Jack knife, the trailer contacted the right Jersey barrier, and pushed the truck over the left Jersey barrier and over the side of the bridge. The trailer ball was pulled out of the hitch and the truck was dangling dangerously by only one remaining safety chain.”
Went from 6 attachments to 1. Looks like the slight curve that he entered “causing” this accident is over a 1/2 mile away. That’s a long way to the bridge fighting a sway. I agree the weight of the stuff on the back lessen the tongue weight but why use a WDH if you had very little tongue weight with a F350? In my first picture you can see the small friction sway ball is bent.
Based upon the picture taken showing the pedestrian bridge, they were traveling eastbound in the lower/leftmost set of lanes. The curve pictured is after the bridge, however there is one about 500 feet before the eastbound bridge.
I was wondering about a WDH. You can clearly see the ball mount but could both of those bars have really torn out from the hitch head like that? I would think the chain ends would rip loose and the solid ends would have stayed in the head since they have to index and slide out. Maybe the first responder assumed WDH? I suppose anything is possible with that kind of violent decoupling.
The sway bar mount could have been bent by the main coupler when the trailer was jackknifed hard enough to damage the tailgate and is likely when the main hitch pried off the ball.
