Steering control is what matters. Off-road tires and a lift kit degrade that. Towing makes demands that a solo vehicle doesnโt encounter. Loss-of-control accidents are STEERING accidents. โSkillโ is a laughable reply to the problem of making a bad vehicle (pickup) worse.
Those LOC accidents are primarily due to adverse winds. Natural or man-made, or a combination. Lift kit & bad tire choice make this more likely. Canโt feel the problem and the rig is sloppy by every measure. Dialing in too much correction, or of too long a duration (or a combination) is how things go totally wrong.
And a box-shape non-aero TT on leaf springs pretty well canโt be made worse for โstabilityโ,
The โimprovementโ to a pickup would be to LOWER it and add tires with better grip than what came stock. Wider aspect ratio. Lowered COG is where itโs at. Independent suspension upgrade on trailer, same.
Thereโs a huge problem with what goes wrong on the highway: it only takes ONCE.
RV accidents are a statistically small subset of road miles accident type. Folks might tow 5k miles of their 20k annual miles. Arenโt running in bad weather, or preferably not after dark. All these tend to lower AWARENESS that TT towing increases the risk factor by 2X. And thatโs with a good rig. Not the one described.
You want an off-road capable vehicle, it wonโt be a pickup. Build one appropriate. Return the pickup to stock ride height and use standard or optional wide tread tires (no wider than rim) as per factory offerings. Better shocks. Rear Panhard Rod. Poly bushing replacements on anti-roll bars.
And anti-lock trailer disc brakes.
And, anyoneโs pickup wasnโt the right choice as tow vehicle unless the rear axle rating is close to being met. 50/50 pickup weight bias FF/RR when SOLO (family & camping gear aboard). Distribution of tongue weight works best, then. Steering control is maximized (given built-in deficiencies).
Use THREE PASS SCALE METHOD (search). Tires to EXACT loading (pressure). TT MUST be dead-level after being hitched (carpenter level across doorway).
Combined rig WILL stop faster 35-0/mph when hitched properly than the solo truck. It wonโt pass that test, join the 95% who never get it right.
You also need to know โ IMO โ what is top speed for violent maneuvers. Most pickup/square box trailers canโt deal with 35-mph. Will roll, just like a 5โer.
Same for high winds. One has to slow. Immediately and effectively. The TT brakes are CRUCIAL in this.
CONTROL will come down to the TV rear tires NOT losing grip. Once that happens Mario Andretti couldnโt counter it.
A VPP hitch โ Hensley or Pro-Pride โ canโt be matched (not even close) by older, obsolete designs. But the mismatch between tongue height and lifted truck hitch receiver makes a pickup even worse than it is already. The tail WILL wag the dog (how it seems; the TV is source of the accident).
Do the correct set-up. Perform the tests. Compared to most around here with pickups I run a diesel Corvette to pull my 35โ. Can ENDLESSLY do violent shoulder-to-median & back maneuvers โ throttle-on at 55-mph โ that WILL roll lesser rigs:
Step One is best vehicle design for each
Step Two is best rig conformation.
Step Three is test confirmation.
Grab a son or a friend to help over a few weekends to knock brains together. Itโs not complicated, itโs time-consuming the first run-through. The stoopids will try to use tire pressures too high to dial in a bad set-up AND THIS ONLY MAKES IT ALL WORSE.
A travel trailer rig (any) is the least-stable โvehicleโ on the Interstate (which were built for tractor-trailers and thus deceive solo vehicle operators of whatโs safe and isnโt), it takes TLC to get things right.
Iโve been at this more than fifty years now (3rd generation) and run a Kenworth in my daily job. You want to run the big roads for long trips, TAKE PLEASURE in the problem-solving that comes beforehand.
If you donโt KNOW how to get that state of mind, find someone who does. (Tools).
Todayโs traffic โ far from cities โ is unbelievably bad today. Cars jamming left lane (always illegal), terrible following distances and true reckless behavior we almost NEVER saw just thirty years ago. But weโve had an invasion by millions who will never understand their role in screwing things up for everyone else. Permanent 12-yr olds, (And those that used to know better doing the same. No father, not after divorce, so always little boys. Little girls. Not adults. Not cooperative, only selfish).
So . . . it really WONโT matter as to whoโs at fault should there be an accident. Get that thru your head. CUT RISK DOWN. Rollovers = fatalities.
Lifted, with WRONG highway tires โ past all other factors โ makes risk HIGHER.
A travel trailer is a great thing. Canโt recommend them highly enough. But get the rig BEST.
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2004 555 CTD QC LB NV-5600
1990 35โ Silver Streak
