Sway caused accident on I-75

[rexlion]

Just a reminder to be careful out there, especially with the longer trailers. Some folks in Michigan were traveling on I-75 when their 30' VLite started to sway, and they lost it in the ditch. The couple are ok, but their dog is currently missing. Here's a writeup in the Ogemaw Herald:
upside down trailer

It would be interesting to know what, if any, sway control was being used.

This TT must have had a substantial tongue weight. Looking at the specs for VLite models, dry tongue weight for a 30' model is over 600 lbs. Yet it still oscillated. Scary!

[MitchF150]

They made 2500 series Avalanches too...

My F150 has a longer WB than even a 2500 Suburban... I've got a 139" WB and a new Burb is only 130".... 😉

There is no sway control hitch or device that is going to make up for an inexperienced driver... plain and simple... Was it the inexperience of the driver or the hitch that contributed to this accident?? Who the heck knows?? You all can say it was 'this or that', but no one knows for sure...

My guess would lean towards 'inexperience', but that's only my guess with no other info, other than the article..

Be safe out there... Remember, it's not ALL about "tow ratings" and vehicle size.. The stuff can hit the fan for any of us... 😉

Mitch

[EldIr]

gcloss wrote:

M GO BLUE wrote:
A Chevy Avalanche towing a 30' trailer???

The Avalanche is considered a SUV. It is the sister of the Suburban & Yukon made to look like a pickup. I have a friend who owns an Avalanche and been in it many times. Not a good choice for towing a 30 ft trailer.

For the life of me, I can't understand why so many people dis on suvs as tow vehicles? I've owned a couple pickups, a full size van, and a couple Suburbans. I would never in a million years go back to a pickup. There just isn't enough interior space and I carry many things I wouldn't want in a pickup box even with a topper. And where do you put your massive subwoofer box and all the amps you need? (yeah, I know, lots of you probably don't even turn on the radio while driving)

[PLR67]

EldIr wrote:

M GO BLUE wrote:
A Chevy Avalanche towing a 30' trailer???

Again, what's wrong with an Avalanche? Same size as a Suburban. I've been pulling a 30' Jayco with a Suburban with no sway control and have no sway issues. Big trucks passing have little effect. Even a midwest thunderstorm with 40mph winds blowing straight across the road was no problem.

I agree previously had an Avalanche Pulled a 32' Rockwood and never had a problem. IMO probably inexperienced driver.

[fla-gypsy]

Could have just as easily been a tire issue that led to the "sway" event the driver thought they encountered.

[EldIr]

M GO BLUE wrote:
A Chevy Avalanche towing a 30' trailer???

Again, what's wrong with an Avalanche? Same size as a Suburban. I've been pulling a 30' Jayco with a Suburban with no sway control and have no sway issues. Big trucks passing have little effect. Even a midwest thunderstorm with 40mph winds blowing straight across the road was no problem.

[gcloss]

M GO BLUE wrote:
A Chevy Avalanche towing a 30' trailer???

The Avalanche is considered a SUV. It is the sister of the Suburban & Yukon made to look like a pickup. I have a friend who owns an Avalanche and been in it many times. Not a good choice for towing a 30 ft trailer.

[shakyjay]

I tow a 30 footer using friction sway control and have not had any issues. Closest I came was catching a gust of cross wind as I came from behind a hill on a downhill run. It was on an very windy day along the coast. Tapped the trailer brake and slowed down. Kept my speed down the rest of the way and never had another problem.

[NWKomfort350]

I always assumed an avalanche was a half ton... i see crew cab half tons of all makes towing 30' TT all the time

[boosTT]

The wife is never going to live this one down.

[rexlion]

I agree, upon reflection the sensation of sway could have caused the driver to panic and do the wrong thing. Steering overcorrection, slamming on the tug's brakes, we don't know.

Was the driver a blonde, we don't know... :W (uh-oh, now I've done it!).

Personally if I really desired a 30 footer behind me, I guess I'd want it to be a 5th wheel. But that's just me.

[MI_-mansion]

Well I recently went to a 30' TT and a 2012 F150,4x4 crew WITH sway control (friction) and if there is any wind, it will sway a ton! White knuckle all the way. looking for different setup as I am typing.

[greende]

We had an Avalanche. Pulled a 26' Gulfstream Streamlite Nonslider very well without WD hitch. Traded for a 29' Cougar X-lite with slider and Dual Cam hitch. Too much trailer for the truck. Pulled it for short distances but we were always aware that it was on the edge of it's capacity. My guess is that this may have been what happened here. IMO these are not exactly like a half ton PU.

[coolbreeze01]

Too much rig for the driver. Wish them a speedy recovery.

[_40Fan]

Yep, looks like a Reese DC to me.

[shakyjay]

69 Avion wrote:
Just because the driver said that "sway" caused the accident doesn't mean that is the case. If sway started, why didn't the driver hit the trailer brakes? I have a picture of an accident like that when I was on my last trip a little over a week ago. I will have to post the pictures. It isn't pleasant seeing the trailers upside down, but it had a WDH also. I have no idea what kind of sway control it had, but I don't even use a WDH or sway control on my last trailer. I haven't had any sway issues, even in stiff cross winds. Maybe part of the problem is drives who don't know how to handle a trailer, or drive too fast. I believe in using a heavy enough TV. Mine is a 1 ton Ford.

X2

I couldn't agree more with this and the post above. Drivers often react to things in ways that get them in more trouble. Really don't know enough from this article to determine the cause. What we know is the driver felt what they thought was the trailer beginning to sway. Was it sway or was wind or the push pull of a passing semi. We don't know. Did it actually push the trailer and TV off the road or was it the driver's reaction to what they felt that sent them off the road? Again we don't know. Way too many variables here to speculate as to exact cause. Personally I doubt that I would say sway caused the accident. At the most I might say it contributed but somehow I think there was some human reaction that played a major role. But again that would just be speculation.