Too much excitement

[rwiegand]

Coming home on Monday on the NY Thruway a guy in front of me dropped a mounted tire off the car trailer he was towing. Between the distance and traffic I had no choice but to straddle it-- I pull a 24 ft trailer with a fairground organ in it behind the truck and camper, and could easily end up in big trouble trying an emergency swerve. I almost made it.

I'm not sure exactly what happened, Apparently the tire hits something under the truck, spun it up where it hit the passenger side torklift, then ejected it out the driver side. The wheel ended up all the way across the median, about 100 yards away. We took a *big* bump, that must have been the truck running over the tire. No evidence that the trailer hit the tire.

Both rear Fastguns came unfastened, one ended up on the roadway, one still hanging from the camper, the camper shifted about two inches backwards. As you can see in the picture below the passenger side Torklift was bent and cracked. (I also discovered that the pins they use to install them aren't corrosion resistant-- will need to remedy that all around).

Fortunately that seems to have been the only permanent damage. I have a new tiedown on order, will try the more corrosion resistant version this time.

Do us all a favor and make sure your loads are securely tied down! The moron who dropped the tire had stopped in front of us to go back and pick it up, but when he saw me hit it he took off. probably didn't hear what I was going to have to say.

[covered_wagon]

One chain hooked to frame on each side of spare then hooked together with a small chain binder. This way chains hang out of the way when you need the spare.

[jimh406]

covered wagon wrote:
Also the Dodge Ram spar tire cable (holds spare underneath) rusts so watch out for those too.

My S-10 lost it's spare 30 years ago, too. Sounds like everyone should just buy Fords. 🙂

[covered_wagon]

I leave plenty of room in front to avoid all those things.

Should be a law about those truck beds being so short that a headache rack be required. It's just plain not right to be traveling with lumber sticking out the back of a pick up bed. A guy was killed by a lady running some lumber back home when it all swing out on a turn. She was picking it up when a biker tried to avoid it and died. It was one of those super shorty beds that need a forward rack.

Also the Dodge Ram spar tire cable (holds spare underneath) rusts so watch out for those too.

[GoinThisAway]

It's a terrible feeling being in that situation. Glad the damage was minor. I was traveling in heavy traffic through Knoxville TN a number of years ago when a a round red metal gas tank fell off the back of a utility truck ahead of me. It bounced and spun, spewing fuel as it went. With cars on either side and behind me all I could do was slow slightly and grip the steering wheel. The can was near the ground and near the center of my lane when I ran over it. It made a horrible sound but when I stopped to check I thankfully didn't find any damage. I agree that some folks are lax when it comes to securing their load.

[rwiegand]

Yes, Grit Dog, you are correct. I almost never drive the truck in the winter, so hadn't given it much thought. It's on the list now. OTOH, I'm pretty disappointed that someone would sell me such an expensive tie down and not do a better job of rustproofing it. It's not the 50's anymore, people have long since learned how to make car parts that don't rust, at least in the first decade. I'm replacing them with the newer stainless/aluminum model.

SS pins are readily available from McMaster, about $6.50 each: stainless locking linch pin

[Grit_dog]

Glad it was not a catastrophic outcome, but regarding the hitch pins that hold the mounts in, it's obvious that you haven't had them off in years or even checked them.
Mounts may be getting rusted out from the pics too.
You're not going to find stainless hitch pins readily available and galvanized will wear off from the vibration and rubbing. Your best bet there is to spend more time looking after your vehicle since you're up in the rust belt.

[Jfet]

That sounds scary. Seems like it could have flipped up under you and caused you to veer off your lane.

I was following a work truck when a 6 inch square steel plate that was probably 1/2" thick fell off the back of it. It hit the road on a corner and started spinning like a ninja star toward the front of my truck. So fast there really was no time to react but luckily the last bounce it did only put it even with the bumper. It knocked a hole in the bumper and tore off the Toyota emblem above that on the radiator grill then fell off under the truck.

Had it been at the point of the bounce where it was two feet higher it would have gone through the windshield. Guy driving the work truck kept on going, probably never knew one of the 50 plates he had unsecured had fallen off.

[Buzzcut1]

I use a Velcro strap between the camper tie down and the fast gun lock to prevent the loss of the fast gun should it pop loose. Glad the damage wasn't worse

[jimh406]

I'm glad that it wasn't worse. Thanks for the PSA. We could hope that word will spread to remind people to secure their loads.