I almost met my maker, in a near head-on today.

I live in Pueblo, Colorado. There are a lot of wanna-be ranchers/horse wisperer weirdos here. (This community loves their horses, so much in fact that they have turned all of the alleys and utility easments into horse trails only!)

I understand what it is like to be a real rancher, sence I am a 4th generation Colorado rancher from a ranching family. I use horses for work, unlike most of these city people who over-feed and keep their horses tied up all day in the sun, just for the sake of having one, as a popularity contest. As well as having all new Powerstrokes, Cummins, and Duramax trucks just to be flashy.

Just because you have a new truck and play money for trailers and horses does NOT give you the right to pi$$ all over everyone else around you, and drive as fast as you want to with out consquences.

I also hold a Class A CDL, and know the responsibilities of driving truck.

So, today when I was coming home from town, on a 45mph two lane road with curves, I got to see a kid almost lose control of his Duramax (Chevy Truck) and his nice 4 horse trailer. It didn't help things that he was going about 65 in a 45 with tight curves. He way over corrected, and nearly met the front of my F-350!

The moral of this story is: When hauling a trailer, of any type, SLOW DOWN, BE AWARE OF WHERE THE TRAILER IS AT ALL TIMES.

I believe that this is a very understated issue with new and experienced trailer pullers alike.

Common sense says when you are towing a trailer, DON'T DRIVE LIKE YOU DO WHEN YOU HAVE NO TRAILER HOOKED UP. You should not take curves fast or drive like your a sporty race car driver when your towing.

Please be careful out there, DRIVE SAFE, and thanks for reading this.

 

John -

This is one of the reasons we moved from SoCal; when towing our boat to Lake Mohave/Havasu, some folks on I-15/40 would be running over 80 (supposed to be at 55) while towing jet skis, boats or TTs. Their towed loads would be swaying badly, yet they STILL wouldn't slow down!

Roger on "be careful & DRIVE SAFE"!

Steve

 

Amen to that! When I tow my horses I'm especially careful and stick to the 55mph speed limit here in CA. Saves on mpg and besides being the law, it's easier to maneuver if problems arise. If you're hauling anything, you've got to use common sense. That goes double when you're towing live animals. Keep rollin'.

 

Great thread~

 

I would also add:
Understand what everything does to your vehicle. For example when my trailer starts to sway - I just squeeze the trailer brakes on ever so slightly...

 

Not only that, most folks have no clue about weight distribution i.e. proper tongue weight ratio. I see this all the time with newbies in the toybox crowd.

Finally got my neighbor straightend out, he couldn't go beyond 55mph w/out the thing wanting to swap ends, until I showed him that driving his rear engine LS-1 V8 powered sand rail front-first was the reason (heli tail weight on the trailer) his toybox was all over the road. Now he backs it into the trailer and the trailer goes down the road like a million bucks.

It's always better to have some experienced folks rolling with ya!

 

I'm just one of those boring midwest guys that tow at 60 mph with my 8K trailer. Amazing what slowing down does from a control perspective yet I seem to catch up with most of the people who blow by me. Over the years, I have seen way too many idiots towing trailers, or better yet cars passing on the right side cuz I'm not going down the ramp fast enough!

 

Yeah, I've had the crap scared out of me more than a few times.

I don't get it. These things cost top dollar, too. I just can't imagine folks acting like that. Not only does it endanger the other folks trying to get the job done, but it also endangers them and their animals. It's enough to make your toes curl up in your boots.

Y'all take care and drive safe.

 

That's another good point. Show some patience and respect for the guy towing the trailer when you're driving down the road. People need to understand when you're towing you can't see as well or stop as fast. My dad was an OTR trucker for years he once had a car pull right out in front him. He had no time to stop hit the car and killed everyone inside three adults and two kids. The highway patrol did not find him at fault, but he did and it took him a long time to forgive himself. I think about that every time I tow and worry.