Do you tow often?
Super Moderator
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 29,380
Likes: 118
From: Central Coast of CA
Stewart
Senior User
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 241
Likes: 0
From: Damascus
I,ve Got a Keystone toy hauler took Two cow elk through the front ( they ran into me) went between the ex and trailer ,. had to replace the nose and the left side fiberglass but structurally (aluminum box frame ) very little damage ( the Elk didn't make it) these things are stout.
Senior User
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 319
Likes: 1
From: Oshawa/Ontario/Canada
There is a dearth of opportunities to "learn" about trailering. A few notes I'd like to make...
I've towed moderately sized things for a long time. My father taught me how to back a trailer and about towing them --- although again, his knowledge was largely learned from experience. The government "advice" on towing is largely a joke.
Shortly after buying the X, we rented a 34' TT and took a 6000 mile vacation over 20 days (loved it). Miraculously, we didn't put a scratch on it despite having a couple of really challenging spots to back into. The newness of the experience and the fear of having to pay for damage kept me very alert ... probably even overcautious. I had also bought radios for the trip --- invaluable for backing into nearly impossible spots.
A year later we got a 24' cargo trailer and used it to haul hardwood staircases from here (Ontario) to Connecticut. This trailer was a bit smaller than the TT and I think I was a bit overconfident. In the end we had two incidents...
The first one, I managed to scratch the cabinets on the side of a 5 ton truck in the yard of the building while backing up. Now Dad was spotting on this and I was backing. I don't think he realized that there are blind spots you can hide a truck in. With smaller trailers, this generally wasn't the case, but with the large cargo trailer, I couldn't see past it when the whole vehicle was jacknifed. Luckily just some scratches.
During another run, we nosed into a Super 8 with the rig. It was stupidly tight. This time I was going forward around their parking lot to get back out. I wasn't sure that it was even possible... and in the end, we took a small piece of plastic trim off someone's pickup. This involved some shouting --- but in the end, the trim snapped back on.
Both incidents were lack of obvious experience tinged with a bit of overconfidence. Luckily the rig was moving _very_ slowly during both incidents, too, so damage was minimal (and we were able to negotiate a satisfactory settlement with both trucks without involving insurance companies).
The difference between a smart car and a 1 ton truck towing a huge trailer is several orders of magnitude... yet they have the same license. Every class of vehicle should have it's own license. Rather universally, I don't think people are prepared in any way when they switch vehicles.
I've towed moderately sized things for a long time. My father taught me how to back a trailer and about towing them --- although again, his knowledge was largely learned from experience. The government "advice" on towing is largely a joke.
Shortly after buying the X, we rented a 34' TT and took a 6000 mile vacation over 20 days (loved it). Miraculously, we didn't put a scratch on it despite having a couple of really challenging spots to back into. The newness of the experience and the fear of having to pay for damage kept me very alert ... probably even overcautious. I had also bought radios for the trip --- invaluable for backing into nearly impossible spots.
A year later we got a 24' cargo trailer and used it to haul hardwood staircases from here (Ontario) to Connecticut. This trailer was a bit smaller than the TT and I think I was a bit overconfident. In the end we had two incidents...
The first one, I managed to scratch the cabinets on the side of a 5 ton truck in the yard of the building while backing up. Now Dad was spotting on this and I was backing. I don't think he realized that there are blind spots you can hide a truck in. With smaller trailers, this generally wasn't the case, but with the large cargo trailer, I couldn't see past it when the whole vehicle was jacknifed. Luckily just some scratches.
During another run, we nosed into a Super 8 with the rig. It was stupidly tight. This time I was going forward around their parking lot to get back out. I wasn't sure that it was even possible... and in the end, we took a small piece of plastic trim off someone's pickup. This involved some shouting --- but in the end, the trim snapped back on.
Both incidents were lack of obvious experience tinged with a bit of overconfidence. Luckily the rig was moving _very_ slowly during both incidents, too, so damage was minimal (and we were able to negotiate a satisfactory settlement with both trucks without involving insurance companies).
The difference between a smart car and a 1 ton truck towing a huge trailer is several orders of magnitude... yet they have the same license. Every class of vehicle should have it's own license. Rather universally, I don't think people are prepared in any way when they switch vehicles.
Senior User
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 122
Likes: 0
We live in Oakdale, but take the kids to church camp near Santa Cruz every year, so we try and camp somewhere close by to pick them up. We will be trying the "North Santa Cruz" KOA this time.
Cargo Master
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,097
Likes: 5
From: chicago northwest suburbs
If you look at the video you can see he caught the extreme edge of the roof! looks like he misjudged how far in he was. thats why he was unhurt the roof fell just down the side of the truck.
Notice though how the Dodge just wanted to keep on going!
Notice though how the Dodge just wanted to keep on going!
Thread Starter
|
Postmaster
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,632
Likes: 4
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
VaSheriff
Excursion - King of SUVs
17
Oct 15, 2012 07:50 PM
