Detroit Dan
New Member
Having a few years in the heavy commercial towing business, plus a few of my own trailers I tow, towing is a favorite topic of mine. And unsafe towing is a pet peeve of mine. Other night I was going down the highway at 2:30 am when I noticed this huge trailer in front of me was weaving all over the road, crossing the yellow and the fog lines, and only doing about 40-45.
No matter what I couldn't see the mirrors of the tow vehicle, or even what sort of rig was pulling it. Eventually the weaving got bad enough I called the town I was in and got permission to stop it (I'm a local LEO). So, I throw the blues on and about a 1/4 mile later we're finally stopped. Turns out it's a carnival concession trailer, actually a game, that was 11 or 12 feet high, maybe 18 feet long, dual axle six lug wheels. The tow vehicle was a half ton 04 Avalanche.
The lady says that she swerved a couple times because her dog was pushing her trying to be petted. I suggested it might be also due to the fact that her front axle was so light the steering input was minimal. No scales available at that time of night, and no info on the trailer weight, either on the trailer or it's registration. She called owner who said trailer is 5000#. I daresay that if it was only 5000# the receiver hitch would have been more than four inches from the ground. She tells me the truck tows real nice and the trailer brakes work great. Even though it took a 1/4 mile to stop from 40 mph. There was 12 inches of air between the front tire and the fender, yet only 4 inches from rear tire to fender.
She tells me the truck is set up for heavy towing, and it did in fact have rear Timbrens and RS 9000 shocks. Nice try, but that doesn't change the gcvwr. I have an 04 1500 Avalanche, and iirc the tow rating is 7000#. If the heavy duty shocks and Timbrens couldn't keep the load near level, then no way was it a reasonable tongue weight. No weight distributing hitch either. Too short safety chains so they couldn't cross. I told her to push the brake actuator controller, but I coldn't hear any clicking from the trailer brakes, so I don't belive they were working. Oh, did I mention that the bumper and hitch was bent down? She said she did it towing a much larger trailer on a midway, bent it right down but she didn't go out on the road like that. Yet she didn't hesitate to tow this trailer with the already fatigued hitch.
Turns out she was trying to move the trailer about a 150 miles to leave it for someone who was coming with a 3500 dually to get it, I guess she was just saving them part of the trip. So she had to know it was too much trailer. She also knew there was a flat tire on the trailer, beacuse they were bringing a spare with them. So we had her drive it to the nearest parking lot and drop it, so they could pick it up there with a bigger truck.
Wish I knew what the actual trailer weight was. Just glad we got her off the road before something bad happened. She actually was timing her trip to take place during the night to avoid traffic, because she knew she couldn't maintain highway speed. Scary thing is, she just came down rte 16 out of the White Mountains. I tow an 11k camper with my dually up there a few times a year, and there's a couple hills that give the truck a real workout.
No matter what I couldn't see the mirrors of the tow vehicle, or even what sort of rig was pulling it. Eventually the weaving got bad enough I called the town I was in and got permission to stop it (I'm a local LEO). So, I throw the blues on and about a 1/4 mile later we're finally stopped. Turns out it's a carnival concession trailer, actually a game, that was 11 or 12 feet high, maybe 18 feet long, dual axle six lug wheels. The tow vehicle was a half ton 04 Avalanche.
The lady says that she swerved a couple times because her dog was pushing her trying to be petted. I suggested it might be also due to the fact that her front axle was so light the steering input was minimal. No scales available at that time of night, and no info on the trailer weight, either on the trailer or it's registration. She called owner who said trailer is 5000#. I daresay that if it was only 5000# the receiver hitch would have been more than four inches from the ground. She tells me the truck tows real nice and the trailer brakes work great. Even though it took a 1/4 mile to stop from 40 mph. There was 12 inches of air between the front tire and the fender, yet only 4 inches from rear tire to fender.
She tells me the truck is set up for heavy towing, and it did in fact have rear Timbrens and RS 9000 shocks. Nice try, but that doesn't change the gcvwr. I have an 04 1500 Avalanche, and iirc the tow rating is 7000#. If the heavy duty shocks and Timbrens couldn't keep the load near level, then no way was it a reasonable tongue weight. No weight distributing hitch either. Too short safety chains so they couldn't cross. I told her to push the brake actuator controller, but I coldn't hear any clicking from the trailer brakes, so I don't belive they were working. Oh, did I mention that the bumper and hitch was bent down? She said she did it towing a much larger trailer on a midway, bent it right down but she didn't go out on the road like that. Yet she didn't hesitate to tow this trailer with the already fatigued hitch.
Turns out she was trying to move the trailer about a 150 miles to leave it for someone who was coming with a 3500 dually to get it, I guess she was just saving them part of the trip. So she had to know it was too much trailer. She also knew there was a flat tire on the trailer, beacuse they were bringing a spare with them. So we had her drive it to the nearest parking lot and drop it, so they could pick it up there with a bigger truck.
Wish I knew what the actual trailer weight was. Just glad we got her off the road before something bad happened. She actually was timing her trip to take place during the night to avoid traffic, because she knew she couldn't maintain highway speed. Scary thing is, she just came down rte 16 out of the White Mountains. I tow an 11k camper with my dually up there a few times a year, and there's a couple hills that give the truck a real workout.
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