Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire towing without brakes

short version, give yourself enough room to stop....

Ding ding ding. Exactly okie.

Towed a 6500 lb. skid steer on a 3500 lb. bumper-pull Belshe trailer behind a Dodge 3/4 ton gasser without brakes, about 120 miles. This was in the Texas Panhandle, no big grades (up or down). Yes, I was white-knuckling it the whole way, stayed away from other autos, and planned my stops WAY ahead.

Ordered a Tekonsha brake controller when I got home.....

I watched a pickup pulling an empty gooseneck horse trailer slide down a mildly sloping road to rear end an old lady stopped at a stop sign. The pickup slid, anyway. The trailer sure didn't. I hinted to the cop that he needed to check the trailer's brakes. I hope he did.

Yup ! same thing when driving a truck.
Every dickhead on the road has to pass the truck then cut right in front. Seems reasonable to put yourself in ones safety zone, and eliminating both.

To repeat a post I made here earlier, a local trucker spent 4 years in prison for exactly that. A motorhome pulled in right in front of him then hit the brakes for a turn. The fully loaded gravel truck couldn't stop and 2 people in the motorhome died. They found the trucks brakes to be worn beyond specs. He couldn't have stopped in time even with new brakes and He was convicted in spite of the fact that it was the motorhome driver's fault.

Unless the passing and then stopping was done in malice, it wasn't the motor home's fault! Any driver has to be driving at a safe speed and be prepared to stop at any given time.

One thing I can damn near guarantee you here in California is that 95% or those pulling trailers "Don't Know the LAW", and that goes for the supposed professional truck drivers also!


Phil

It's plain that you haven't driven a big rig. You can't stop one in it's own length. If someone suddenly cuts in front of you, there's no possible way you can be ready to stop suddenly. In this case, the motorhome passed with inadequate clearance and pulled in right in front of the truck. He then saw his turn closer than he'd anticipated and hit the brakes.

I've driven every type of big rig on the road (and well over a quarter million pounds)for over 45 years! If a motor home passed, and that driver didn't immediately start to regain his safe distance he was in the wrong. And if you haven't noticed a motor home can't just slam on the brakes! Even though that being cut off is used more often than nearly all other excuses for getting into accidents!

Phil

I hope you also ordered a heavier trailer that's made for weights like that.. A Tekonsha will do bupkis if that axle breaks....then where's that skid steer gonna go?? But at least you did what you could to be away from other vehicles - kudos there, and I'm glad to read you made it safe/sound..

Oh, and those who pull trailers at 80mph? You better have a trailer clad with tires rated for that speed; the majority of trailer tires are maxed at 65 mph - anything over that and you're risking a nice, sweet blowout.. I can't wait to see what may happen next.. FWIW, I have a set of tire monitors mounted on the camper. On the run to Sturgis they started out cold at between 77-81 pounds (specified on the tire to be 80# cold). During the trip, pressure went up on all of 'em about 6-8# and temps ran about 90-100 degrees. I only went to 70 mph once when passing a vehicle - otherwise it was 55-65, depending on the states' speed limits. Those monitors are the cat's azz - lets ya know immediately if there's a problem. Saves tires/saves damage to the camper - and one can get ahead of pressure instead of behind...if you get my drift.. I can't recommend them highly enough...

The TT hitches on most pickups are rated for a max tongue weight of about 600# w/o using a weight-compensator rig (class II or III). Before you tow, crawl underneath your truck and read the tag on the side of the hitch...then stay within those limits. If you don't, and have a crash, the other driver's lawyer will be wiping his drool with something the size of a beach towel while perusing some new, expensive property in the Bahamas..

When I ordered my truck in '11 I specified the heaviest GVW I could get - #13,300. The hitch is a class V (2.5" receiver), and the 5er hitch is a Reese Signature rated for 25K. The factory sez this truck is rated/legal for 16,000# max hitch tow, or up to 22.5K using the 5th wheel. Oh, and along with that one better have the correct ball and shank diameter rated for the trailer.. I've seen some 2" balls with 3/4" shanks on a hitch where the dude musta had at least 8K on the back.. Geez...

The tag on my hitch shows max tongue weight w/o comp is 800#, but up to 1600# w/comp. Other than the camper, the heaviest trailer I tow is rated at 8K GTW - therefore I'm within legal specs. The camper has a GTW of 18K, but that's using the 5th wheel unit - therefore I'm still within legal bounds. That beggar has brakes on all six wheels and I have 'em checked every spring to make SURE I can stop when/if I need to.

I know - I'm a bit (well, maybe more than a bit) anal about towing.. But I've seen some horrendous crashes with dudes who use a 1/2 ton truck to pull 12K or more and don't make it all the way from point A to destination B... You do NOT wanna be a part of that, trust me..

Best wishes to all.. Be safe, do it right..and I promise to shut up now..