Saw the tail wag the dog

Fordfarmer · Apr 28, 2014

Heading down WI 27 Saturday morning, two F150's with trailers ahead of me - one with an enclosed tandem snowmobile/wheeler type trailer, the other with a tandem car hauler type with a New Holland 16? skid steer on it. Looked like it was setting pretty level, not nose high like some that you see loaded hitch-heavy. Just past the speed zone in a small town, still picking up speed - maybe up to 40-45 m.p.h. Don't know what happened (enclosed trailer blocked my view), but brake lights came on, and then I saw the trailer with the skid steer jackknife and go sideways. Luckily no one in the oncoming lane. The trailer passed the truck and the whole thing ended up in the ditch facing the opposite direction. Didn't appear to be much damage, beyond where the trailer hit the truck fender. Whole thing happened in maybe two or three seconds. If nothing else, he knew how to secure a load - skid steer was upright and didn't appear to have moved on the deck.

BANDITFARMER · Apr 28, 2014

I wonder how many tickets he got when the cops got there? Dads 99 F150 I would never put my Gehl 4400 and trailer behind it to move it, It gets funky with a lawnmower on a 10ft trailer. I know a boy that thinks its ok to move a Cat D4 dozer on a tandum axel duel wheel trailer pulled by a new Chevy 1 ton 4x4 single rear wheel truck. He says it got the power so it ok to pull it. I told him I don't want to be around when he gets pulled over and they starts writing tickets. Bandit

MSS3020 · Apr 28, 2014

Borrowed a trailer from a friends friend last year to get some hay up and in the shed.. Fortunately I let my boys take the F250 with our trailer loaded home and I had our 72 chevy 3/4 pulling the friends trailer.. I had maybe 130 bales on that sucker bumper hitched, and started down the road.. I got up to 50 and the sucker started zig zagging and tipping side to side.. boy that was an experience.. Not really paid any attention to where the axles were located on this particular trailer..they were like in the middle of this trailer not toward the rearish like mine.. I backed if off real fast and kept it below 45..that was a long trip home..Whitie tighties remained clean to just FYI..

D beatty · Apr 28, 2014

I would say he didn't have the weight distributed right or maybe the suspension on trailer wore bad or tires not inflated properly. Also puting a good weight distribution will stop trailer sway. A New Holland L160 weighs about 5,500lbs. You say you could see it he may have dropped wheels off burm and lost it.

T in NE · Apr 28, 2014

Saw that almost happen several times in rush hour traffic on the way into Knoxville once. 2 Suburbans, first loaded full inside, pulling a boat filled to the brim with stuff. Second one had 3 people in it. Passed me several times and every time he got back in the lane ahead of me he had to drop it down about 40-45 to get it under control. Finally figured it out at some point, as traffic kept coming and I quit getting passed.

ericlb · May 2, 2014

several things come to mind besides probably worn trailer suspension too, but if he has all that behind a F150 thats nowhere near enough truck for the job, next if that load was pulling almost level the skid steer was too far back on the trailer, the results were a given , we have those bozos around here too and ive seen some bad wrecks because of it, 1 of them, all waded up in a ball was aparently a dodge 1 ton diesel, pulling a 20 or so foot gooseneck, loaded with a tandem axle dump truck! now since he has his billy big rigger diesel engine, that wasnt enough, he had to put a smooth drun roller on behind the dump truck too

Ken Macfarlane · May 13, 2014

Likely not enough tongue weight. They will fish tail every time if loaded too far back.

David G · May 14, 2014

I bought a F250 after nearly having a similar experience with F150. I was doing 55 down a hill and the trailer started pushing the truck, I hit the trailer brakes and slowed down.

Saw the tail wag the dog

Fordfarmer

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BANDITFARMER

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MSS3020

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D beatty

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T in NE

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ericlb

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Ken Macfarlane

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David G

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