Almost lost in UTAH

[Zia]

Lost control of AS going north on I-15 downhill after Beaver in Utah. Going at 70 mph with cross winds. Felt like blown a tire and has no control of the vehicle. luckily applied the brakes intermittently and after thinking about that we are going into a fatal accident we finally slowed down and stopped on the side. One good samaritan stopped and told us that the traffice behind us on both lanes was slowed down and they were sure looking from the back that we were going to have a fatal accident.
According to them the trailer was swaying side-to-side and at times on one wheel. We I was shaken up and my spouse was in a shock. We slowly took the next exit and opened the door and guess what?
Total disaster cabinets, drawers content were on the floor, even the oven contents were on the floor.
After clean up we headed to Yellowstone park and continued to our planned journey. Every thing on the trailer worked fine during the last five days of our trip. We have 20' Safari pulling with Lexus GX 470 both 2007.
Leason learned: PLEASE DRIVE SLOW AND BE SAFE

Should I be concerned about the integrity of the trailer or get something checked by the AS service center.

[overlander64]

Good to hear that your sway incident was a scare and not a serious accident. While I doubt that any damage was done, I would suggest having your coach checked for the following:

• Check axle for evidence of bending or misalignment.
• Check your coupler for evidence of torquing - - or bending such that it may no longer properly mate with the hitch on your vehicle.
• Check your weight distribution bars for evidence of unusual or new bends.
• Check hitch head for evidence of torquing or bending from forces applied while the trailer was misbehaving.
• Check the trrailer's frame for eveidence of bending/tweaking that may cause it to track in an undesired manner behind your tow vehicle.

I would also suggest evaluating the functioning of your sway control device. If your current hitch doesn't have built-in sway control, I would definitely suggest looking into one of the five or six different brands of hitches that offer built-in sway control.

Good luck with your investigation!

Kevin

[azflycaster]

It seems like more accident occur going downhill then any other situation. One suggestion is to go down the hill at the same speed you went up.

Glad to hear that you were able to recover safely.

[barts]

I would also think carefully if there were any unusual loading conditions that would have significantly reduced the tongue weight of the trailer - internal trailer loads, fullness of gray and fresh water tanks. etc.

One of the interesting things about many trailer sway incidents is that the driver's reactions form an integral part of the dynamic system that causes the problem to occur. Often the best driver reaction is to not react to the trailer sway; e.g. steer straight ahead to avoid pumping additional energy into the oscillations - and instead to apply moderate braking with just the trailer brakes ( with the brake controller).

As you've already figured out, slowing down (especially on downhills) is important.

- Bart

[LuvRVing]

I know the speed limit is 75-85 on this section of I-15, but it is important to consider what you are driving and adjust the speed limit for your own safety. I had a friend killed many yrs ago in that same situation so glad you 2 are safe with just a mess to clean up. It's not fun to do a "Lucy" when no camera is there.
Myrna

[Airslide]

Yikes.. very scary.

Glad you guys are safe and were able to continue your trip.

Vinnie

[Gene]

Just what is the Lexus 470? If it is the Lexus version of the 4Runner, it may be a little light for even a 20' trailer. And what tires do you have on the Airstream and what is their condition? They may have had poor traction allowing more sway than better or less worn tires.

We stay at 65 or below because it feels right. Because so many vehicles have large engines and can climb fast, it may be better to rewrite the rule to go down at the same speed as up—you can stop faster going uphill, so going slower downhill may be a better approach. The other version of the rule is to go down in the same gear as you went up, but with so many smooth shifting automatics now, who knows what gear you were in going up? Many newer transmissions will downshift automatically downhill, but you can manually shift down sooner. We've been in serious cross winds, once on icy snow, and have had no problems with sway, so I think there's a good chance something(s) can be upgraded to make for a safer trip.

Gene

[Stefrobrts]

Glad to hear you are safe! I'm surprised no one has asked what sort of hitch/weight distribution/sway control you have on the rig. I would look at hitch setup first.

[NevadaGeo]

A friend of mine bought a brand new Victorinox Bambi, it went totally out of control before she got to her first event with it. That stretch of road I know you can't be doing more than 50. The dealer didn't install any type of sway control. We made sure she got some before she left the next town. Why would a dealer not install sway control?

[TBRich]

So glad you made it through this scare in one piece. I agree with the general consensus that speed may be a factor here, especially downhill ... and with crosswinds. We, too, travel no more than 65 mph unless passing, and when we are going downhill we manually shift down to keep us from gaining too much momentum. I also don't know what the details of your Lexus GX 470 are... make sure it's up to the job. You didn't mention what your anti-sway hitch set up is.

[Gringo]

I looked up the specs on the Lexus, looks like it's got a factory hitch, a rear sway bar, decent suspension, adequate engine, six speed transmission.... 6500 lb tow spec, and what's that trailer weigh...4500 lbs maybe loaded up?

So I wonder.. are the electric trailer brakes set up right? did someone put a lot of weight in the back of the Lexus, or worse...at the far end of the trailer?

[Lily&Me]

How scary! Glad to hear you are safe.


Maggie

[reddogfox]

A 2007 Safari Special Edition has a GVWR of 5000 pound. The Lexus GX 470's tow rating of 6500 pound is clearly enough to tow this size trailer at highway speeds. I believe that the primary cause of the sway in this case was most likely excessive speed made worst by the cross wind. Another contributing factor may have been the short wheelbase of the Lexus 109.8 inches Over the last four years I have towed a similar trailer over 25,000 mile with no sway problems. I tow with a half ton GMC pickup truck, tow rating of 7500 pounds and a wheelbase of 143.5 inches. But most importantly I down shift and slow down on steep down grades. Glad no one was hurt!

[slowmover]

Better hitch rigging via weight scale tickets to confirm loadings should be a priority. I elected to go with a sway-eliminating hitch on mine (would purchase a PRO PRIDE today), and hitch rigging according to formula is the key step for any combination of vehicles.

Down a mountain grade, at speed (any) "causes" the trailer to want to travel faster than the tow vehicle (as a general description of sway, the trailer is trying to pass) and it takes very little in this situation to exceed poor margins. Increase the margins and study up on what the driver should do. Then practice, every trip. It's no different than a big truck driver testing the air system for proper operation of his brakes, he does it every time he starts the truck.

Glad your adventure was no worse. It'd be wise to examine the two vehicles more closely as in above posts for damages.

[MrUKToad]

Originally Posted by barts

.

One of the interesting things about many trailer sway incidents is that the driver's reactions form an integral part of the dynamic system that causes the problem to occur. Often the best driver reaction is to not react to the trailer sway; e.g. steer straight ahead to avoid pumping additional energy into the oscillations - and instead to apply moderate braking with just the trailer brakes ( with the brake controller).

As you've already figured out, slowing down (especially on downhills) is important.

- Bart

I have to agree with Bart, about all of it, but especially driver reaction. I've seen a couple of Police videos of accidents involving large trucks where the drivers have over-reacted and made a minor incident into a major one. I guess the message is to stay alert, try to feel what your set up is doing before taking your own remedial action. Easier said than done, I know, but it could save your life.

Glad this incident ended safely; it serves to remind us all that going downhill is the tow drivers` biggest worry. Slow, always slow.

[4RXLA]

Going 70 downhill in a crosswind is askingfor trouble.

[Mexray]

Ain't Monday morning quarterbacking fun...

1. Fortunately you've been spared having to pay the ultimate price of the damage to your rig (and more!) while learning this valuable lesson about trailer handling...

2. A SHORT wheelbase TV at SPEED and in a cross WIND while traveling DOWNHILL is a recipe for impending doom - but you now know that!...

3. I'm not in the habit of advising others on how to operate their rigs - I just know that when conditions on the road begin to make me 'uneasy' when towing, the first thing I do is SLOW down, especially down hill or in windy conditions...

We ALL know that reducing road speed decreases the chance of a 'tail waging' trailer problem...right? Experience will alert you to those possible 'sway' conditions - those little hairs on the back of one's neck can be a valuable 'tell'...

Tow safe out there...

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, reading your story got my heart pumping, thinking about how you felt during this ordeal. I'm very happy that no-one was hurt.

(1.) Was it driver's error?

(2.) Are the tires of both the tow vehicle and trailer set right?

(3.) Is the trailer or tow vehicle improperly loaded?

(4.) Do you have a WD hitch and is it set-up properly.

(5.) Or could it be a combination of these, or all of the above.

What ever the cause, I hope you can share it with us so this, or worse, doesn't happen to anyone else.

[Jewelstech]

I live in utah and the roads suck..so many people die going down the cayon roads , a great brake controller and a sway controller are your best friends..to your props going down hill in utah is a challange alot of times without riding your brakes all the way escpically out to park city.

[Foiled Again]

Thank you for posting - your post and the responses may save someone else's life. We've all made misjudgements in our Airstreaming adventures - and yours had a happy ending. whew.

I must agree about speed. I recently changed out my wheels and tires - 16 inch rims and Michelin LT tires - because most 15 inch trailer tires are just crap. None are rated for more than 55 mph. (Of course 90% of people with trailers have the tires dry rot in a campground or yard... so why make them for the 10% who will wear them out?

Even though I'm safer at 70 mph than ever before I still prefer to avoid going that fast especially downhill. My Chevy 2500 Silverado tows like "it's not even back there" but when it comes to braking - the biggest honkin' tow vehicle in the world will get reminded it takes a lot longer to decelerate and stop. EVEN with the trailer's brake controller on the grabby side.

I've had people cut in front of me and slow down, then look back in horror as they heard my 8 tires squealing and my engine downshifting frantically. I don't want to kill them (well I do, but without messing up my truck or Airstream!) but I just wonder why they think I can stop like I'm riding a Schwinn?

Don't take any hectoring tones too seriously.... but do take the good advice very seriously, downhill SLOW DOWN.... it's not just about towing capacity it's about braking capacity. OH, and DO test out your brake controller's adjustment every day when you start out, and even test it gently on a rural downhill just to know what it can do as an "anchor" to pull you straight in line when your life could depend on it.

Be safe out there, Paula