More road carnage

[Lance M]

Found this on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/SLOStringer...60913597354413

[AtomicNo13]

Is that a Dodge minivan towing that?

[SeeMore]

Facebook quote..."I watched this happen! The Airstream started rocking, then flipped, and yanked the front car off the road...pretty intense and scary. As mentioned though everyone involved was totally fine, only bruises and small cuts. Major props to the first responders that were at the scene within a couple short minutes!"

TV was a Tahoe.

[Isuzusweet]

Originally Posted by AtomicNo13

Is that a Dodge minivan towing that?

GM Tahoe....but I did meet an Airstreamer that tows his 27' with a Saturn Aura 3.6 XR and he loves it; it all comes down to who set up the hitch and how well the anti sway is set up. The Saturn owner went to Can-AM RV in London Ontario.

Cheers
Tony

[SteveSueMac]

I thought it was a Dodge too - I guess the roof got crushed down a bit there in the back and changed the profile a bit....horrible to see, description was bad too....glad no one was seriously hurt. Any news on speed, tires, hitch, distractions (moose in road, texting, bad GPS directions, etc)?

[five4freedom]

Hauling my '79 Argy home from Tucson on Saturday we were about 10 minutes behind a fifth wheel roll-over. Not only the fifth wheel rolled, but the TV rolled too. I believe it was a Ram 2500 or 3500.

A few miles back, the guy had passed me going at least 80. It caught up with him as he was going down a 5% grade in the wind.

Not sure if they were OK or not, but the carnage was terrible.

The forces of nature are unpredictable and unforgiving.

[Arcticfox]

This is an "Airstream To go" rental unit. The trailer is a 28' international and the TV will be either a Tahoe or Suburban. Blow up any of these images and you can see the company logo about half way down the side of the trailer.


Sent from my iPad using Airstream Forums

[DanB]

Can't help but to think this isn't the place to debate towing (againx1000).

How about we just say a little prayer thanking God for the protection the five occupants received during this accident?

[AWCHIEF]

This is one of those OP where facts will never be forthcoming just lots of speculation and off topic post. Big thing is that apparently everyone walked away.

[Ted S.]

Originally Posted by Arcticfox

This is an "Airstream To go" rental unit. The trailer is a 28' international and the TV will be either a Tahoe or Suburban. Blow up any of these images and you can see the company logo about half way down the side of the trailer.


Sent from my iPad using Airstream Forums

Nice catch. I can see the logo but can't make it out, but when I look at the detailing of the trailer and the same on the Airstream To Go website, it's a match...

[John&Vicki]

Popping some corn...

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, I believe that this is the second one of those rentals, in a short time, that was wrecked.

[Hogfan]

Oh my. That's definitely a Tahoe. So glad everyone is ok! Sure gives me some anxiety about towing our 27' with our Tahoe. We are researching and narrowing down tow vehicles now, but it's not a quick or inexpensive decision. We are trying to take our time and find the new TV that will best meet our needs. Till then, the Tahoe it is.......a little uncomfortably after seeing these kinds of incidents. At least everyone is OK!!!!

[mandolindave]

Originally Posted by Isuzusweet

GM Tahoe....but I did meet an Airstreamer that tows his 27' with a Saturn Aura 3.6 XR and he loves it; it all comes down to who set up the hitch and how well the anti sway is set up. The Saturn owner went to Can-AM RV in London Ontario.

Cheers
Tony

I can't help but think that this is not a good place to promote towing with small cars, or to be plugging Can-AM.

I totally disagree with the comment " it all comes down to "

[TerraYacht]

"It also comes down to..." knowing how to drive. This is not a tricycle towing your sibling in a Red wagon, needs some training, practice, presence of mind. I am still surprised that the rentals go out with less training than a Class 2 driver would get.

[Isuzusweet]

Originally Posted by mandolindave

I can't help but think that this is not a good place to promote towing with small cars, or to be plugging Can-AM.

I totally disagree with the comment " it all comes down to "

My bad.

I was merely telling a personal experience of just recently meeting someone that was towing a 27; with an Aura.

I wasn't passing a judgement on this persons choice of TV or making any sort of judgement on how they drove. There is no information on road conditions as there could have been a torrential down pour earlier, or vehicle condition, i.e. a blowout.

You must agree that having a suitable TV with a properly setup hitch can make up for a boneheaded drivers decision in a pinch.

I do agree that the term "it all comes down to" was a poor choice of words and I apologize.

Cheers
Tony

[FollySteve]

I know one thing. Debates about Airstream quality control aside, that is one tough trailer. I can't imagine any SOB surviving that intact.

[AWCHIEF]

Originally Posted by FollySteve

I know one thing. Debates about Airstream quality control aside, that is one tough trailer. I can't imagine any SOB surviving that intact.

Agree, from the limited photos the trailer looks surprisingly intact. Most any other trailer after the reported rollover would of been totally shredded. From the first time I heard of the Airstream/tow vehicle rental schem I expected there would be accidents. Happens all the time with MOHO rentals. I do not see how the choice of a TV is a factor in this incident. Inexperience is the perfect recipe for disaster. Can you imagine the carnage if just anyone was able to walk in off the street with no documentation of training, type experience and licensing to rent an aircraft.

[Skater]

Originally Posted by Hogfan

Oh my. That's definitely a Tahoe. So glad everyone is ok! Sure gives me some anxiety about towing our 27' with our Tahoe. We are researching and narrowing down tow vehicles now, but it's not a quick or inexpensive decision. We are trying to take our time and find the new TV that will best meet our needs. Till then, the Tahoe it is.......a little uncomfortably after seeing these kinds of incidents. At least everyone is OK!!!!

Without getting into the tow vehicle/hitch discussion:

The problem with some people is that they tow a trailer like they would drive to work. I admit I go rather fast when I'm commuting to work (but I'm still getting passed, so...), but that's when I'm driving a car with a low center of gravity that's not towing anything, and on roads that I drive every day.

A different driving situation calls for a different style of driving, so I'm a lot slower and far less likely to pass people when I'm towing. Recently I've been enjoying being the slowest person on the road by setting the cruise at 60 or 65 mph and letting everyone pass me. It's low stress, no worries about getting over and getting back, and great fuel mileage to boot.

But we sometimes see people towing trailers as though they are driving a sports car in rush hour traffic. We have an example in this thread of what can happen:

Originally Posted by five4freedom

Hauling my '79 Argy home from Tucson on Saturday we were about 10 minutes behind a fifth wheel roll-over. Not only the fifth wheel rolled, but the TV rolled too. I believe it was a Ram 2500 or 3500.

A few miles back, the guy had passed me going at least 80. It caught up with him as he was going down a 5% grade in the wind.

The best you can do is slow down, be careful. A Ram 2500/3500 is a pretty hefty tow vehicle and should handle a 5-er just fine, as long as the person behind the wheel isn't doing anything dumb. Of course, being smart doesn't protect you from all accidents, but it drastically reduces the likelihood of causing one and increases your chances of avoiding one, and that's a huge step in the right direction.

In the accident at the top of this thread, I'm guessing we have a driver who is inexperienced at towing (if it is indeed a rental), and is used to doing 70-80 mph on the interstates in their car...

[AtomicNo13]

If it is a weekend rental I'd speculate lack of towing experience or driving style, but who knows!

Hope all are ok....