Saw a trailer jackknife yesterday

[Dennis C]

Coming home from dinner last night, we were following an SUV pulling a trailer. This was not a travel trailer; it was a car hauler. The tow vehicle was a Toyota 4 Runner and the vehicle being towed was a Toyota Tundra on a car hauler. The roads were slick and beginning to freeze.

As we cruised along on a sleepy mountain road at under 30 mph, the jackknife and spin happened on a curve, right in front of us. It was almost as if it was happening in slow motion. The vehicles came to a stop in the middle of the road, with the tow vehicle facing back towards us and the trailer off at an angle. Fortunately there was no major damage and the vehicles didn’t slide off the road into the river. After a little work, the driver was able to disconnect the trailer, reposition the tow vehicle, and get out of the road.

The remarkable thing to me was the slow speed at which this event transpired. It was very obvious that once the weight of the heavier trailer started pushing the tow vehicle, it was all over. The slick streets meant that the tow vehicle had no chance to resist the force of the heavier trailer. The trailer absolutely manhandled the tow vehicle.

The whole thing reinforced my policy of never towing in icy conditions, and never towing a trailer that weighs more than my tow vehicle. I obviously think about towing dynamics more now that I tow an Airstream, and it was really interesting to watch this jackknife unfold.

[Belegedhel]

Reminds me of a couple of adages: "God looks out for children and fools", and "if you can't be smart, better hope you're lucky."

[Silvr_Bullet]

I wouldn’t want to test this, the Hensley would have caused the trailer and tow vehicle to remain in unison while sliding avoiding a jackknife situation. Like to hear thoughts on this.

[Tyler2you]

Originally Posted by Silvr_Bullet

I wouldn’t want to test this, the Hensley would have caused the trailer and tow vehicle to remain in unison while sliding avoiding a jackknife situation. Like to hear thoughts on this.

It may have prevented it in this low speed example. However, I don't believe any hitch can keep things together in all situations. If you hit the guardrail/barrier on the right and over correct left, you can make bad stuff happen no matter what you have connecting your TV to your trailer. Case in point:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...aho-gorge.html

https://idahonews.com/news/local/the...ath-experience

[tbrowne]

Towing on an icy roadway is always a risk and should be avoided when possible. I have serious doubts that any hitch can prevent bad things from happening on ice. Highway bridges and overheads ice before the roadway and should be crossed with extreme caution once temps fall to near freezing.

[richard5933]

Originally Posted by Silvr_Bullet

I wouldn’t want to test this, the Hensley would have caused the trailer and tow vehicle to remain in unison while sliding avoiding a jackknife situation. Like to hear thoughts on this.

How much torque can a Hensley absorb before it breaks? Seems to me that there is a breaking point for all types of hitches, and if that trailer starts pushing hard sideways I'm guessing that all bets are off, especially if the trailer is heavy.

My point is that while some hitches are better at preventing things like this, none can help with extreme situations. Relying on a hitch to get you through driving on icy roads doesn't seem like a good idea to me.

[Mollysdad]

There's no way a Rav 4 is rated to tow a Tundra (6000#) on a car trailer (2000#). The Rav 4 is probably rated to tow 500#.
Let's not turn this into a "You need an F-350 to tow a Bambi." thread.

[tjdonahoe]

What would one expect…an accident waiting to happen

[Luna1967]

Originally Posted by Mollysdad

.
Let's not turn this into a "You need an F-350 to tow a Bambi." thread.

Thank you for sharing what you witnessed. Very scary, and reaffirms my anti-ice camping stance, even though we tow our little Caravel with an F250 SD 4WD 😂. It just happens to be what we have 😏.

[bweybright]

Originally Posted by Mollysdad

There's no way a Rav 4 is rated to tow a Tundra (6000#) on a car trailer (2000#). The Rav 4 is probably rated to tow 500#.
Let's not turn this into a "You need an F-350 to tow a Bambi." thread.

He said it was a 4 Runner, not a Rav 4.

[LNBright]

Originally Posted by bweybright

He said it was a 4 Runner, not a Rav 4.

What I was about to say. A 4Runner is more competent than a RAV4. However, I would have had the Tundra towing the 4Runner, not the 4Runner towing the Tundra. (Assuming they were both functioning vehicles.)

[uncle_bob]

Hi

We have had the same thing happen in front of us on a bright sunny day and a flat / dry road. The vehicle was a fairly normal car and they had a large riding lawn mower (and some other gear) on the trailer behind them. They would up in the ditch, but nobody seemed to be hurt.

Bob

[GammaDog]

I had two Tacomas (the subject TV was a 4 Runner… SUV version of the Taco) and then two Tundras. I’m guessing that the Tundra + trailer exceeded the GTWR of the 4 Runner. Given the weight distribution on the Tundra and it’s length, the tongue weight may have substantially exceeded the tongue weight rating of the 4 Runner. Those factors plus ice plus night sound like a recipe for a mishap.

[AldeanFan]

I wonder how well balanced the trailer was, you would assume the tundra was loaded forward facing and the trailer was nose heavy but not necessarily.
Or
Was there no weight distribution and too much tongue weight resulted in the front of the tow vehicle being light and unable to steer

I also wonder if the trailer had brakes and if a tap on the brake controller would have straightened out the combination when the jackknife started happening.
Lots of car haulers have surge brakes only

[Silver.Gypsy]

Originally Posted by Belegedhel

Reminds me of a couple of adages: "God looks out for children and fools", and "if you can't be smart, better hope you're lucky."

quote I like is that you never want the tail wagging the dog.

[gamakai]

"The roads were slick and beginning to freeze". If the mishap were caused by hitting ice, then size of tow vehicle is immaterial. Several factors could have caused the event--poorly positioned load, no brakes on trailer or inadequate brakes, worn tires-- all could have contributed. From your description, it sounds like he hit an ice patch to me. Proper matching of TV and trailer is important but not the only factor--your average semi has an approximate 4 to 1 loaded trailer weight to tractor weight ratio.

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by bweybright

He said it was a 4 Runner, not a Rav 4.

I'm so embarrassed!
Maybe next time I'll shut up! I swear my lizard brain saw Rav 4.

I see a 4 runner is rated to tow 5000#, closer, still about 3000# over.

[bweybright]

No harm, no foul....I was just clarifying to keep (hopefully) the discussion on track. Wish I could say I have never switched what I saw and caught it when I re-read things.

[Dennis C]

The Tundra that he was pulling didn't appear to be operational. I didn't see any weight distribution setup. I think he was towing on the ball. He was only a few miles from home. Almost made it...

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Dennis C

The Tundra that he was pulling didn't appear to be operational. I didn't see any weight distribution setup. I think he was towing on the ball. He was only a few miles from home. Almost made it...

Hi

This is one of the classic gotchas: I'm only going a short ways down the road, I'm sure I can make it. I gotta get this home and all I have is this rig.

No, I can't even count how many times *I* have pushed this or that limit in the same fashion. Ten more bags of concrete in the back of the car? I gotta get home .....

Bob