What hit my trailer?

[okieyeti]

I was driving down the interstate about 5 years ago and witnessed the back duals come off of a tractor trailer unit in one of the lanes opposite the way I was going. Fortunately it veered off towards the shoulder but it was going at such a high speed that it rolled up the embankment to an on ramp and became airborne and must have launched about 20 feet into the air. It kept going and disappeared into an adjacent field. I couldn't help but wonder what if that had come into my lane and hit me. I would have been finished. I have seen two other incidents where trailer duals have come off the trailer. I did not witness either of the other two incidents in motion. One was just a smoking set of duals beside the road that had come off before I got there and the other was a truck that had just turned into a Home Depot delivery road. It leads me to believe that it may be too common an event. A lot of freight is hauled in trailers that are picked up by owner/operators that don't own the trailer and I'm not sure how well those trailers are maintained or checked. Just a thought, but you could have just met a truck on the opposite lane that lost its duals. The crease between the two indentions might match the space between the duals. Just a thought. Whatever hit you, it was fortunate it hit there and not your windshield. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

[MorrieC]

Originally Posted by okieyeti

I was driving down the interstate about 5 years ago and witnessed the back duals come off of a tractor trailer unit in one of the lanes opposite the way I was going. Fortunately it veered off towards the shoulder but it was going at such a high speed that it rolled up the embankment to an on ramp and became airborne and must have launched about 20 feet into the air. It kept going and disappeared into an adjacent field. I couldn't help but wonder what if that had come into my lane and hit me. I would have been finished. I have seen two other incidents where trailer duals have come off the trailer. I did not witness either of the other two incidents in motion. One was just a smoking set of duals beside the road that had come off before I got there and the other was a truck that had just turned into a Home Depot delivery road. It leads me to believe that it may be too common an event. A lot of freight is hauled in trailers that are picked up by owner/operators that don't own the trailer and I'm not sure how well those trailers are maintained or checked. Just a thought, but you could have just met a truck on the opposite lane that lost its duals. The crease between the two indentions might match the space between the duals. Just a thought. Whatever hit you, it was fortunate it hit there and not your windshield. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

Tires on trucks do come off. I have a friend that a Semi Wheel came off bounced over a fence on the freeway and came down on the roof of his barn. It did a considerably amount of damage to the roof.

[ITSNO60]

Yes tires do come off.... https://78.media.tumblr.com/a7d18584...j08xo1_400.gif

In case you are wondering the guy did survive after some time in the hospital.

[tommydSL64]

I reckon that just like them fellers in TX, you got hit by a camoflaged UFO
that left those marks on the roof! Its happened before.

[turk123]

I'm with the idea that a truck carrying a ladder hit the trailer. If the front of the ladder fell to the right front of the truck, the driver probably did not see it. He was going faster than the trailer and ran the ladder up into the panel. He then hit the brakes to back off. He then ran!

[RichHog]

I would say you got it right Tommy, it was certainly a UFO, Unidentified Flying Object at this point. The fact that I was traveling at 65 MPH makes it a lucky shot and I’m lucky only one panel was damaged. I’m going to a rally in two weeks before getting it repaired so I’m sure there will be more opinions.

[PatLee]

To Jcounsman - your dent reminds me of the one I got last summer on Route 1 in California. Very narrow road (redwood forest), just entering a curve, there is a huge half of a blown truck tire in the middle of my lane. I couldn't swerve (traffic in other lane), no shoulder. My truck ran over, throwing it back into the AS right about where your dent is.

[Freebird73]

My guess? USS Enterprise came a bit too low. You didn't see her because she was using her newly installed cloking device. That darn Spock!

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by okieyeti

I was driving down the interstate about 5 years ago and witnessed the back duals come off of a tractor trailer unit in one of the lanes opposite the way I was going. Fortunately it veered off towards the shoulder but it was going at such a high speed that it rolled up the embankment to an on ramp and became airborne and must have launched about 20 feet into the air. It kept going and disappeared into an adjacent field. I couldn't help but wonder what if that had come into my lane and hit me. I would have been finished. I have seen two other incidents where trailer duals have come off the trailer. I did not witness either of the other two incidents in motion. One was just a smoking set of duals beside the road that had come off before I got there and the other was a truck that had just turned into a Home Depot delivery road. It leads me to believe that it may be too common an event. A lot of freight is hauled in trailers that are picked up by owner/operators that don't own the trailer and I'm not sure how well those trailers are maintained or checked. Just a thought, but you could have just met a truck on the opposite lane that lost its duals. The crease between the two indentions might match the space between the duals. Just a thought. Whatever hit you, it was fortunate it hit there and not your windshield. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

That is a viable explanation, it would have to be a glancing blow though.

[SlvrBllt]

Originally Posted by RichHog

Was on the road back to Houston from Waco on HWY 6 when I heard a loud POP sound. Pulled over thinking it was a tire blowout but after a walk around every thing looked ok. Then after a dinner stop I saw this dent on the back side corner of the trailer. I was on the open road, no bridges, nobody along side of me then I heard it. Going the speed limit. Something just wham hit the trailer from the air.
Ant thoughts from the community?

I worked road patrol on the CHP for 19 years and saw a few incidents like yours caused by traffic from the opposite direction. It is not unusual for tire treads to separate and come flying off. This may have happened and come your way. The black marks in the photo suggested this to me. Some people are not so lucky. I responded to two fatalities where an entire tire came off and crossed the center divider into an oncoming vehicle’s windshield.

[Air Apparent]

[QUOTE=RichHog;2184667]I would say you got it right Tommy, it was certainly a UFO, Unidentified Flying Object at this point”

So sad; now we have hit and fly aliens. What is this universe coming to?

[ASaultlife]

Wait for it....Aliens.

[RichHog]

Ouch that tire must have hurt. Imagine it would make a bash in an Airstream.

[bweybright]

I have it!!!! Bermuda gasangle. the RV version of the triangle...except that it is a road with many RV's and the drivers all passed gas at the same time creating a major cloud wall of differentiating density so it dented the trailer.

[Foiled Again]

A flying tread or tire both seem to be logical, and not anything that is easy to anticipate or avoid.

Right before I got my first Airstream, I visited the mothership with my sister... where we saw a really badly damaged brand new Classic. If you ever hit a deer, pray it goes under the tow.vehicle, not over. (To the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas", sing )---Four bent segments, three smashed windows, two bloody curtains and a dead buck on the ultraleather couch.

[Hans627]

Just curious if there have been any updates regarding the UFO (or otherwise)?

Thanks!

[RichHog]

For those of you who are wondering here is a closer pic of the damage.
The rally decision was that a retread tire hit it from a vehicle that was ahead in the left lane, (I was in the right one) looking at the narrow path it hit and length of the damage. It doesn’t look like it went over the trailer but moved along the curbside edge.

[urnmor]

A flying tread or tire both seem to be logical, and not anything that is easy to anticipate or avoid.

A number of years back I was driving on 495 in Va with my wife in the front seat and our young son sitting behind her in the back seat when a piece of tire came across the barrier from the other direction and went through the open window on my side. It hit the rear back of the seat directly behind me and blew out the back window. I can tell you it happen in a flash of light and sounded like a a gun shot only louder. Only by the grace of God was no one hurt.

So yes it is quite possible it could have been a piece of tire tread.

[rmkrum]

I have jammed brakes in response to huge strips of tire tread peeling off the rear of a semi trailer. The one I remember best came off and probably went 50 feet straight up in the air. That time it went from far left in the lane across onto the right shoulder. It’s very possible a passing or leading truck threw a tread high enough and hard enough to do the damage. With the windows closed in your TV and normal wind noise you might not have heard the gator launch. I happened to see it, but did not hear it. I was lucky it went to the shoulder without hitting anyone. Talk about adrenaline surge slowing motion, that was a huge surge when it happened to me in my old van conversion.
Took a long time to calm down after that one, and I’m sure I had flat spots on a couple tires...

[mykytiukr]

Originally Posted by RichHog

For those of you who are wondering here is a closer pic of the damage.
The rally decision was that a retread tire hit it from a vehicle that was ahead in the left lane, (I was in the right one) looking at the narrow path it hit and length of the damage. It doesn’t look like it went over the trailer but moved along the curbside edge.

Unless you can see some rubber from the retread stuck to the damage I highly doubt it. There will be some streaks of rubber like a shoe scuff mark. A piece big enough to cause damage like that you REALLY should have seen it. I personally have blown out a couple dozen retreads over the years and to blow one to launch a piece big enough and that high to come down hard enough to do that is a big event!!! The truck would have to have been right alongside you and you mentioned that you relatively alone on the road. If there are no traces of any rubber at the damage it was definitely not a piece of tire!!!
Keep investigating!!!