I ride a motorcycle and ANYTHING coming off the bed of a truck can cause me serious harm !
Ron W.
Lighten up newbie!!!
Retired Navy
2007.5 Dodge Ram SLT sport 2500 quad cab 6.7 cummins,6 speed auto with exhaust brake.EGR removed,DPF delete on order,hypertech econ program B.
2007 Open Road 378SA4S-5 quad slide.
I have watched in my mirror, the area behind the hitch and in front of the tailgate. This I found is the area most susceptible to levitation of items. I've seen wooden chauks, 2X6 leveling boards floating in the air as I'm traveling down the road. I pull over and move them forward and that fixes that. I know now from experience, only put heavy items back there. I never realized the power of the air currents back there. Luckily, I haven't lost anything so far.
Happy Camping...
DW "Rose"
2008 Ford F250 Lariat, SD/CC, 4X4, 6.4L diesel, 6 ft. bed
2002 Cardinal 28WB, 5vr
Sidewinder Pinbox
2005 MX-5 MazdaSpeed Lava Orange MIca (rare)
I do not want to make light of it. This is serious stuff. Something like a small 2x4 coming out of the bed could end up in someone's windshield too.
And, if it comes out of your rig, you can be held responsible for resulting damages. When I say damages I also mean the possible accident that follows from someone trying to avoid the debris. In some instances it could result in someone's death. Tie down the load.
I feel that I was very lucky that I was almost by myself on an interstate when it happened.
charlie
2006 Toyota Tundra Crew Cab
2003 Skyline Nomad 24ft Fiver
Me and Wife
Maggie the Old English Sheepdog
Well, I guess your doing something wrong. We have been RV'er for 40+ years now, and have had quite a few TT's and 5ers, all towed with a truck. We have never lost anything while traveling. We store all sorts of things at the rear, right up against our tail-gate. What I have done on every truck, is to install a couple of eye bolts on both sides. Everything is securied to the eye bolts, with either ropes or Bungie Cords. And anything with a handle on it, the rope or Bungie Cord goes thought the handle as well. We also have had large Plastic Containers in the rear of our truck. It gets a bungie cord wrapped all the way around the Container, then it too, is also securied to the eye bolts. Simple thinking, simple fixes for almost anything. Think about what you put into your trucks bed, before you drive off. Anyone who tows a 5er knows how much wind whips around in their truck bed, from down drafts caused by the over-hang of your 5er, or at least you should know, if your going to tow one. A little planning really helps. Maybe it was easier for me, as an Old OTR Trucker for 15 years. Ask any trucker, its second nature to them. "SECURE THAT LOAD" RV'er who own 5er's, are just like OTR Truckers, but on a smaller scale. So think like one. Its really pretty simple if you really think about it. Good luck. Happy Camping, Dan & Jill
1997 Ford F-250, H.D. Extended-Cab, Short Bed, 7.3 PSD, K&N Air Filter, 5000 lbs air bags w/on board compressor w/guage, SuperChips Tuner/Programer. 1996 Nash 24fter 5er, 15K "Lil" Rocker Hitch w/BedSaver, Twin EU2000i Gen's W/Kit. Nam-Vet, 33 Months.
Well, I guess your doing something wrong. We have been RV'er for 40+ years now, and have had quite a few TT's and 5ers, all towed with a truck. We have never lost anything while traveling. Anyone who tows a 5er knows how much wind whips around in their truck bed, from down drafts caused by the over-hang of your 5er, or at least you should know, if your going to tow one. A little planning really helps. Maybe it was easier for me, as an Old OTR Trucker for 15 years. Ask any trucker, its second nature to them. "SECURE THAT LOAD" RV'er who own 5er's, are just like OTR Truckers, but on a smaller scale. So think like one. Its really pretty simple if you really think about it. Good luck. Happy Camping, Dan & Jill
Dan you're right of course, but how do OTR drivers know these things??? They receive education or training and licensing before receiving their commercial OTR license. This is the opposite of recreational 5ver drivers. In most jurisdiction a person does not require any speical training or licensing whatoever to tow a fifthwheel with a PU.
You state the exact reason why an argument can be made for regulation requiring special training and licensing to tow recreational fifthwheels. If someone has never towed before how are they to know the importance of tying everything down in the bed of the truck if they have not experience seeing it levitate on the wind currents. Everyone's forsight and planning consideration skills are not sufficient to allow people to just "KNOW" without training that they must tye everything "light" down in the bed of the tow vehicle.
I was lucky that all I lost was a plastic cooler and no one was around me when it flew out. I received my education/training on 5ver wind currects from the "School of Hard Knocks" and now like you everythings gets tied down. We all must get our education and experience from somewhere.
Safe towing Will
* This post was
edited 04/24/08 04:50am by gitane59 *
2001 Newmar Kountry Star 34BLDS 2001 Ford F350 CC SRW V10 4.30LS
Well, I guess your doing something wrong. We have been RV'er for 40+ years now, and have had quite a few TT's and 5ers, all towed with a truck. We have never lost anything while traveling. Anyone who tows a 5er knows how much wind whips around in their truck bed, from down drafts caused by the over-hang of your 5er, or at least you should know, if your going to tow one. A little planning really helps. Maybe it was easier for me, as an Old OTR Trucker for 15 years. Ask any trucker, its second nature to them. "SECURE THAT LOAD" RV'ers who own 5er's, are just like OTR Truckers, but on a smaller scale. So think like one. Its really pretty simple if you really think about it. Good luck. Happy Camping, Dan & Jill
Dan you're right of course, but how do OTR drivers know these things??? They receive education or training and licensing before receiving their commercial OTR license. This is the opposite of recreational 5ver drivers. In most jurisdiction a person does not require any speical training or licensing whatoever to tow a fifthwheel with a PU.
You state the exact reason why an argument can be made for regulation requiring special training and licensing to tow recreational fifthwheels. If someone has never towed before how are they to know the importance of tying everything down in the bed of the truck if they have not experience seeing it levitate on the wind currents. Everyone's forsight and planning consideration skills are not sufficient to allow people to just "KNOW" without training that they must tye everything "light" down in the bed of the tow vehicle.
I was lucky that all I lost was a plastic cooler and no one was around me when it flew out. I received my education/training on 5ver wind currects from the "School of Hard Knocks" and now like you everythings gets tied down. We all must get our education and experience from somewhere.
Safe towing Will
Hi All.
Yes, trainning would be good for a lot of RV'er's. And you have made some very good points here. But for myself, I learned before I ever Drove my fist OTR truck or my RV. I don't know about most states, as each has there own rules. But I have lived in several, and there laws were the same. I know, most poeple have made a Dump Run, at least one time in their lives, or have at the least seen someone else heading to the dumps with covered loads. Every state that I have lived in, has had a law, that requires that your load is to be covered. "So nothing blows out of your truck". It would help, if the RV iduustry would put this information into the owners manuals. A simple informative fix for RV information. But I guess, that the industry doesn't want to spend the extra ink to print this information. That is why are highways are so messy with trash. Some of it blows out of trucks, and cars with windows open. Some people just don't care and throw stuff out their windows showing their intellengent levels. It's not just towing a 5er. Light weight things will, and do blow out of pick-up truck beds, with normal driving, with no 5er or TT. Anyone, who leaves there truck out-side, and has trees around get leafs in there trucks bed. I think we all know very well, that the leafs will blow out on there own. I know I can see leafs blowing out of my truck, with three mirrors. Information would be helpful, but nothing replaces good old fashioned common sense. Good Luck. Happy Camping. Dan & Jill
Yep...when the fiver's attached to the truck it creates a veritable hurricane in the bed. I, too, learned not to put things in the bed unless they're strapped down somehow. Once I left a couple of empty gallon-size water bottles in the bed with the 5er hooked up. Somehow the force of the wind created by the fiver squeezed those bottles between the fiver and the truck's rails (about 8" high) and blew them somewhere onto the highway.
Mr. Ed (fulltiming since 1987)
2007 Hitchhiker II LS Model 29.5 LKTG
2007 Dodge Ram 3500/6.7 CTD/QC/4X4/SB/SRW/6-speed man/Big Horn edition
My plastic toolbox that fits between the cab and hitch has a lid that will blow open in spite of it being fastened unless strapped down. It will only do this when pulling the fifth. I’ve often wondered how much the louvered gates would eliminate this turbulence.
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