whjco
Lexington, KY
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Several years ago, we were pulling our 24' car trailer on I-90 in South Dakota. We had a terrible headwind that was hitting us from about 30 degrees from the front right. A motorcycle went by us and the rider was having to lean the bike to the right to stay on the road which was rather novel looking.
A Ford Expedition pulling a utility trailer began to pass us and as soon as he was in the leeward side of our trailer, he suddenly swerved to the right. Fortunately, I was keeping an eye on him and was able to hit the shoulder to miss a collision. I'm glad I was pulling our car trailer with a 4200# Buick in it instead of my RV.
One can encounter some pretty severe winds in that part of the country.
Bill J., Lexington, KY
2006 Starcraft 2500RKS 25' Travel Trailer
2000 Excursion Ltd. 7.3 PSD
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babar445
Ohio
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Too many unknowns to speculate what could have attributed to this but I do remember some postings about the soft suspension on the Excursions and the need to modify it to make it a more stable towing vehicle for the longer heavier trailers.
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bfast54
Traverse City ,Mi.
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Bucky Badger wrote:mogman wrote:
4 sets of chains???? what on earth are you talking about?
One set of chains on my Equalizer hitch.
Equaliser chains and safety chains...4 chains.
Equalizer hitches do not have chains
Sorry to dis-appoint you, but my Weight hitch HAS CHAINS, plus safety chains= 4 chains
Still might not be the reason for the accident though
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cyberiankhatru
Youngsville NC
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No one knows for sure what happened here. Blaming the equipment or driver ignorance or ability or DUI is pure speculation. What is obvious is that you can't tell anything definite from two half viewable images from the OTHER side of the road, no matter how expert you think you are. Some of you are so quick to be judge and jury.
This thread needs to be CLOSED.
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usmc616
Orange County, New York
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MARKW8 wrote:I think some are mistaking it for an Expedition. The Excursion is smaller, with independent rear suspension. The Expedition was similar to the SD trucks.
Mark
I tow with an Excursion, it is much longer than an Expedition.
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Joe,Joyce 4 kids & 3 dogs
2004 Ford Excursion LTD 4x4 V-10 3.73 Gears, Hellwig Swaybar, Bilstein Shocks & Steering Stabilizer, Roadmaster Active Suspension, Super Duty Tow Mirrors
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2010 Jayco G2 32BHDS.
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McZippie
USA
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1ed wrote:What lessons can we learn from this tragedy?
What should the driver have done to attempt to regain control of the trailer.
This can be a good teaching moment.
Not meaning to start any arguments but I have my own safety towing rules.
At highway speed and towing with a ball hitch, never tow anything that weighs much more than 1/2 of the tow vehicle's weight.
To attempt to regain control when the trailer is swaying, use the manual button on the electric brake controller to apply the brakes on trailer only.
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dodge guy
Bartlett IL
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Lantley wrote:Maybe I have strange view but it looks like the wheels are in the center of the TT as opposed to being toward the back.
That is the first thing I noticed too! looks like one of those trailers that is sold as lightweight and the axles are placed so they keep the tongue weight low enough to make it "1/2 ton towable"
And yes you can see in the pics it is an Excursion. something tells me it was not properly setup i.e. the weight not balanced properly.
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McZippie
USA
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usmc616 wrote:MARKW8 wrote:I think some are mistaking it for an Expedition. The Excursion is smaller, with independent rear suspension. The Expedition was similar to the SD trucks.
Mark
I tow with an Excursion, it is much longer than an Expedition.
I too tow with an Excursion (7.3L), IMHO it's good for towing a max weight of about 5000 pounds.
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HappyTrails2U2
Tennessee is home but being held hostage in GA.
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bfast54 wrote:
Sorry to dis-appoint you, but my Weight hitch HAS CHAINS, plus safety chains= 4 chains
Sorry to disappoint you but you don't have an Equal-i-zer Hitch if you have any chains on it at all besides the safety chains.
http://www.equalizerhitch.com/productinfo/
2010 Rockwood Signature Ultra Lite 8315BSS
2003 Chevy Silverado 1/2 Ton Extended Cab
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8iron
Canada
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dodge guy wrote:Lantley wrote:Maybe I have strange view but it looks like the wheels are in the center of the TT as opposed to being toward the back.
That is the first thing I noticed too! looks like one of those trailers that is sold as lightweight and the axles are placed so they keep the tongue weight low enough to make it "1/2 ton towable"
And yes you can see in the pics it is an Excursion. something tells me it was not properly setup i.e. the weight not balanced properly.
I looked at the fuzzy pictures and counted the crossmembers of the unenclosed underbelly. Counted one more crossmember in front of the axles as behind the axles. Add the tongue to this and I don't believe the axles were center mounted.
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