Another SRW bites the dust.

[CUMMINZ]

You are right, I was thinking the Expedition was the big one.

 

[THerber]

I don't believe anyone has touched on this, but it seems to me that the Furd Expedition may have had a faulty brake controller, or improperly adjusted controller or no controller at all. I have experienced and have know of many who also experienced a jackknife because of a bad or misadjusted brake controller.



Another thought is that perhaps the brakes on the TT were not adjusted properly and did not provide enough braking for the trailer. An Expedition is not a 3/4 ton truck, but it should be capable of handling that size TT.



My 2 cents, george

I agree with George, if the trailer brakes are not setup properly, or not working at all, a jackknife is inevitable under a hard braking situation. I also agree that this is not an ideal TV-TT setup, I wish we new the model of the TT, we could run some numbers and see if he was within his GVWR.

 

[HBarlow]

The factory's gross combined weight or maximum towing weights are not very helpful in matching a tow vehicle and trailer. The manufacturer's claims are intended to create a competitive edge against similar vehicles built by other manufacturer's and should be ignored.

Most important though, the manufacturer's ratings only tell a prospect what the vehicle is capable of towing without overheating or immediately damaging the engine and drivetrain.

The ratings have little or no bearing on actual real world towing situations such as highway speeds, winds, wet pavement, or emergency stopping or avoiding maneuvers.

An SUV is a poor choice for towing a long box travel trailer even if it is supposedly within the tv's towing capacity. It has a short wheelbase, soft suspension, passenger car tires, and inadequate brakes to handle the load if trailer brakes don't work properly.

I would confidently guess that if the Expedition's trailer even had sway control bars or devices they weren't adjusted properly and I would happily bet with anyone that it did not have a real brake controller like a MaxBrake or Brakesmart.

An inertia-activated brake controller would contribute to this wreck because before it could generate trailer braking the tow vehicle's brakes would have to be pressed hard to initiate braking. With an inadequate tow vehicle like an Expedition that is a recipe for an accident.

 

[Grizzly]

I agree with George, if the trailer brakes are not setup properly, or not working at all, a jackknife is inevitable under a hard braking situation. I also agree that this is not an ideal TV-TT setup, I wish we new the model of the TT, we could run some numbers and see if he was within his GVWR.

The same situation happened to my father-in-law many years ago. He had a new 1973, 3500 SRW Chevy and a 24' TT with the equalizer hitch. Everything was properly set up. He had a good brake controller for that time and brakes on the trailer were good and adjusted properly. I had told him if he should get into a hard rain to use brake controller to dry out the trailer brakes and truck rear drum brakes because the new trucks had disk brakes on the front axle of the truck and could jackknife the trailer if he did a panic stop. Well he got into a torrential downpour rain in West Texas and he had to stop fast. He hit the brake pedal and the truck stopped, but the trailer didn't and he forgot to use the hand control on the brake controller. No one was hurt thank God, but he did a lot of damage to the truck and the trailer. His insurance fixed the truck and the trailer, then he sold both and bought a motorhome.



george

 

[NIsaacs]

Brake controllers back in the 70's before anti-lock brakes, were connected to the hydraulics of the master cylinder. Maybe his 73 Chevy was not and relied on just the hand operation?



I still use one on my 74 Ford 1-ton and my 75 Ford 3/4 ton 4x4. They work great.



Nick

 

[HBarlow]

Yep, they were Kelsey-Hayes controllers and tapped directly into the brake line at the master cylinder. They did work great.

I had two of them until recently when I gave one to an old friend for use on his 2001 Dodge Ram 3500. They work fine with trucks with anti-locks but only on trucks with front discs only.

I used one of them for several years on a '94 Furd F-250HD with front discs and anti--lock brakes. I tried to use it on my '01 Ram 3500. My Ram was a 2001. 5 with four wheel disc brakes. The hydraulic line pressure was too high for the controller. When I applied the brakes the internal rheostat in the K-H controller slammed to full braking so hard and so fast it was being destroyed.

The old K-H works great on my friend's 2001 Ram 3500 because his is an early '01 with drum brakes on the rear.

I picked up a 2010 Chevrolet Silverado brochure recently while having lunch with an old friend who is service manager. The GM brochure states, in fine print, that a hydraulic brake controller can be tapped into the brake lines of the 2010 Chevy IF the brake controller does not displace more than . 02 cubic inches of brake fluid and can tolerate 2000 psi of line pressure.

The old hydraulic Kelsey-Hayes controller cannot be used on Dodge Rams 2002 and later because of rear disc brakes.

 

[NIsaacs]

Good info Harvey. I did not know the reason for not using them on the newer trucks with anti-lock or disc brake systems. I have electronic type on both Dodges. And yes they are both Kelsey-Hayes (my old ones)



Nick

 

[dcoffman]

Hey guys, and you too Harvey. I used to drive I85 from Greensboro,NC. to Mobile, Al. all the time and I've heard many a trucker say over his CB"watch me make this camper sway".

I saw a trucker make one to many sway outside of Greenville , Sc one day. This trucker did not stop either. The man and woman survived and was very shaked up. I've seen it time and again.

Harvey, I've seen alot of 18 & 4 wheelers not look before changing lanes.

 

[GAmes]

Hey guys, and you too Harvey. I used to drive I85 from Greensboro,NC. to Mobile, Al. all the time and I've heard many a trucker say over his CB"watch me make this camper sway".

Really?? I've logged over 300,000 miles pulling RVs, plus I have a lot of miles pulling my own and have never heard a trucker say anything like that over the CB, and you have heard many of them say it? Remarkable.

 

[HBarlow]

Truck drivers certainly aren't perfect either but if I had to pick any driver and truck-trailer combination on the highway at random I would be very comfortable betting on the experience, skill and attention to details of an eighteen wheel driver over the driver of a late model SUV with a long box trailer in tow.

Anyone driving an SUV and towing a long box trailer clearly knows nothing about the potential hazards or how his vehicle will react to them.

Like Gary, I've put in a few miles towing trailers cross country also and although I don't listen to CB radio I've rarely seen a truck driver change lanes without looking and signalling his intentions.

 

[AClayton]

I just recently purchased a large 5th wheel and was always used to MH travel. It has always been my personal experience that the Truckers were professional drivers and are your FRIENDS on the highway. You don't have to have a CB to communicate with them. Follow them in traffic jams as they always know what lanes to get in..... Watch as they change lanes aggressively:in most cases,it is for a reason. I feel more comfortable traveling behind or in between them for many miles..... when they pass I pass or when they slow,I slow! It is the 'four wheelers' as they are commonly called by the truckers,that get impatient and charge ahead in front and cut them off... . thinking they are really getting somewhere. I grow very tired of these clowns driving small vehicles that have absolutely no idea of the weight these trucks are pulling and will maliciously cut them off and try to get in front just to keep from being behind one... ... what is funny is the fact that they really don't make any time at all because you see them dart ahead at 85mph and pass everything in sight only to have to do it all over again. Largely because they drank 4 cups of coffee and you see them pull into the rest area.



I'm quite certain they're are unruly truckers on our highways but in the law of averages, I would safely bet my luck on the fact that there are more pro's in the driver's seat of the truck's in front of you than the average citizen driver's we experience daily.



Alan

 

[dcoffman]

I agree with AClayton, I would rather run with them also. All I'm saying is there are truckers that do what I said. I drive an 18 wheeler(pt now) and it never fails to amaze me when a car pulls out in front then slows down and turns off just a mile or two up the road. Most truckers are good but there are outlaws everywhere.

 

[Grizzly]

Brake controllers back in the 70's before anti-lock brakes, were connected to the hydraulics of the master cylinder. Maybe his 73 Chevy was not and relied on just the hand operation?



I still use one on my 74 Ford 1-ton and my 75 Ford 3/4 ton 4x4. They work great.



Nick

My father in law's Chevy brake controller was hooked up to the truck braking system. I don't remember what brand of brake controller it was.



george

 

[steved]

Really?? I've logged over 300,000 miles pulling RVs, plus I have a lot of miles pulling my own and have never heard a trucker say anything like that over the CB, and you have heard many of them say it? Remarkable.

I have... I've logged a lot of seat time, and heard that exact statement many times.



I don't think a SRW was the cause... I've seen plenty DRW trucks piled up towing less. Driver error was probably the main issue.



I agree with Harvey that the sway bar was probably set up to high, which would have unloaded the rear suspension.

 

[MSicotte]

It appears the vast majority of readers agree its a truck set up issue. Its not a single rear wheel issue. Sorry Cumminz, by your dozens of posts on the matter, we all know the only truck on the planet properly equipped to tow anything is yours, but lets give it a rest ok? There are thousands of SRW trucks pullings trailers, not crashing, and not killing anyone. rolleyes:

 

[d6c]

So many factors to consider when looking at this accident... . speed, tow vehicle wheelbase, rear tire sidewalls, rear axle weight on ground, trailer length, trailer weight, the list goes on and on. I, for one, like a long-wheel base heavy tow rig. My Ford crew-cab F-450 weighs 12. 5k empty... most stable little tow-rig I've ever had.

 

[CUMMINZ]

So many factors to consider when looking at this accident... . speed, tow vehicle wheelbase, rear tire sidewalls, rear axle weight on ground, trailer length, trailer weight, the list goes on and on. I, for one, like a long-wheel base heavy tow rig. My Ford crew-cab F-450 weighs 12. 5k empty... most stable little tow-rig I've ever had.

Now there are 2 on the planet. :-laf

 

[HBarlow]

Yeah, but the other one is in the shop with the cab lifted off with a truck load of new parts on order for the Sick. Ohh. Heads, head gaskets, injectors, oil coolers, wiring harnesses, a few other minor parts are being replaced.

Furd service departments love those out of warranty Sick. Ohhs.

 

[CUMMINZ]

Now there are 2 on the planet. :-laf

I need to upgrade that number. Harvey has a real hauler. That makes 3. :-laf

 

[d6c]

Ok guys EZ..... In 2004 when I bought the darn thing it was the only thing on the market that covered the need. Yeah, it dumped the 6 liter at 29k, not good. Re-man on warranty for 45k more doing ok. Lightweight with my big trailer is 20k... licensed at 34k. Good or bad Ford cornered the 450/550 market for lots of years and I put a lot of effort into the back end of mine (flatbed, hitches, boxes) I would like to put a little cummins in the Ford when (not if!!) the 6 liter tanks again.