Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
I was on the way home from Wisconsin. We were on I-26 near Lexington, SC. An 18 wheeler was entering the highway at a good rate of speed. I moved over to let him in and this move combined with getting to the top of the grade and his taking the air of off me got us into an uncontrollable sway. I let off the throttle and tried to guide it out, but it was to much. We ended up in the median. The trailer climbed a small embankment and overturned, but never came off of the hitch. The truck did not overturn. If you were looking at a clock, I looked like 10 past 12. The truck was the little hand on the twelve and the trailer was the big hand on the 2. The bed on the passenger side was pushed up, but there was no damage to the axle or the tires. The fender was cracked, but not crushed. There was enough flex to push the right front quarter panel out about a quarter of an inch. The trailer was towed to Columbia. I followed in the truck. It tracked true and had no vibrations or strange noises. The frame did not get bent. After we salvaged what we could off the trailer the next day, we headed for home, which was still a 250 mile trip. It was the longest trip of my life. The good thing, other than the bed looking a little lopsided, was that the truck ran just fine. No driveline leaks or vibrations and as I said, it ran true on all road surfaces encountered. It's been in the shop for close to two weeks, with the majority of the damage done to the bed. The bed flexed enough to put a small dent in the rear of the cab on the passenger side, but further inspection underneath revealed no stress points where the bed pulled up from the frame. The only thing that I could find that was cracked was the fiberglass fender on the right rear. As near as I can determine, the trailer never whacked the truck very hard. I think the embankment had something to do with that. I also slid on dirt for a good distance and this probably helped. The trailer most likely slapped the embankment and went up it and overturned. Had it been flat there, we may have went into the west bound lane of 26 or the truck may have rolled. It's hard to say. When I got out of the truck at the scene I could smell that 18 wheeler's brake linings. He must have really stood on them hard. He stopped right across the highway from us. Had we stayed in the highway we most likely would have been hit and killed. No other vehicles were involved which was a blessing. The trailer is totalled. Most of what I know of the wreck is from friends asking me questions and my memory coming back as they did. I was able to piece together what I have just related in this post. I never got to talk to anybody behind me and that's a shame. I would have loved to hear a description of what they saw. I was running about 65 at the time the accident started and I had just crested a grade, not a big one, but one of those rolling kind of hills that comprise a good part of I-26 from Orangeburg and westward. The trailer had been squirrelly all day, most of that in wind or heavy traffic. We drove home running 60-65 most of the day. Traffic was virtually nonexistant where the accident happened and the trailer was towing as good as anyone towing anything could possibly desire. We thought we were home free after all the stuff we had driven through all day. You're never home until your home. When the trailer got squirrelly on us during the day, my wife kept saying that 5th wheels don't do this, do they. We had planned on trading in the trailer on a 5ver when her Buick was payed off. I guess we'll start sooner. The dog took the worst beating. She ended up on the floor behind my seat, but no damage done. My wife and I are fine. All in all, it could have been a whole lot worse. Still sucks, though. I have pictures if anyone is interested. E-mail me at home and I'll be glad to get them to you. Now I know what NASCAR drivers mean by just holding on for the ride. It's an experience I wish I didn't have. I should have the truck back tomorrow or early next week. I like the wife's car, but I really enjoy the truck 
My new clutch meant an increase of almost 1. 5 mpg in fuel mileage. That other clutch must have been really stressing when I towed. You guys at SBC really made a believer out of me. That clutch is awesome and the truck towed so much smoother.
John
My new clutch meant an increase of almost 1. 5 mpg in fuel mileage. That other clutch must have been really stressing when I towed. You guys at SBC really made a believer out of me. That clutch is awesome and the truck towed so much smoother. John
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