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Wrecked my truck & 5th wheel
- Thread starter BHuebner
- Start Date
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A sad story. The photos make me grimace. A new truck is in your future. I hope your insurance is good. Couldn't see enough to guess about your fifth wheel. I bet you are sick over seeing a nice-looking new fiver laying on its side.
This won't be a comfort to you right now, I'm sure you're pretty upset and worried about the outcome, but it could have been far worse. You could have slid across the median into the path of an oncoming 18 wheeler or could have turned the truck over and gone over the side of a mountain. The truck and trailer can be replaced or repaired.
Good luck with your insurance company.
This won't be a comfort to you right now, I'm sure you're pretty upset and worried about the outcome, but it could have been far worse. You could have slid across the median into the path of an oncoming 18 wheeler or could have turned the truck over and gone over the side of a mountain. The truck and trailer can be replaced or repaired.
Good luck with your insurance company.
Gee, sorry to see this, after my fun south of Kaycee 2 months ago. Harvey's advice is good. It took me a few weeks for it to sink in, about material items being replaced, compared to a life. Sorry to see this, man.
Dave
Dave
Thank you for the kind words. yeah at first i was so mad at myself for what had happened, never having an accident and so close to being back home. but like you said it could have been much worse. there was a p/u truck who spun out just on the other side of my trailer while talking to the trooper, luckly he didnt hit me. i do have full coverage with state farm and have heard good things about them so im hoping ill have the same.
It can happen to almost anyone who travels winter highways and has happened to many. I think anyone does it long enough it will happen to them also.
About two years ago when I was transporting RVs I pulled a 30+ foot Jayco from IN to CA. I happened to be traveling west on I-80 in WY one fine sunny but extremely cold morning after a snowfall. The highways had been cleared but a fierce wind from a little south of due west was blowing powdered snow across the highway and it was freezing, creating a treacherous condition. It was twice as dangerous that morning because I could drive five miles on dry pavement then suddenly find myself on a mile long patch of black ice. I began a jacknife skid several times scaring the crap out of myself but managed to keep it in the roadway and continue on. The 18 wheelers were going into the median and shoulder right and left as I crept along. One rig, a big green one, I think it was an Interstate truck, passed me on the dry pavement and when I topped the next grade the truck and trailer were hard jacknifed with the truck facing me and the trailer pointed west. The driver and woman in the front seat were staring wide-eyed back at me. I think they had just stopped sliding as I saw them. It was the scariest day I have ever had on the road. I was stubborn and lucky that day. It was not superior skill that kept me going. I think that day was one of the reasons I quit transporting just before the next winter began in earnest.
I hope your State Farm agent is fair-minded. Good luck.
About two years ago when I was transporting RVs I pulled a 30+ foot Jayco from IN to CA. I happened to be traveling west on I-80 in WY one fine sunny but extremely cold morning after a snowfall. The highways had been cleared but a fierce wind from a little south of due west was blowing powdered snow across the highway and it was freezing, creating a treacherous condition. It was twice as dangerous that morning because I could drive five miles on dry pavement then suddenly find myself on a mile long patch of black ice. I began a jacknife skid several times scaring the crap out of myself but managed to keep it in the roadway and continue on. The 18 wheelers were going into the median and shoulder right and left as I crept along. One rig, a big green one, I think it was an Interstate truck, passed me on the dry pavement and when I topped the next grade the truck and trailer were hard jacknifed with the truck facing me and the trailer pointed west. The driver and woman in the front seat were staring wide-eyed back at me. I think they had just stopped sliding as I saw them. It was the scariest day I have ever had on the road. I was stubborn and lucky that day. It was not superior skill that kept me going. I think that day was one of the reasons I quit transporting just before the next winter began in earnest.
I hope your State Farm agent is fair-minded. Good luck.
Sorry to see your loss. It makes a guy sick to see this kind of carnage. I think of how I would feel if I were in your shoes.
I always dreaded the winters while I was transporting Jayco RVs. I did a pretty wild fish tail with a tiny TT in WI one night that had me thinking I was a goner but I came out of it. I stopped in Rawlins, WY one night, and it snowed a little over night. I took off the next morning headed west and it was SLICK for the first while. There were rigs off both sides all over the place but I made it through. Another time I saw my cousin nearly loose it while driving in SK, Canada where we were headed west with a couple TTs. It was real icy and we had a strong cross wind. I'm glad to be out from under all that stress.
I always dreaded the winters while I was transporting Jayco RVs. I did a pretty wild fish tail with a tiny TT in WI one night that had me thinking I was a goner but I came out of it. I stopped in Rawlins, WY one night, and it snowed a little over night. I took off the next morning headed west and it was SLICK for the first while. There were rigs off both sides all over the place but I made it through. Another time I saw my cousin nearly loose it while driving in SK, Canada where we were headed west with a couple TTs. It was real icy and we had a strong cross wind. I'm glad to be out from under all that stress.
Exactly my thought! As you and I know, RV transporting was great fun, a new adventure every week, and we were paid to do it but the winters were very dangerous and many of our fellow drivers ended up upside down in ditches with a destroyed truck. A small number of them lost their lives.
I drove for 2. 5 years for Classic out of the Middlebury yard. I didn't want to do it but it looked like a way to get out from under a bunch of credit card debt. I wasn't making enough at home to make progress. I accomplished my goal and quit just as soon as I could. I managed to survive without any accidents or breakdowns requiring a tow so I'm really thankful for that. I do have a lot of good memories though and I saw a lot of country and wouldn't trade it now so I'm very glad I did it but it was stressful even in the summer. Driving in general is stressful then add on staying legal, keeping your load safe, wind and all the other stuff and it really adds up.
I was always stressing about trucks backing into me while parked in places with no RV parking. I finally got backed into at the Fargo, ND flying J late one night. The spread axle flat bed made a nice big 3' long gouge in the fiberglass side of the trailer but not enough that the driver felt it before pulling ahead to renegotiate (blind side). I got out of bed and talked to him as he was doing his PTI. He went ahead and gave me his info even though he wasn't sure he hit me. My mistake was not getting a police report. Later he denied it all and the insurance wouldn't pay so I lost my $1000 deductible. Classic believed me but still made me pay and put the incident on my record. I was pretty bitter over that for a while. They did try hard for quite some time to collect but no go. A few pictures of my travels here: Picasa Web Albums - Mark - From The Road
So who did you pull for?
I was always stressing about trucks backing into me while parked in places with no RV parking. I finally got backed into at the Fargo, ND flying J late one night. The spread axle flat bed made a nice big 3' long gouge in the fiberglass side of the trailer but not enough that the driver felt it before pulling ahead to renegotiate (blind side). I got out of bed and talked to him as he was doing his PTI. He went ahead and gave me his info even though he wasn't sure he hit me. My mistake was not getting a police report. Later he denied it all and the insurance wouldn't pay so I lost my $1000 deductible. Classic believed me but still made me pay and put the incident on my record. I was pretty bitter over that for a while. They did try hard for quite some time to collect but no go. A few pictures of my travels here: Picasa Web Albums - Mark - From The Road
So who did you pull for?
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I worked for Horizon Transport for a little more than a year, then for (deleted), a small family owned company in Fontana, CA then for JET. I only stayed with JET four or five months. Couldn't stand the rectum that was their logs dictator, I'm sure you know his name and reputation. I went back to (???) for another year. ??? was fun, didn't have any rules or care what we did and provided a lot of full price backhauls. Compliance was strictly up to the individual driver. I chose to comply but they didn't care. I heard they've closed down now because they lost Alfa, Weekend Warrier, and other shippers we pulled for.
I made good money in 2005 running from IN to the PacNW then from Pendleton, OR to LA, then from Moreno Valley back to WA, OR, or BC/SK/AB for Horizon. Occasionally I'd take a FEMA unit from Moreno Valley to Baton Rouge and visit my home for a day or so, loaded.
Once I pulled a new Alfa from Corona to Amarillo for ??? and soon as I dropped the boss called and had me go pick up a trailer at a Ford dealer in Amarillo. Another driver's 6. 0 POS self-destructed and he was towed in and out of business. He was already on his second engine when that one failed and never saw him again. His Ford 6. 0 put $1000 in my pocket. When I got back to LA she sent me to Austin, TX with a new Alfa where I dropped at a dealer and moved over 30' and hooked up another new Alfa to take back to the factory in Corona. Those were the good old days. It was a lot of fun. Another time I pulled a very heavy new top of the line Alfa with disc brakes to Lordsburg, NM with no brakes, called the boss, and she told me to pull it back to Corona to the factory, paid both ways. The factory fixed it and gave it back to me that afternoon and then paid me to take it to Texas. That was my favorite trailer ever.
JET paid well and is/was a great company to work for except for the wanna-be Hitler logs dictator. He took all the fun out of it. Loved to make up his own stupid rules that would cost a driver a full wasted day just to get an oil change done between trips. Probably the biggest xxxhole I've ever met. Big, dumb, power hungry and ego driven. If you didn't suck up to him, which I refused to do, he'd show you who was boss. I decided life was simply too short and I didn't need the money bad enough to put up with him. He ran off a lot of good, reliable drivers. I don't know if JET is still moving enough trailers to employ him.
Yeah, I have lots of great memories too. I pulled a trailer all the way to Peace River, AB, CN once for Horizon. That's a little east but farther north than the southern starting point of the Alaskan Highway. Was a long deadhead back to Pendleton though.
I ran exactly 400,000 miles in two years and nine months. Never wrecked a trailer. I Figured I was on borrowed time by the end of 2007 and fuel prices were high and climbing while rates weren't keeping up. Facing another icy winter also!! I could see the industry was slowing and guessed it was going to be slower in 2008 so I hung it up and came home. I had no idea how bad it would get, though. I doubt there are a hundred drivers left nationwide now.
I made good money in 2005 running from IN to the PacNW then from Pendleton, OR to LA, then from Moreno Valley back to WA, OR, or BC/SK/AB for Horizon. Occasionally I'd take a FEMA unit from Moreno Valley to Baton Rouge and visit my home for a day or so, loaded.
Once I pulled a new Alfa from Corona to Amarillo for ??? and soon as I dropped the boss called and had me go pick up a trailer at a Ford dealer in Amarillo. Another driver's 6. 0 POS self-destructed and he was towed in and out of business. He was already on his second engine when that one failed and never saw him again. His Ford 6. 0 put $1000 in my pocket. When I got back to LA she sent me to Austin, TX with a new Alfa where I dropped at a dealer and moved over 30' and hooked up another new Alfa to take back to the factory in Corona. Those were the good old days. It was a lot of fun. Another time I pulled a very heavy new top of the line Alfa with disc brakes to Lordsburg, NM with no brakes, called the boss, and she told me to pull it back to Corona to the factory, paid both ways. The factory fixed it and gave it back to me that afternoon and then paid me to take it to Texas. That was my favorite trailer ever.
JET paid well and is/was a great company to work for except for the wanna-be Hitler logs dictator. He took all the fun out of it. Loved to make up his own stupid rules that would cost a driver a full wasted day just to get an oil change done between trips. Probably the biggest xxxhole I've ever met. Big, dumb, power hungry and ego driven. If you didn't suck up to him, which I refused to do, he'd show you who was boss. I decided life was simply too short and I didn't need the money bad enough to put up with him. He ran off a lot of good, reliable drivers. I don't know if JET is still moving enough trailers to employ him.
Yeah, I have lots of great memories too. I pulled a trailer all the way to Peace River, AB, CN once for Horizon. That's a little east but farther north than the southern starting point of the Alaskan Highway. Was a long deadhead back to Pendleton though.
I ran exactly 400,000 miles in two years and nine months. Never wrecked a trailer. I Figured I was on borrowed time by the end of 2007 and fuel prices were high and climbing while rates weren't keeping up. Facing another icy winter also!! I could see the industry was slowing and guessed it was going to be slower in 2008 so I hung it up and came home. I had no idea how bad it would get, though. I doubt there are a hundred drivers left nationwide now.
Yeah I heard about that JET log guy. I heard they paid good but I wasn't about to get into a situation like that. I ran a pretty tight ship with my logs but I fudged plenty just nothing real serious usually (multiple comic books). I went with Classic because they would hire older trucks where at the time most wanted 5 years old or newer, including Classic now. Wow, you put on a lot of miles in a short time. I was out for 2. 5 years and ran about 265k. I'm sure I took more time at home than you did as I had some obligations here at the shop to keep up with. I quit at the end of June '07 and the Classic yard was full at the time but I'm sure that didn't last much longer. I check their site now and then and of course they are not hiring new tow away drivers now. I actually saw a JET driver going south here in Moab this week. I hardly ever see transporters going through here. The only other I have ever seen was a Horizon driver. The down side to Classic was that they didn't offer back hauls but I kept on anyway and got done what was needed.
Funny I used to hate traveling and said I would never be a driver but after doing this I sometimes miss the road and long for a good road trip. I saw 40 states and 4 Canadian provinces. I could have seen more states but declined some of those eastern trips. I much preferred going west as far as I could or any place that got me close to home.
Grand Prairie is as far north in AB I ever got. I took a bunch to the Calgary area and other points in AB. One trip to Prince George, BC and points in SK and one to Ottawa, ON. It seemed like most of the CN trips were in the winter and no options in the US so I would be forced to go. It wasn't all bad but I preferred not to go to CN if I could help it especially in the winter.
Funny I used to hate traveling and said I would never be a driver but after doing this I sometimes miss the road and long for a good road trip. I saw 40 states and 4 Canadian provinces. I could have seen more states but declined some of those eastern trips. I much preferred going west as far as I could or any place that got me close to home.
Grand Prairie is as far north in AB I ever got. I took a bunch to the Calgary area and other points in AB. One trip to Prince George, BC and points in SK and one to Ottawa, ON. It seemed like most of the CN trips were in the winter and no options in the US so I would be forced to go. It wasn't all bad but I preferred not to go to CN if I could help it especially in the winter.
I'm very sorry that this happened to you. I'm glad you're ok.
Was the YZ in the back of the truck when the accident happened or in the 5er?
Was the YZ in the back of the truck when the accident happened or in the 5er?
The bike was strapped behind the cab of the truck. so far it looks good just a couple of bent brackets on the rear that can be unbolted and replaced.
yeah that black ice sure is scary. was only doing 50 when i got into it because of the gusty winds. didnt notice anything until i felt the rearend start to give, let off the gas and prayed i would slow down w/o losing control. started fishtailing at 45mph... recovered, slowed down to 35mph and thats when the trailer came around, jackknifed then flipped.
had a headwind/xwind all the way from texas. truck & trailer handled great. planned on stopping in Cheyenne to make something to eat, but the I80 was closed due to wind/blowing snow and there were truckers everywhere at every truck stop, so i figured might as well keep going. roads were fine, just a bad spot north of Cheyenne on the I25
#ad
yeah that black ice sure is scary. was only doing 50 when i got into it because of the gusty winds. didnt notice anything until i felt the rearend start to give, let off the gas and prayed i would slow down w/o losing control. started fishtailing at 45mph... recovered, slowed down to 35mph and thats when the trailer came around, jackknifed then flipped.
had a headwind/xwind all the way from texas. truck & trailer handled great. planned on stopping in Cheyenne to make something to eat, but the I80 was closed due to wind/blowing snow and there were truckers everywhere at every truck stop, so i figured might as well keep going. roads were fine, just a bad spot north of Cheyenne on the I25
#adWow, I am impressed. Mine was so violent in comparison. It ripped the sink and cabinets off the wall, the fridge and stove, table and chairs. It was hard to recognize where I was in the trailer. I recovered one chair out from the dining set and one easy chair. I unloaded what I could dig out, while the trailer was on its side. The tow guys flipped her back on the wheels and hauled her north to Buffalo. I went south to work. Had tears in my eyes as I left, knowing I would never see it again.
Dave
Dave
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Thanks! I now wish I had taken a lot more. I was so many places that I never even thought about pulling the camera out and really wish I had now.
Great photos. I didn't take a single picture in all the miles I ran and in a few years when I'm confined to a rocking chair and living my life in the past I'll probably wish I had.
I had already travelled 50 states and many other countries around the globe compliments of my travel agent, a US Navy recruiter in May 1960 when I was 17 years of age, but now wish I had taken the time to document my transporter experience as you did.
BTW, an old friend called yesterday afternoon. He lives in Pahrump, NV and pulls for Bennett Transport. He is still working. He says he is working mostly west coast pulling Keystones out of Pendleton, OR. He put 930k on a '95 and now has 360k on an '04. He is in his early '70s, still in excellent health, and has been transporting since around 1996! I don't think I had that many miles in me.
I had already travelled 50 states and many other countries around the globe compliments of my travel agent, a US Navy recruiter in May 1960 when I was 17 years of age, but now wish I had taken the time to document my transporter experience as you did.
BTW, an old friend called yesterday afternoon. He lives in Pahrump, NV and pulls for Bennett Transport. He is still working. He says he is working mostly west coast pulling Keystones out of Pendleton, OR. He put 930k on a '95 and now has 360k on an '04. He is in his early '70s, still in excellent health, and has been transporting since around 1996! I don't think I had that many miles in me.
Thanks for sharing, sorry to see the vehicles wrecked out. Good reminder to be safe, and glad you are OK.
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