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Old 11-06-2019, 03:34 PM   #21
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Originally Posted by Perryb67 View Post
I stand corrected.

And I was glad I could grab the controller when the sway happened with Terry driving. I knew where the controller was to activate.

What kind of passengers ride in your tow?

Enjoy,

Perry
Hi: Perryb67... "I go where I'm towed to"... don't you Eh? Alf
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Old 11-06-2019, 03:37 PM   #22
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What kind of passengers ride in your tow?
Normally my wife, but miscommunication can happen with anyone. My passenger doesn't have a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, or brake pedal, either.
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Old 11-06-2019, 03:54 PM   #23
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Normally my wife, but miscommunication can happen with anyone. My passenger doesn't have a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, or brake pedal, either.
I've never had a wife or passenger reach over and shift my transmission, and that is easier access than our brake controller.

Enjoy,

Perry
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Old 11-06-2019, 04:24 PM   #24
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Shifter

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Originally Posted by Perryb67 View Post
I've never had a wife or passenger reach over and shift my transmission, and that is easier access than our brake controller.

Enjoy,

Perry
That’s how I taught my son to drive. I had a manual transmission pickup. He was 8 years old. He knew the H pattern and the numbers progression. I would push the clutch pedal down and call out the number, he’d Shift the transmission as I watched the placement and let the clutch back out. Later I taught him complete control with 2 liter pop bottles spread around a 40 acre harvested soy bean field. He was 10 then and continues to be a very good driver to this day at age 37. We’re going to let him try the highway on his next birthday.
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Old 11-06-2019, 06:17 PM   #25
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All of us were new at pulling trailers at one point in time. Unfortunately for this lady, she had to learn the hard way.
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Old 11-06-2019, 07:06 PM   #26
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Would a newer 2019 or 2020 towing vechile/truck equiped with 'hill decent control" prevent this accident from happening?

Tonny LR
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Old 11-06-2019, 08:40 PM   #27
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Would a newer 2019 or 2020 towing vechile/truck equiped with 'hill decent control" prevent this accident from happening?
There is almost no useful information in the video about the accident (no idea of trailer loading, for instance)... but no, not likely. Hill descent control typically means that the tow vehicle downshifts to provide engine braking to keep the vehicle from picking up speed; that means braking with only the tow vehicle, which causes trailer instability rather than reducing it.

This sort of transmission control isn't new - my 2004 Toyota Sienna has it, called Grade Logic. What is relatively new is electronic stability control which is designed to handle a trailer - that would help.
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Old 11-06-2019, 08:42 PM   #28
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All of us were new at pulling trailers at one point in time. Unfortunately for this lady, she had to learn the hard way.
Well, she learned a bit, and certainly the hard way, but she didn't have to. As she now admits, "new" doesn't need to mean "clueless, not having made any attempt to learn anything".
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Old 11-06-2019, 08:54 PM   #29
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She doesn't even know how long the trailer is... not exactly an expert. Even after this learning experience, she still clearly doesn't understand much. Fortunately, it's often possible to learn from the experiences of people who themselves don't know much.

Her list and my comments:
  1. Take responsibility for your own safety.
    I think that all females should be insulted by her characterization of this mistake as a "typical woman thing", but the point about responsibility (for everyone) is valid.
  2. Practice before a road trip.
    Yes, but I don't know how pulling the Bigfoot around a parking lot would have made a difference to this incident.
  3. Lose the agenda.
    That's idiotic; in the real world, people have schedules. A useful tip might be to prioritize safe towing over schedule adherence.
  4. Don't drive in the dark.
    While darkness increases the probability of problems, especially on unfamiliar roads, as a general rule this is nonsense.
  5. Know the weight of your camper [trailer].
    Yes, but she seems to think that it is important only to know whether the trailer weighs more or less than the tow vehicle, which is irrelevant trivia.
  6. Be aware of your surroundings.
    Yes... and not just surroundings, but the whole driving situation
  7. Know how to use your trailer brakes.
    Um, yeah. You needed to crash to think of that? Scary.
  8. Check the recall list.
    In this case, the recall only addressed ballasting to ensure suitable mass (weight) distribution, but the trailer could have been loaded properly without the ballast, which was added to handle situations in which people had full tanks behind the axle, empty tanks ahead, and other cargo not loaded to compensate.

Now for the two things which she didn't learn, and which are actually relevant:
  • load the trailer for proper mass distribution
  • adjust the hitch for suitable trailer attitude (level) (and in this case thus equal load distribution between the axles)
I suppose that I shouldn't be surprised that someone who calls herself "Liz Amazing" feels qualified to tell people how to tow, without knowing anything about towing.

By the way, a fifth-wheel RV trailer (or "camper") is a travel trailer... just one with the tongue extending over the back of the truck. It has all the same characteristics and issues as any other trailer, but is typically more stable because it typically (but not always) has a more forward weight distribution, and because the hitch coupling point is much closer to the tow vehicle's rear axle.
If I may . . . I think folks are being extremely harsh on this woman's plight . . . at least she h
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Old 11-06-2019, 09:04 PM   #30
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If I may . . . I think folks are being extremely harsh on this woman's plight . . . at least she h

She published the video. She put it out there. Her plight is of her own making, and now, for all the world to see and comment. You don't post on the internet if you can't accept criticism.
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Old 11-06-2019, 10:18 PM   #31
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She published the video. She put it out there. Her plight is of her own making, and now, for all the world to see and comment. You don't post on the internet if you can't accept criticism.
True; so very true. But in this instance, this YouTube poster was being attacked (in my opinion) because she is 1) a newbie, and 2) she is a woman.

Chuck
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Old 11-06-2019, 10:35 PM   #32
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True; so very true. But in this instance, this YouTube poster was being attacked (in my opinion) because she is 1) a newbie, and 2) she is a woman.

Chuck
I would say not at all because of either of those. It was a person who wanted to share knowledge, but was somewhat off track on many points, and totally missed other important ones.

While she has every right to promote herself on the internet, others then have the right to an opinion of their own.
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Old 11-06-2019, 10:47 PM   #33
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I would say not at all because of either of those. It was a person who wanted to share knowledge, but was somewhat off track on many points, and totally missed other important ones.

While she has every right to promote herself on the internet, others then have the right to an opinion of their own.
Granted, this YouTube poster wanted to share knowledge, and was off track on some points, but does that legtimize attacking her? There's a lot of really BAD stuff out there on the Internet, and those of us "in the know" can hopefully sift it to a presumed truth, but the know-nothings need to be educated rather than ostracized.

Remember . . . keep your stick on the ice!

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Old 11-06-2019, 10:58 PM   #34
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Granted, this YouTube poster wanted to share knowledge, and was off track on some points, but does that legtimize attacking her?

The internet is full of misinformation. She was not attacked. The information was attacked. There are other newbies out there who need to be better informed.
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Old 11-06-2019, 11:11 PM   #35
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The internet is full of misinformation. She was not attacked. The information was attacked. There are other newbies out there who need to be better informed.
"She was not attacked." (your quote).

"She doesn't even know how long the trailer is... not exactly an expert. Even after this learning experience, she still clearly doesn't understand much." (Brian B-P quote)

I've made my point. I rest my case. This issue is closed.

Now, about that broken door latch . . .
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Old 11-06-2019, 11:32 PM   #36
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I've made my point. I rest my case. This issue is closed.

I don't think the web works that way.
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Old 11-07-2019, 12:26 AM   #37
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But in this instance, this YouTube poster was being attacked (in my opinion) because she is 1) a newbie, and 2) she is a woman.

Chuck
Chuck, you are entitled to your opinion, but in fact my comments were not motivated by either of these factors. Everyone is a newbie at some point, but most people don't present themselves as an expert after a single incident from which clearly learned little.

Jim Bennett's and baglo's comments are both right on.
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Old 11-07-2019, 01:18 AM   #38
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"She was not attacked." (your quote).

"She doesn't even know how long the trailer is... not exactly an expert. Even after this learning experience, she still clearly doesn't understand much." (Brian B-P quote)

I've made my point. I rest my case. This issue is closed.

Now, about that broken door latch . . .
Hi: citabria90... The defination of an expert is, an ex... is a hasbeen and a spurt... is a drip under pressure.
Now which door was that? Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie
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Old 11-07-2019, 04:36 AM   #39
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Would a newer 2019 or 2020 towing vechile/truck equiped with 'hill decent control" prevent this accident from happening?

Tonny LR
"Hill Descent Control" is an off-road thing and not really related to towing. Most trucks and SUVs do have some sort of "manual" or "tow/haul" mode that can help with engine braking, but that's been around for many years and wouldn't really help with sway. Newer trucks with onboard brake controllers do often have a trailer-aware stability control system, which may help. Hard to say it would prevent that accident per se, but it's an extra safety layer that could help (on top of proper weighting and a sway control hitch/bar etc)

Parking lot practice wouldn't have helped here, but slowly "sneaking up" on higher speeds might have helped. I towed pretty slowly at first (helps that CA has a 55MPH towing speed limit), and spend some time on a flat highway going up a couple MPH and giving the wheel a little wiggle to see how strong the damping was. Also give the trailer brakes a little squeeze here and there to get a bit of a feel for them.
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Old 11-07-2019, 07:42 AM   #40
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"Hill Descent Control" is an off-road thing and not really related to towing. Most trucks and SUVs do have some sort of "manual" or "tow/haul" mode that can help with engine braking, but that's been around for many years and wouldn't really help with sway. Newer trucks with onboard brake controllers do often have a trailer-aware stability control system, which may help. Hard to say it would prevent that accident per se, but it's an extra safety layer that could help (on top of proper weighting and a sway control hitch/bar etc)

Parking lot practice wouldn't have helped here, but slowly "sneaking up" on higher speeds might have helped. I towed pretty slowly at first (helps that CA has a 55MPH towing speed limit), and spend some time on a flat highway going up a couple MPH and giving the wheel a little wiggle to see how strong the damping was. Also give the trailer brakes a little squeeze here and there to get a bit of a feel for them.
Your final paragraph above is exactly correct in my opinion. As I mentioned, learning all of your systems at real world speeds and actual road conditions is my definition of due diligence. I miss a road turnoff to a Campground or an attraction all the time. I don’t like to turn around with a three point maneuver if I don’t have to but I am comfortable with backing into a farm field driveway and turning around on a country road. Road speed here is about 50 feet a minute. Easy does it and practice when it’s safe, good takeaways from your comments
Thank You
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