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I am looking for a reason that caused an accident with a tow behind trailer w/ a dump body. I have a trailer that is rated for 12k lbs. I use it to move a skidsteer loader around,trash removal,small 4yrd. loads of soil,and gravel etc.I pull it with a one ton truck .The trailer has four operable brakes everything is in perfect working condition.My father was using it last week and he had 4 yrds of gravel on it.He was driving at 40mph when it started to fishtail.He looked in the mirror and it started going sideways it forced him off the road into an electric pole,stright on the trailer then whipped around ,going in the same didection he was headed it spun him around pivoting the pole and smashed into the side of the truck leaving him facing the opposite direction before comming to a stop.There were no other people involved,and no injuries thanks to seatbelts. This trailer sits down inside its wheels ,some of them sit on top of their wheels ,it has ramps for loading you raise the body up some to drive up on it then let it down. Because it sits low, things that tend to compact like topsoil and gravel wont slide off by themself. to help them I put a piece of poly down before loading, then it slides right off.Iwas told that when a certian % of weight shifts over the rear wheels that the weight lifts up un the toung at the pintle which causes the loss of control and that when a trailer starts to fishtail the only way to pull it out is to accelerate “dangerously” He had the poly down under his load and when leaving the gravel bank he had to go up a bumpy steep hill before leaving ,which probably shifted his load towards the back of the trailer . I am wondering if this is what caused the accident?.If I had metal load divider insert bars to put in the box fastened to the walls before loading would this prevent it from happening again?
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I suspect you are right, however not being there I can only assume which of the many possible factors were the cause of the incident.
If I'm not mistaken 4 yards of gravel weighs quite a bit more than the truck and probably 3-5 times the weight of the rear end of the truck.
I would think the accident happened while travelling down an incline just as he began to apply the brakes. Since he has never been in a situation like that he applied the brakes harder only to make the result worse. Believe it or not if he had accelerated slightly(if there was room and he caught it soon enough), he likely could have recovered. It takes stainless steel nads to even try a maneuver like that...not to mention some experience. You probably have a new found respect for the transport drivers out there.
Your poly idea may or may not have contributed, but I would go with galvanized steel lining on the floor of the box in the future. It will empty and not shift quite as much.
You have to keep more weight ahead of the front trailer axle or risk termoil. 60-40% should be reasonable. Be extra cautious when carrying more weight than the vehicle weighs in at particularly when it is damp and moreso when cornering, braking and down hill. The whole game changes, and training should be required.
Sorry to hear it happened to you.
Hope it all works out.
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You say the trailer has brakes.
If the trailer has electric brakes, with a brake controller, you can hit the button on the front of the control box, which applies only the trailer brakes. This will straighten the trailer ASAP. I prefer hydraulic surge brakes; setup properly, they work great.
I would consider the adjustment, proper operation, and for electrics, proper hookup (was trailer plugged in?). The hydraulic surge brakes are a pain to bleed properly, unless you use one of the vacuum speed bleeders. I've seen a lot of them that are inoperable.
Mr. Greenjeans
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At least nobody got hurt. I had the same thing happen to me when I was bringing a bobcat back home from a retaining wall job. On a busy highway usually packed with semi's. Good thing it was 11 pm-ish. I originally thought that fatigue was what initiated the, for me near-miss. The helper loaded the machine, and I wasn't checking as I strapped it down but I did recall having to lengthen the straps, so it was out of place on the trailer. The sight of a trailer that you're towing, perpendicular to the truck, well that's a wake up. I was able to get control of the truck and get to the shoulder, I think I accelerated, after running out of other things to try( maybe it was the screaming ?) It's amazing how fast your mind works when stuff like that happens. Trucks and trailers can be fixed. My father helps me too, sometimes.
kevin zale
*It happended to me once. I know the fear. My load was too heavy beyond the rear portion of the axel and the rear wheels did not have the control they normally do -- The trailer swung around and was actually pulling the load. I'd do two things: drive at creep speed if you haul 4 yards of gravel and load towards the front of the trailer so the load is on the vehicle's rear tires/axel. You are lucky.
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Your accident was a classic case that engineering students study in school. Whenever the load is distributed to the rear, the basic laws of physics dictate that the trailer fishtails whenever a disturbance disrupts the system. Depending on outside influences, the fishtail action can either dampen itself out, or increase to the point of a jacknife, or roll. The initiating disturbance can be a change in speed or direction. The outside influence that dissipates or accentuates the motion can be the road surface or a driver input.
One should always have at least 10% of the trailer's weight on the tongue. Of course, the hitch and towing vehicle should be properly rated to carry that load.
Watch a double bottom dump (i.e. train) on the highway. If the trail unit starts to oscilate, stay clear.
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I am looking for a reason that caused an accident with a tow behind trailer w/ a dump body. I have a trailer that is rated for 12k lbs. I use it to move a skidsteer loader around,trash removal,small 4yrd. loads of soil,and gravel etc.I pull it with a one ton truck .The trailer has four operable brakes everything is in perfect working condition.My father was using it last week and he had 4 yrds of gravel on it.He was driving at 40mph when it started to fishtail.He looked in the mirror and it started going sideways it forced him off the road into an electric pole,stright on the trailer then whipped around ,going in the same didection he was headed it spun him around pivoting the pole and smashed into the side of the truck leaving him facing the opposite direction before comming to a stop.There were no other people involved,and no injuries thanks to seatbelts. This trailer sits down inside its wheels ,some of them sit on top of their wheels ,it has ramps for loading you raise the body up some to drive up on it then let it down. Because it sits low, things that tend to compact like topsoil and gravel wont slide off by themself. to help them I put a piece of poly down before loading, then it slides right off.Iwas told that when a certian % of weight shifts over the rear wheels that the weight lifts up un the toung at the pintle which causes the loss of control and that when a trailer starts to fishtail the only way to pull it out is to accelerate "dangerously" He had the poly down under his load and when leaving the gravel bank he had to go up a bumpy steep hill before leaving ,which probably shifted his load towards the back of the trailer . I am wondering if this is what caused the accident?.If I had metal load divider insert bars to put in the box fastened to the walls before loading would this prevent it from happening again?