# Rv Towing Rollover



## Sweathog62 (Jul 28, 2005)

http://www.hayspost.com/2014/03/16/three-from-oakley-hurt-in-interstate-rollover-accident/

http://www.hayspost.com/2014/03/16/three-from-oakley-hurt-in-interstate-rollover-accident/

It could have been worse. We drove up to the crash site within 2 minutes of the event. The SUV was on its side and a fence post literally ripped the top off the SUV. Not mentioned in the police report was a 16 foot fiberglass bass boat sitting in the emergency shoulder without a trailer. The older RV was smashed beyond recognition.

This was a great reminder for all of us towing a single or double to really check the safety of our rigs. In this case he was clearly overloaded and did not make it 2 miles out of town before he got hit with some serious cross winds.

Hope this helps someone in preparing for their safe journey!

Brad


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## Dave_at_Equal-i-zer_Hitch (Jun 29, 2012)

I don't think people realize how dangerous towing doubles really is. I have seen numerous bad accidents because of it. My brother-in-law lost his rig that way. He was towing a small camper and a utility trailer with a couple of 4 wheelers. Fortunately for him the 4 wheelers broke loose before he lost the whole thing. But he had his whole family with him. It could have been awful.

I think people don't realize that when they put the tongue weight of that second trailer on the back of the first, they unweight the tongue of the first trailer. In effect, it moves the center of gravity of the first trailer to somewhere just behind the axles, and extends the length of the lever arm behind that by whatever length the second trailer is. All of this makes the whole setup super unstable. Then, if you add a little crosswind or downhill grade to the mix, you have a recipe for disaster.

My advice on towing doubles is don't do it - ever!


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## raptor99 (Jul 23, 2013)

That hitch on the back of travel trailers should be for bike racks only!


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## E Zurcher (Mar 13, 2014)

Funny, the 11 year old was the smartest of the bunch!


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## Camping Fan (Dec 18, 2005)

Dave_at_Equal-i-zer_Hitch said:


> I don't think people realize how dangerous towing doubles really is. I have seen numerous bad accidents because of it. My brother-in-law lost his rig that way. He was towing a small camper and a utility trailer with a couple of 4 wheelers. Fortunately for him the 4 wheelers broke loose before he lost the whole thing. But he had his whole family with him. It could have been awful.
> 
> I think people don't realize that when they put the tongue weight of that second trailer on the back of the first, they unweight the tongue of the first trailer. In effect, it moves the center of gravity of the first trailer to somewhere just behind the axles, and extends the length of the lever arm behind that by whatever length the second trailer is. All of this makes the whole setup super unstable. Then, if you add a little crosswind or downhill grade to the mix, you have a recipe for disaster.
> 
> My advice on towing doubles is don't do it - ever!


Towing double trailers is illegal, for the safety reasons listed above. Some states allow doubles if the first towed vehicle is a 5th wheel, which eliminates the problem of reducing it's tongue weight. But even then there are limits on total length of tow vehicle and trailers.


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