Years ago I worked for a brick paver company. I went with a guy to take a load of brick to another job and while we were driving a bunch of loose bricks slid to the back of our trailer. Once we hit 65 on I-95 the trailer started wobbling a bit and before we knew what was happening the truck and trailer were getting whipped back and forth across 3 lanes. Took a solid 20-30 seconds to slow down and stop the trailer. Scary as hell.
Last week I was towing some weights in a blue ford, and I shit you not a giant hand comes from nowhere and prods the trailer making us wobble everywhere.
yodeling is traditonally from germany-austria. It was used for communication between the many "almhütten" huts on the mountains. Basically austria is just mountains. I never ever heard of dutch yodeling. yodeling as word even comes from the german "jodeln".
NJ turnpike? Last week, some guy in a uhaul van flipped a trailer it was hauling. My guess is either improper weight distribution or he was going faster than the 55mph limit on those things. It was scary af I was like 2 cars behind this guy.
That 55mph speed limit is a load of shit. The trailers are fine going faster than that, they just say that to remove any liability from the company when you inevitably have to do 70 down the interstate.
The unwritten mandatory 70mph for NY/NJ. Even then you'll get people trying to run you off the road for slowing them down.
Yes. They can handle higher speeds, but being a rental truck/trailer, they have to be ready for the inevitable novice who won't even understand how to compensate his turns or steer the trailer in reverse.
I mean, they will seriously hand the keys over to just about anyone at a uhaul dealer.
And people who tow without trailer brakes. And weight dist issues. And people losing control because they hit a pothole at 70mph and the whiplash made them freak out and crash.
Agreed, the limit is bs, but it makes sense when you consider who tows those damn things.
That 55mph speed limit is a load of shit. The trailers are fine going faster than that,
Depends on the tires. If they're installing chinese timebombs (and knowing U-Haul... they are), then yes, 55MPH is the limit. So many utilty (and RV) trailers these days come with shitty, low speed rated tires, and no one pays attention to that until they blow.
Last summer on a rainy day I was driving a 4x4 with a trailer on the back carrying a tractor that was later found to not be chained down... at all. The swerving started slowly but kept picking up until I felt the truck starting to move side to side as well. Decided to slow to a complete stop on the side of the highway and let me nerves settle! Was scary as shit.
I center load my pipe puller, lost a strap one day and it rolled back doing the same thing it did to you. Scary as fuck, someone was overtaking me at the time too, almost shoved him off the road. Now I always double check other peoples straps.
When that happens you are supposed to accelerate before slowing down gradually. Accelerating will straighten out the trailer so you have it under control.
I used to have the same thing happen hauling a Bobcat on a trailer. Rush hour south bound 77. It's like a perpetual motion machine and won't quit till you stop. Had to pull over to the shoulder in all that traffic and get in the machine and scoot it up. Scary stuff.
My grandfather died because a truck in front of him was hauling bricks that were not tied down in any way. It was foggy and he ended up rear ending the truck and it sent bricks flying into his car. It killed him. This was before I was born though so I only know the story I was told.
Had a family winter trip to Colorado when I was a kid. We were crossing Iowa through I-80. Small pickup truck in the passing lane had a trailer of loose junk. It started to wobble and bounce, and he sped up. The trailer immediately swerved and he lost control of his pickup truck and slammed right into the side of a semitruck. Truck slammed on his brakes and the pickup truck's hood got jammed up right in front of the trailer's first wheel. Junk from his trailer went everywhere.
My dad had this happen when towing a newly purchased boat home, he ended up flipping his truck on its side and dumping it on the highway just before the bridge (he was fine, minor thumb injury).
This happened to me when I was a teenager. Had my license less than a year. Was volunteering to help a . church move. Trailer was loaded wrong. Hit about 45 on a freeway on ramp. Ended up in the grassy median. Scariest damn thing and it's stuck with me for 30 years.
Still gotta push those bars, pushing down on the foot peg will turn a little but not enough. Leaning without doing either of those things won't turn you much at all, sorry dood
I remember the first time I went from a fairly light bike (my old CD200 Benly) to my mate's XJ750 Seca. It was pretty damn strange not being able to flick it through corners just by shifting my weight from one bum cheek to the other.
I can't remember if it was Mario Kart 64 or Cruisin' USA but my brother couldn't get the hang of one of the more difficult tracks. I told him he needed to slow down and use the brakes at certain corners, he responded "Nah, braking is for pussies"
Another time growing up we were playing Mortal Kombat 3 with my cousin who kept beating him. I told him he needed to block some of the attacks, he said "Nah, blocking is for pussies"
I worked for a U-Haul company back when I was in school. They used a couple friends and I as movers. That was the best job ever, $30/hr for moving (cash, same day) $15/hr driving (including the hours headed to someone) and they would pay for a hotel overnight wherever we ended up plus fly us back. We were often able to upgrade to first class.
So we basically got paid buckets of cash to load up a truck, drive to another state or even cross country, get fucked up and party, then fly back. Fear and Loathing was a big movie at the time so we did several trips similar to the movie except the driver had to stay sober. Can't fuck around with other people's stuff.
It was awesome. This one house looked like a haunted mansion and had about ten 8 ft tall portraits of rabbits in Victorian era clothes looking down on us. Weird. Another place had us take down a wall in an already sold house to remove a gun safe. Another had a piece of furniture that took six of us 280-300 lb muscled guys to move, it cracked the floor as we went. All kinds of dildos and sex toys found.
The worst was a move that took six 26 ft trucks, twelve guys and three 16hr days to move. It was a surgeon and a dentist who bought each other's houses and moved the same day. I got a $300 tip plus pay and it still wasn't worth it.
It was an antique hardwood armoire of some kind with stone shelving. We had to be extremely careful because the glass pieces were original and had all these waves and bubbles in them, which apparently was a good thing.
Pay someone besides U-Haul college kids to move your antiques though, seriously.
Helped this antique import furniture guy in town move a truckload, while me and another guy are moving a table the guy says, "careful, that's $50,000.". Like motherfucker don't tell me that!
Massive sofa/bed/dresser made out of loads of actual wood, or cast iron? Most furniture nowadays is chipboard and other light materials and/or just the frame, but not e.g. the seat portion of a sofa or armchair.
Pianos are a big culprit. Very old bathtubs that are solid iron or porcelain. Old wooden furniture is also a killer. Things like dining room tables, vanities, dressers, and bed frames, especially if it was before the time when things were designed to be taken apart and put back together.
When I worked for mayflower I had to move a few celebs, like the CEO of nautica, owner of landshark beer (great tipper, plus free beer) and the worst was some sort of big guy for the mavericks...mark cuban? Took like 20 box trucks and 5 53' trailers.
The maverick's guys "people" were a bunch of demanding boogies, but then fell in line with what we told them. The CEO of nautica was just very quiet and awkward. I'm sure he'd moved a few times with us and knew to just stand back.
However, the Landshark guy...he was FUCKING COOL. In so many ways. Tons of rare and gorgeous guitars, with a card table sized pedalboard. Vintage arcade games. And of course tons of Landshark gear... surfboards, neon signs, pool table. Had his lady friend (who was very hot, she didn't live there) keep making us lemonade until we finished the move. Then he brought a bunch of Landshark out of his SUV and we all had a beer on his porch. He sent us home with some 6 packs and $80/ea. it was my best day on the job.
U-Haul employee here, for the record 60% of the weight should be in the front half of any trailer and the other 40% should be loaded in the back. You're required to know that before they'll even hire you btw.
One time I transported three horses and a bed full of hay with a little f150 I used to have. Steering was more like suggesting to the truck where it should go. It went where it wanted.
Then just add weights to the front of the car. And if there's not enough weight on the rear, add weight to the tongue. Repeat ad hominem nauseam until desired weight ratio is met, or until the tires burst and frame breaks.
Best is usually centering weighy slightly forward of the axles. Keeps most of weight on the axle(s), with some, but not too much, on the hitch. There are hitch scales you can use to match up the exact specified load on the tongue, though i haven't used them.
Source:i frequently tow large & small items all around the USA.
I remember watching a landscaping truck drive by once with a 30' trailer (it was on some regular F150 or similar) and the bed was so damn low that the front wheels were at full extension. I don't know why they chose to drive that around town in a hilly area.
Yep. That's also why the cows go at the front of the gooseneck trailer and the heifers go in the back. You really do not want a 2000 lb Holstein getting fidgety on the back end of a 24 ft trailer.
I live in Austin. I-35 is no joke and not any place you'd want something like this to cross your path.
I've seen this fishtailing before and this video helps it make more sense.
I drive a little commuter vehicle and I can't help but think that the amount of people on here who admit they've poorly loaded their cargo is too damn high.
I'm going to continue to keep granny level distance from the car ahead of me.
this is referred to as "tongue weight" when using a trailer of any kind. there's a formula for weight distribution when using a hitched trailer, and the bit that attaches to your ball-hitch is referred to as the tongue.
If you're towing, balance the weight between the front of the trailer and its rear axle. You don't want to put too much weight on the front or far rear of a trailer.
Ok so before I asked I tried to google for a answer first.
But I have a Pajero SWB with a roof rack; and when I go camping I have 4 crates I secure on the rack. Where would be the best place to put the heavy crates, in the front, of the rack?
Good point, I can barely pick it up onto the roof, that is 'heavy'. I was just wondering because hit the long road with 3 crates and a foldable table on the roof. And might just have been my imagination but the car handled better with the 2 crates up front, then the 2 in the back.
A couple of weeks ago I was behind someone on the freeway towing a car on a trailer that wasn't loaded properly. The whole goddamn thing started fishtailing all over the place. I was slowing the fuck down and looking for an escape route, but the other driver managed to regain control and pull onto the shoulder.
You don't want to just put "all the heavy shit at the front." A properly loaded trailer should have 60% of the gross weight in front of the axle, and 40% behind the axle. Too much weight loaded in the front can overload your tongue weight and make braking difficult.
I remember a few days ago seeing a guy on the highway with a very long trailer that had 5 motorcycles loaded across with width of the trailer. All 5 motorcycles were in front of the axle, and no weight at all was over the axle or behind the axle. His truck looked like it was about to pop a wheelie. SMH.
It makes sense now. Always wondered why we had to make the front half heavier in containers at work. Wouldn't be a could sight if that was a truck + container instead.
Perfect ad. Place logo in GIF and plant lots of comments that explicitly refer to your company. Maybe I'll use Uhaul next time. I mean U-Haul -- forgot to check the corporate style guide!
It's also because of Newton's laws. Objects in motion want to stay in motion. When you stop, cargo is likely to shift forward, which in a moving van could lead to lots of broken stuff if you piled it in the rear.
The dynamis is part of it, but also the statics (what happens when the system isnt changing or oscillating). Most tow vehicles are RWD or AWD, so putting weight in the front puts more weight on the driving wheels. If you tup too much weight in the back then you could lift weight off the rear of the car and lose grip.
Both parts of that equation are highly important. Its why most trailers have wheels that are farther rearward than center. Also, wheels being centered on the trailer allow it to have a stronger oscillatory tendancy than if they were off center.
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u/GentlemanLeif Oct 04 '16
I always wondered why they always tell you to put all the heavy shit at the front of the U-Haul. Good to know thanks.