Towing Gone Wild!

Written by The Hitch Guys™

When you're done laughing - let's take a closer look at what this hapless traveler SHOULD have considered...

Towing Capacity
We don't know the facts, and we certainly hope there were no injuries here, but clearly it looks like the tow vehicle was a bit small and underpowered for that big trailer. This, in and of itself should have been a show stopper for the driver. Always check the owner's manual of your vehicle to find your vehicle's towing capacity (tow rating). Then check the trailer to find out how much your trailer weighs. In this example, I didn't see a weight distribution hitch; not that it would have helped much - but still. These types of RV trailers are usually pretty heavy and most often, the weights of these trailers usually require the use of a weight distribution hitch. A sway control device would have also been a good idea.

Transmission Cooler
Notice the smoke coming from the hood? Well, I didn't look underneath but I will bet my paycheck that the vehicle was way overheating. Again, probably because it was underpowered but also because I'll just bet that there wasn't a transmission cooler added. While we tend to think about engine oil as it relates to overheating, we forget that transmissions can burn up due to a lack of transmission fluid, and transmission fluid that becomes too hot begins to break down. An aftermarket transmission cooler can be your best insurance against overheating your transmission. Why? Because it lengthens the time that the fluid is out of the transmission, and has one more chance to cool down a bit before returning to the transmission.

Brake Controls
As soon as the trailer started going backwards - downhill - the driver should have applied the brakes to both the car and the trailer. Now how much do you want to bet that this vehicle didn't even have brake controls on it? Again, I don't know this for a fact but if the trailer brakes were functional and were being controlled by a brake controller mounted in the vehicle, the driver could have applied the trailer brakes by stepping on the tow vehicle brakes, or at the very least hitting the manual control while trying to apply the tow vehicle brakes. It is also very important that you regularly inspect all of your brakes on a routine basis.

I think we can sum up this whole episode this way - don't use a go cart to tow a travel trailer. Make sure that what you are towing is well within the capacities of your tow vehicle. Don't guess...know and have a safe trip.