So I had a driving condition pulling the Oliver Elite II

[Trainman]

We were returning from camping and wile driving on a two lane blacktop I had to make a big swerve (running 55 MPH) to miss a turtle crossing the road. I would say it was a 5-6 foot swerve and guess what happened to the trailer in the swerve, nothing. After the swerve I thought to myself I didn't even notice the trailer being there, nor did I ever felt I was out of control. Sure makes me think what would have happened with a lessor trailer and my RAM 1500 4x4 if all wasn't equipped as it should be for towing.

trainman

[CnC]

Trainman,

Glad to hear it as I have a similar set-up (dual cab as the crew won't fit in our garage.) 🙂

Charlie

[SeaDawg]

Glad you ( and the turtle) are all ok. Thanks for the report.

Might just have a little to do with your driving skill and experience,  too, 😃 but we feel the same way, towing our elite. 2008 ram 1500 4 x 4.

[ScottyGS]

So…… no turtle soup?

[Trainman]

I will say here, if there was another vehicle coming on the other side of the road we would have had Turtle Soup for sure.

trainman

[dewdev]

20 hours ago, Trainman said:

We were returning from camping and wile driving on a two lane blacktop I had to make a big swerve (running 55 MPH) to miss a turtle crossing the road. I would say it was a 5-6 foot swerve and guess what happened to the trailer in the swerve, nothing. After the swerve I thought to myself I didn't even notice the trailer being there, nor did I ever felt I was out of control. Sure makes me think what would have happened with a lessor trailer and my RAM 1500 4x4 if all wasn't equipped as it should be for towing.

trainman

Do you use a WDH?

[ScottyGS]

Not trying to second guess your actions….. you were there and I was not.   But it might prove an interesting discussion on A.) Evasive maneuvers  vs. B.) taking the hit.  I think most towing swerve accidents are not due to the initial avoidance but to trying to get back on course.  Kind of like flipping an SUV…. The second swerve which brings the weight back past C/G is the one that gets you.    I’ve often thought that if a tire on one side left the shoulder I would opt for stopping instead of trying to get back on the road.  I’m sure there are some stories out there of stuff that worked and stuff that didn’t.  

[John E Davies]

I have had to panic stop a number of times when towing, for clueless pedestrians and once for five elk standing on the center stripe of the highway. I topped the steep rise and there they were. In every case I stood on the brake pedal, not once did I try to evade. Of course a turtle is a completely different threat level. I wouldn’t hesitate to run over one, and I have nailed a tom turkey  dead center with the truck and trailer tires. But I think most people towing a three ton trailer would be too busy stopping, not evading.

John Davies

Spokane WA 

[ScubaRx]

We weighed our truck and trailer on the way back from the Rally last month. It came in just under 18,000 pounds. 

No matter which one of us is driving, Tali and I have agreed to rarely swerve to miss something. A woman pushing a baby carriage, Sasquatch or a VERY large tree would merit a reasonable evasive maneuver. A bicyclist in the middle of the road or an animal weighing less than 500 pounds will be evaluated on an individual basis. 

Most of us have upwards of $150K to $200K invested here. A $.50 cat goes into $200K one time with nothing left over. 
 

We did have mule deer to cross in front of us in Colorado the other day. Standing on the brakes and sitting on the horn enabled it to clear the guard rail on the outside of the road, we missed him by about two feet. 
 

Be careful out there…

[dewdev]

13 hours ago, ScubaRx said:

We weighed our truck and trailer on the way back from the Rally last month. It came in just under 18,000 pounds. 

No matter which one of us is driving, Tali and I have agreed to rarely swerve to miss something. A woman pushing a baby carriage, Sasquatch or a VERY large tree would merit a reasonable evasive maneuver. A bicyclist in the middle of the road or an animal weighing less than 500 pounds will be evaluated on an individual basis. 

Most of us have upwards of $150K to $200K invested here. A $.50 cat goes into $200K one time with nothing left over. 
 

We did have mule deer to cross in front of us in Colorado the other day. Standing on the brakes and sitting on the horn enabled it to clear the guard rail on the outside of the road, we missed him by about two feet. 
 

Be careful out there…

Now wait a minute. I do a lot of road biking. I will have to be more careful when I know you are around my biking adventures. Ha Ha. I am sure ScubaRx was Just kidding.

[SeaDawg]

I think most of us have had to make some quick maneuvers, on interstates and smaller byways.

I suspect Steve was making a joke about bicycles. He's always been a careful driver, to my knowledge. 

 

 

[Trainman]

Yes, I have the Anderson WDH and when I dodged the turtle there was no reaction needed, ie. the truck and trailer acted as if nothing happened  and all was under control through the whole maneuver. I give credit to both the trailer and tow vehicle being correctly connected and all within factory specs. 

trainman

[ScottyGS]

12 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

I think most of us have had to make some quick maneuvers, on interstates and smaller byways.

I suspect Steve was making a joke about bicycles. He's always been a careful driver, to my knowledge. 

 

 

Last time I talked to Tali she said Steve aims for people on bicycles.  🥸

[John and Debbie]

4 hours ago, ScottyGS said:

Last time I talked to Tali she said Steve aims for people on bicycles.  🥸

🚴🚴🚴🚴🚴

[Chukarhunter]

On 6/13/2022 at 4:20 AM, Trainman said:

Yes, I have the Anderson WDH .......

 

If you had not had the Anderson hitch, you may have experienced less than perfect control in that high speed maneuver.  The weight distribution functionality of the Anderson is important for towing stability at all times with many tow vehicles, but the anti-sway functionality built into the Anderson is really only important in emergency maneuvers because of the ability to instantly dampen any sway induced by sharp turns at high speed.  This extra safety is even more important with short wheelbase tow vehicles like mine.  The anti-sway feature of the Anderson works well as you experienced.  I think the reason Anderson recommends never greasing the ball is to prevent any possibility of grease working its way into the anti-sway friction cylinder which would compromise performance.  Sort of like greasing the surfaces of your brake shoes on drum brakes.  If/when I get a tow vehicle that doesn't require the weight distributing feature of the Anderson, I will probably remove the whale tail and chains on mine but may continue to use the Anderson ball because of the extra margin of safety provided by the anti-sway functionality.

[Frank C]

38 minutes ago, Chukarhunter said:

 I will probably remove the whale tail and chains on mine but may continue to use the Anderson ball because of the extra margin of safety provided by the anti-sway functionality.

You won’t get the anti-sway functionality if you remove the whale tail and chains.  The whale tail attaches to the shank of the ball.  And when you turn your tow vehicle, or the trailer sways, the chains hold the shank as it rotates in the friction material sleeve of the ball mount.  That drag on the rotation of the shank is what provides the resistance that gives the anti-sway function.   If you remove the whale tail and chains, the Bulldog coupler will just rotate freely on the ball like a standard hitch, with no anti- sway resistance.    That’s the clever design of the Andersen.  It provides both weight distribution and anti-sway using the same chains to do both functions. 

[Chukarhunter]

15 minutes ago, FrankC said:

You won’t get the anti-sway functionality if you remove the whale tail and chains. 

You are so right.  I stand corrected.  Thanks for your response.

[ScubaRx]

20 hours ago, John Welte said:

🚴🚴🚴🚴🚴

We’ll, I just scare ‘em a little.