So I'm driving to work this morning and about 200 feet in front of me, I see a Dodge 1500 pulling an enclosed 27 foot (approx) trailer.

There is a lot of cross wind this morning - all of a sudden I see this trailer in front of me start the wig-wag sway. Then it got worse. Much worse.

About 20 seconds go by now, and it's now so bad that I'm on my brakes to get out of the way of this guy, who I really think is about to lose control of his rig.

I'm panicking FOR the guy now - it's so bad that it's swaying him almost into another lane. I'm thinking c'mon buddy, hit the trailer brakes any day now and straighten that sucker up before we have trailer bits in the ditch.
I'm now giving him LOTS of space ,preparing for him to suddenly jump into another lane.

It's now entering the "death sway" zone.

FINALLY he hits the trailer brakes and it starts setting down.

I then speed up again to get by him, I look over to him and guess what HE'S ON HIS FRIEKIN' CELL PHONE!!!!! Driving with one hand!!!!!

How important could that call have been now, really.

 

By the time you passed him, he was probably calling ahead to say 'Honey, can you bring the garden hose into the garage, and oh, a clean pair of pants too?'

 

I see it all the time when camping. Either people on the phone or the family thats pulling a 30 footer with a grand cherokee. Some people need to be slapped.

 

I've had the famous death sway happen to me a couple of years back. I was hauling some lumber (5000 lbs worth) on a single axle trailer (no trailer brakes). Everything was pulling fine till I went down my first hill. Half way into it the trailer was swaying so bad it started to push the rear of my little F-150 sideways. My first instinct was to out run it, however I figured if was going to crash I rather be going slower than faster. I down shifted into 3rd and let the engine slow itself down, then into 2nd, then into first. It took some work but I got it stoped (in the middle of a highway in broad daylight)
I had never been so scared in mylife. I knew if I had hit my brakes I would have been scatered all over the highway. To this day, the first hill I go down when I'm pulling something I always check the sway of the trailer. Oh yeah, and make sure I'm not to heavy behind the axles.

 

Had this happen once when I had to haul a dump truck rolling chassis with dump bed. We had to load it forward because of the duallys and the tongue weight was actuall negative about 100 lbs. I knew I would have to drive slow, I just never thought 40 mph would put my rear tires from white line to yellow line so quick.

 

LOL... and a pine scented tree to hang on the mirror!

 

I seen this several weeks ago with a Tahoe Z71 pulling a U-Haul enclosed tandem axle trailer. Every time he tried to go above 70mph the trailer started swaying. And for some reason he kept trying it over and over.

MikeyB

 

He was probably on the phone talking to "Dial-a-Prayer"!

 

I was in the F550 for work going up the interstate and ran across one of those super luxury condo's on wheels(one of those bus things) and they were pulling a trailer. It started to sway as I got up behind them and it came over into my lane and as stated above I thought he was gonna go over. I got all over the brakes and let him go, that way I would not be part of the wreck. He finally got it straightened out and I floor boarded the throttle to get on by him. As I got a few hundred feet ahead I looked in my mirrors to see this same thing swaying all over the road!!! I just thought, "what the heck is wrong with that idiot?"

 

I was coming down the grapevine going into LA when I see this guy pulling a trailer going all over the road. Lots of big rigs and everyone doing about 65. Well I slow down figuring let the fool go anyway we drive about a mile and he gets it straightened out some. I pass him with my 5th wheel and no sooner do I get by then I see in my rear view his trailer jackknifed and gets hit by an 18 wheeler. His trailer is now just pieces all over highway 5. I still don't understand why the guy refused to slow down.

 

I followed a 1/2 ton pulling landscaping trailer full of dirt into Houston a few months ago and it was through one of those construction zones that have things narrowed down to 2 skinny lanes that have the concrete barrier on both sides with zero shoulder.... The trailer started swaying and the guy didn't slow down and took up both lanes and smacked both walls before straightening out... >>> The guy never really slowed down!!! Both of the trailer fenders were smashed and the tire were scrubbed down....
I back way off until we got to an open area and then I flew by him and never looked back....

 

Sadly, I think that they are many out there who simply do know know HOW to correct the oscillating sway.

I suppose some never think of hitting the trailer brakes....

 

i text while pulling my boat...does that make me a bad person?

brett

 

they need a law requiring weight equalizer hitches with sway bars for tag alongs

 

Not a bad idea. I would say for trailers weighing over 3000 lbs.