tow storys

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by 70rs/ss

Yeah it WAS mine 16k original miles, just bought it the day before and was on my way home after getting the title! I only drove it off of one trailer and onto mine before this happened! Still makes me sick to my stomach to look at those picts. We made it out unscathed and that was way more important than the Burb (my wife and three kids were with me at the time).

That is a heartbreaking story. Looks like something that would happen to me. Whatever became of that Sub? Still have it?

I lost a Sante Fe Railroad high-rail F250 off the back of our 1991 GMC K3500 Eagle Claw POS wrecker once. I hated that wrecker anyway! That was embarrising. Lucky, no damage and nobody got hurt except my pride.

[redneckwheelman2]

keep the storys coming

[flamingbig10]

last year me and my dad were on the way home from taking some junk from grand pa's to my house on my dads utility trailer and before we left my gradpa's I changed the wheels out on the trailer since they were rubbing on the fenders for some smaller tires and wheels, my dad had one side finger tight and told be after I get my side done tighten the other side but I forget and one the way home the trailer started shaking and making noise so my dad pulled over and I looked at the when wheel lug holes were all chewed up and only one lug nut was still on, the wheel was a real nice 15x7 truck rally

[70rs/ss]

Originally Posted by 72BlckButy

70rs/ss... what caused the accident?

Originally Posted by 88JRFAN

70 RS/SS, that is why i don't like hauling anything like that with a bumper hitch trailer. Gooseneck trailer's are the best one's to have.

Originally Posted by special-K

Great thread idea there redneck.That Suburban catastrophe is the first I recall of 70rs/ss.That sure hurts my feelings and I didn`t even know the Suburban.

Well, best I can figure I had just a touch too much weight at the rear of the burb (full tank of gas for when I got it home!) anyways the tail wagged the dog, and the tail almost won! To this day i am a firm believer in that GOD himself had a hand in keeping me from killing myself, as the indestructable Bulldor hitch didn't break nor did the ball, but somehow that hitch popped off the ball and prevented me and my family from getting involved in that rollover, it just popped off and rolled down that embankment free and clear of me and the family as well as the freeway!


I'd second the gooseneck, but a good bumper pull with the correct weight distribution is OK as well, I pulled a Sub all the way to NC from AZ with that very trailer and never had so much as a wiggle the whole way there or back loaded with a BBC powered 67 truck.

-K- it hurts looking at those picts and it was almost 4 years ago that it happened! It is still around, i don't own it anymore, I might get the frame back to make my 71 a 4X4 but I am scared the frame is bent, even though the boddy doesn't "look" bad, the rear axle snapped into two pieces at the pumpkin and I am all but positive the frame is twisted if not junk.

[88JRFAN]

I hear ya on the weight distribution. The only problem i have ever had with a bumper hitch trailer was stock trailer. Pulled it a couple times, it swayed on me once. Loaded and empty, i think it had something to do with the bias ply tires on it.

[caminokid]

This happened to my dad when I was young....
We had went to Iowa to see my moms sister Reta. We were in one of the new crew cab trucks off my dads lot. My dad had a 57 Dodge LWB stepper he had since 57. 270 red ram, granny 4 speed 3/4 ton. I think it was on its 200,000th mile. The rear end was going bad. We stopped at some farm somewhere in Iowa and my dad bought this one ton truck so he could rob it for its rear end. He always carried a tow bar where ever we went. We hooked up to this Dodge and off we went. Everytime we made a turn...that truck would turn the opposite direction of the way we were turning. We was turning to go down the on ramp to I-80 and of course that truck turned right...we were turning left. My dad got mad and just dragged it around the corner...just as it was straightening out....the tow bar broke and the truck took off to the left...down the hill in the grass heading for the highway.about 20 feet before it got to the highway...the tow bar dug into the ground and picked the front end off the ground and stopped. If it hadnt...I think that would have gotten ugly right there.

[caminokid]

About 16 years ago I was into building 47 to 53 Chevy trucks. I bought a 2 ton grain truck...it had a 24 foot bed on it. Huge truck. It had been sitting for awhile and the cab was perfect. I needed it for a 1/2 ton 50 I was building at the time. Since it had been sitting...i took my nephew along to get it. Just like my dad...I had a 20 foot chain. I told my nephew we was going to go slow. I told him whatever he did do not hit the brakes...cause if you do and they lock up...we will be screwed. I was towing it with a 78 Chevy 3/4 ton. We was going along there about 25 miles and hour and I felt some yanking...jerking ...like he hit the brakes and they were trying to lock up. We got to the house...and that poor kid was holding the wheel to the right with both hands and cussing me like a sailor. He was 17 at the time. I get out and I seen the left front tire blew out. I think we went about 5 miles like that. OOPS!

[68C15]

I was like 18 or so. I had a 79 Renault LeCar (let it go guys, it was a $30 car) to save gas money and a 71 Olds Delta 88 4dr hdtp. I was working about 30 miles from home from 8PM till 6AM. on my way home the head gasket blew on the POS frenchy car. I got a ride the last 8 miles home from a truck driver. I tried to locate any of my buddies. none to be found anywhere. then I fired up the Olds 455, grabbed a 20' log chain, a piece of pipe, and some baling wire. I was taught this trick from an old guy once as a way to tow another car when alone. you run the chain through the pipe as a way of stopping the other car and the wire is for making sure the chain stays tied together at each car. the only problem is getting the car to turn corners, especially important when you have about 20 or more turns on gravel roads (trying to stay off the highways). well...after the first one or two corners the renault went on its side. oh well, I gotta get this thing home one way or another and the thing is junk now. hammer down!! not too much later it started rolling over and over in the ditch almost dragging the beasty Olds with it. I got it home though, came sliding down the pavement on it's side. pulled it up by the curb and untied the chain, still sitting on it's drivers side. I figured I should at least put it up on the wheels. I know, I'll push it up with the olds! that's when my buddies showed up saying "we heard you were dragging a car home on it's roof or where ever it decided to roll". I can tell you from experience, it is NOT easy to upright a car using another by pushing. but it can be done.

now Shawn, our little trip last winter wasn't that bad after all. LOL

[WorkinLonghorn]

Probly a story I shouldn't be telling a 14 year old but I once bought an antique travel trailer, a 1948 Westcraft (sort of like an Airstream,beautiful birch interior,shiny aluminum all totally restored,$200) 27 foot and very heavy. I needed to pull it off a ranch in Long Beach up to beyond Hollywood,about 40 miles or so. It had ancient old cracked tires that I filled with elephant-snot aeresol stuff,hooked to the bumper of my 1963 C-10 with the mighty 230 six, and towed it very carefully on surface streets,head on swivel looking for the man. No trailer brakes. All flat driving.
Don't try that at home.

[redneckwheelman2]

Originally Posted by WorkinLonghorn

Probly a story I shouldn't be telling a 14 year old but I once bought an antique travel trailer, a 1948 Westcraft (sort of like an Airstream,beautiful birch interior,shiny aluminum all totally restored,$200) 27 foot and very heavy. I needed to pull it off a ranch in Long Beach up to beyond Hollywood,about 40 miles or so. It had ancient old cracked tires that I filled with elephant-snot aeresol stuff,hooked to the bumper of my 1963 C-10 with the mighty 230 six, and towed it very carefully on surface streets,head on swivel looking for the man. No trailer brakes. All flat driving.
Don't try that at home.

who hasnt been over loaded my dads work truck (f-450) is always overload by a ton or more usually but its a ford so it can handle it

[ksjh1316]

I had a 81 Toyota Celicia little four banger 5-speed with a body that made it look a lot faster than she was. As I was driving down the road I see one of my friends stuck in the middle of the road. So I stop to see what the probelm was. He had run his truck out of gas and couldn't get out of the middle of the street. So I got out and we hooked up his 79 Ford Bronco to the rear tow points of my car with some chains and I pulled the beast 2 miles to the gas station with the little import. Still don't believe we were able to get away with that one and the looks on peoples faces was great as they just stared with disbelief at us

[Leinie]

About 16 years ago I sold off my Ford pickup, to help finance the house. Wasn't thrilled about that until I decided to buy a 72 Blazer to replace it.

So about two weeks later my wife, the dog and I jumped in the car to drive to Denver ( from Minneapolis area) to look at a Blazer and possibly buy it.

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere we see my exFord pickup on a trailer
totaled out from being T-boned.

Bought the Blazer in Denver, rented a U-Haul trailer loaded the car up and headed for home, in a 20 year old truck after a 1/2 hour test ride and 1 hour inspection. Left Friday after work and we were home for dinner Sunday.
Those were the days Not a care in the world- just felt like going so off we went.

[Lugnut64052]

Originally Posted by 68C15

I was like 18 or so. I had a 79 Renault LeCar (let it go guys, it was a $30 car) to save gas money and a 71 Olds Delta 88 4dr hdtp. I was working about 30 miles from home from 8PM till 6AM. on my way home the head gasket blew on the POS frenchy car. I got a ride the last 8 miles home from a truck driver. I tried to locate any of my buddies. none to be found anywhere. then I fired up the Olds 455, grabbed a 20' log chain, a piece of pipe, and some baling wire. I was taught this trick from an old guy once as a way to tow another car when alone. you run the chain through the pipe as a way of stopping the other car and the wire is for making sure the chain stays tied together at each car. the only problem is getting the car to turn corners, especially important when you have about 20 or more turns on gravel roads (trying to stay off the highways). well...after the first one or two corners the renault went on its side. oh well, I gotta get this thing home one way or another and the thing is junk now. hammer down!! not too much later it started rolling over and over in the ditch almost dragging the beasty Olds with it. I got it home though, came sliding down the pavement on it's side. pulled it up by the curb and untied the chain, still sitting on it's drivers side. I figured I should at least put it up on the wheels. I know, I'll push it up with the olds! that's when my buddies showed up saying "we heard you were dragging a car home on it's roof or where ever it decided to roll". I can tell you from experience, it is NOT easy to upright a car using another by pushing. but it can be done.

now Shawn, our little trip last winter wasn't that bad after all. LOL

That whole story is just hilarious.

[WIDESIDE72]

Reviving a dead thread... Not my story, but I was involved. I am an elecvtrician and one of the contractors I workedfor had a maintenance contract with SWB Telephone. We get a csall from out office to go to a location in Austin to resroe power to a phone pedestal (where you see the phone guys with the sides of the cabinet up doing there thing.) Someone had sideswiped it with a car. We see all sorts of debris like broken glass and plastic. The phone guy said when he got there, the cos said a guy was drunk, his car broke down, so he walked hoe, got his truck and started pulling the car back. Made it several miles til he got to the entrance to his apartments. Must have been oing too fast around the corner, car went wide and smacked the pedestal... Luckily no on was hurt.

[WIDESIDE72]

Back when I ws in high school 20+ yrs ago, my brothers and I fixed up an old 28' long pontoon boat my uncle gave us. It was originally a houseboat, and the pontoons were steel that he hammer formed and oxy acetylene welded (!) He had built a trailer for it, but only to get it in and out of the water at their lake lot. It was heavier than hell, but not a lot of tongue weight, so we pulled it with a 1/2 ton with a 454. You could only pull it at 45-50 mph, as it would start to tail wag. We had just gotten carpet on the deck and were anxious to take it out for the first time. I backed the truck up to the trailer and a friend dropped the tongue onto the ball. I asked my less mechanically inclined than me friend if the hitch was latched and he said yes. I made the mistake of not checking. We gt about 2 miles before I crossed a railroad tracks. I looked in the mirror and the trailer was almost next to me, on the right shoulder. I hit the brakes, the trailer went off into an empty field (no fence, even). I turned around and backed back up to it. Not only did my buddy not latch the bulldog hitch, he didnt hang the safety chains! From then on, I never trust anyone else to hook up my trailers. God was watching over me!

[WIDESIDE72]

A few years after the incident above, I was working the parts counter at Western Auto. A regular customer comes in with a chrome Reese trailer ball broken at the shank and says he needs to see a manager. I think to myself "NOT GOOD". Truns out he was pulling his 18 ft jet boat with a blown Olds 455 when the ball broke. He didnt have safety chains. The trailer took out a large stone pillar at a neighbor hood entry way and totalled his boat. I noticed the ball was an 1 7/8". I discreetly mentioned this to my boss. The mgr gave the guy the # for our legal dept. Unfortunately for the customer, he got didly squat, due to the fact that he had exceeded the rating of the ball.

[WIDESIDE72]

I had a cousin who was 2 hrs late coming to my house once. When he finally made it, I asked him what happened. He said his 16" tandem lo boy came unhooked (again no chains), went ACROSS to the othe side of the highway, up an embankment and launched about 15 ft in the air, then into the TOPS of some trees about 10 ft off the ground. He said he went home and got his chain saw and cut it down (?)

[WIDESIDE72]

Last but not least, I had a friend from high school who was killed when someones trailer, which did not have safety chains, came loose, went across a divided highway and crossed in front of him.It hit his truck and caused it to roll 3 times. he was on hos way home from work and left a wife and two small children. ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SAFETY CHAINS. I always carry a couple of 4 ft long chains with hooks on bot ends. They come in handy for various things, and can be used as a temporary safety chain. not ideal permanently, but it might save someone's life!