I was talking to someone from the list about hauling trucks on trailers and
thought that this story from years ago might help calibrate you guys to be as
careful as possilbe.
Brian and my youngest brother Scott were moving a trailer load of junk for
their employer, who I consider to be a real nut, as well as rather careless.
Brian and Scott were young and wouldn't oppose their boss even though they
knew they were overloaded. The trailer was loaded with a big old car stuffed
with a bunch of other junk and being pulled behind a van that was also loaded
down. They were driving through the hills in Alabama on their way from GA to
MS. To make a long story shorter, on the way down the road the trailer axle
broke, the wheel flew off, the stub dug in, and the van and loaded trailer
got jerked off the road and did a barrel roll off of a cliff (if a 45 degree
bank counts as a cliff). It was about 60-ft down to water, but after the
first complete roll and about 30-ft down, they hung on the only tree on the
whole bank just between the van and the loaded trailer (the car stayed on the
trailer for the whole ride; it was strapped down tight); the trailer hitch
snapped but the chains held and they came to a stop with minor injuries from
junk flying around inside. It took them quite a while to climb out to the
top. Brian got to a phone and called my parents and in a typical
understatement said something about running off the road and having a little
accident and would they please come get them. My mom literally got sick when
she saw the "little accident" and what would have happened if the tree hadn't
been there and if it hadn't caught on the trailer chains.
Definitely don't overload your car trailer! Our old trucks are heavy and car
trailers these days are pretty light duty; please be careful out there.
Mark Noakes
58/56 Suburban
Knoxville, TN
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