Topic: How not to tow...again.

[Jeffy]

http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/newbie-discussions/117695-accident-caused-hcg-triple-towing.html

Accident caused by HCG and Triple Towing
I just bought a FJ 2008 and am in the process of making a hybrid street/trail rig. I had just finished building a Jeep crawler, and this story might help others avoid the danger of high Center Gravity vehicle being triple towed. We left our ranch at 12 noon. All ten English Setter hunting dogs were in the new Ainley dog topper, attached to the Dodge 2003 diesel 2500 truck. The 29' travel trailer was loaded and we were pulling the custom rock crawler jeep behind the trailer. I had spent all Spring and Summer building this jeep and had just finished it. We were going to central Oregon to visit some friends, do some steelhead fishing and Chukar hunting. As soon as I got on the interstate I noticed the jeep with the 37" super swamper tires wanted to slide side to side. I stopped at Fort Hall and took the jeep off the trailer and took about 600 pounds of weight out of the jeep. I then drove it alone while Kitty followed with the Dodge and travel trailer. It seemed to drive o.k but still had a slight tendency to not track straight. I hooked up the jeep again to the trailer about 15 miles out of Pocatello and started out on the interstate. Suddenly the trailer started to sway back and forth, and the jeep was swaying the opposite way. I applied the trailer brakes to straighten it out, but it was too late. After about ten seconds of trying to slow down I finally made it to edge of the highway. Another vehicle had stopped and asked if we were O.K. He then told me the jeep had flipped three times but was still attached to the trailer. Two tires on the trailer had come off the rims and the axles on the trailer had slid out a few inches. The jeep is a total loss. Luckily no one was hurt, and the dogs are fine. I was very glad I had spent the money on the Blue Ox towing bars, as they held the jeep to the trailer and no one was hit or killed behind me.
The only thing I can think of what happened was the custom jeep had too high a center of gravity. The 37” tires and dog box made it unstable behind the trailer. Kitty told me latter that she could see the jeep tipping a bit when I drove in front of her. I had driven the jeep being pulled behind my pickup with no problems, but it was too much for the triple tow. Also, an Idaho State Highway patrolman told me, I should have sped up when the rock crawler started swaying…counter-intuitive. Talking to Steve, my truck driver friend also confirmed this, but he also said that doesn’t always work. Here is what I installed on the jeep 1990 Jeep Wrangler build.
• Stretched to 105”
• 4.0 Liter Fuel Injected Engine /w Rocket Air Tube
• NV4500 Transmission (Dodge Model 5.61 First Gear)
• Atlas II 4.2 Transfer Case
• Klune V 4.0 Extreme Under Drive (David model)
• 456 Gears
• Dana 44 HD High Pinion Front w/ Warn Hubs 456
• High Steer
• Rock Ram Steering
• Reverse Shackle
• ARB Lockers Front and Rear Differentials
• Dana 60 Rear Air 456 From Ford 74 or 75 Van
• Diff Guards Front and Back
• Tera Flex Revolver Shackles
• Rancho 9000XL Shocks w/ in dash remote and compressor
• Onboard Air (York) w/ Air Tank
• Warn Rock Crawler Front Bumper
• Warn Rock Sliders
• Custom Large Skid Plate 1/4 “
• Warn HS9500i Winch
• Rock Hard Full Roll Cage
• Custom Anodized Blue Aluminum Dash
• 37” Goodyear MTR Tires
• Rock Slider protection both sides
here is the before accident picture and after
I am now building the FJ and hope to enjoy and contribute to this great site.

Before:


After:

[FourbangerYJ]

  Damn that sucks! Some of that drivetrain should be salvageable. Hard to say until it's taken apart.

[aka-justin]

High center gravity?  Sounds like death wobble/off balance/triple tow.  Sad, none the less.

[TrailsLessTaken]

I think if he didnt have that box on the back for the dogs would probably have helped and I would bet he didnt have his sway bars hooked up which could have helped some. 

[dwtaylorpdx]

Tounge weight... It has to be dead on and NEVER go behind center of gravity....

Dave

[aka-justin]

Tounge weight... It has to be dead on and NEVER go behind center of gravity....

Dave

A towbar has no real weight   Do you mean the middle trailer?

[neale_rs]

Maybe the tow bar was not level, probably pointing down causing the Jeep to be lifted when braking.

[AGUHR]

That will make me pay more attention when I flat tow my jeep. I know its highly unlikely that this would happen with it being right behind my truck, but it sure is good to keep watch and have good mirrors to notice if its wobblin around back there. thanks jeffy.

Good thing no one was seriously hurt.

[sharpxmen]

i go with whoever said dead wobble - with wrong caster angle due to high lift would prevent wheel form straightening themselves and probably make it flip.

[stubbyj]

I'm sure the 37" spare bouncing around back there didn't help the already exaggerated movement of the triple tow either.

[TrailsLessTaken]

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ed4_1293058239

[jfrabat]

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ed4_1293058239