Trailer snaking accident

[dreish]

Some good advice has already been given, one thing that struck me as I read about your unfortunate incident was that you have only recently bought both the hi-lux and trailer .

 

This would flag up concerns as others have already mentioned regarding drawbar height in relation to optimum towing level for the trailer. That coupled with the load on the trailer.

 

There is another possibility that may not have helped ,the tyres on the hilux. Certain brands do not have particularly strong side walls and can flex if there is sideways movement exaggerating any swaying and making it a lot worse very quickly.

Glad your both relatively unscathed.

[Justme]

or slightly high hitch

 

No No No,

 

level or slightly nose DOWN (not because the ball is pulling the trailer down but due to good design, matching trailer & tow vehicle & suitable nose weight)

 

Nose up leads to trailers dancing behind the vehicle.

 

The worse ones are the small trailers behind vans & pickup. They bounce side to side hopping from one wheel to the other.

[gensetsteve]

There are loads of reasons for trailer snaking. After towing for nearly 30 years if I am not happy with the outfit at 30 mph then it's not going to get better and needs sorting. Most loads can be repositioned on the side of the road with the help of a 5 tonne ratchet strap. I don't think I would ever try accelerating out of a snake and tend to hold tight to the steering and let off the throttle and let the speed fall away.

[Matthew Storrs]

There are loads of reasons for trailer snaking. After towing for nearly 30 years if I am not happy with the outfit at 30 mph then it's not going to get better and needs sorting. Most loads can be repositioned on the side of the road with the help of a 5 tonne ratchet strap. I don't think I would ever try accelerating out of a snake and tend to hold tight to the steering and let off the throttle and let the speed fall away.

 

This is generally my approach too. I,m pretty cautious towing heavy trailers, I rarely go much over 40mph towing the full 3.5t, that way should a snake start to appear it can easily be rectified, fortunately I have never had an accident or even much more than a wobble of a snake, as i'm mostly towing diggers i know exactly the best placement on the trailer to reduce snaking, although with the 3 tonner even 10cm to far or behind can make a big differance. I,d also prefer a short trailer with caged sides to increase capacity of logs etc then have a longer trailer, rarely get a wobble form a 10ft trailer IMO.

[richy_B]

This is generally my approach too. I,m pretty cautious towing heavy trailers, I rarely go much over 40mph towing the full 3.5t, that way should a snake start to appear it can easily be rectified, fortunately I have never had an accident or even much more than a wobble of a snake, as i'm mostly towing diggers i know exactly the best placement on the trailer to reduce snaking, although with the 3 tonner even 10cm to far or behind can make a big differance. I,d also prefer a short trailer with caged sides to increase capacity of logs etc then have a longer trailer, rarely get a wobble form a 10ft trailer IMO.

 

I agree. I've never experience snaking on plant trailers. Our accident was a lm166. On a 16ft + trailer it does make getting load dead centre harder as there is so much room.

[County 764]

I've had a trailer snaking once with a hylux and 2 axel trailer. Traveling at about 50mph tried to pull out of it, fight it but eventually managed to slow down and get it under control. Not fun but the fact it was on a dual carriageway and there wasn't any cars near by saved it. Was expecting the car to flip

[mowingjamie]

has anyone had a trailer snake badly with a transit tipper eg a truck with duel rear wheels, or a 7.5t? is it just single rear wheel vehicles that are causing the problem?

[richy_B]

Never heard of it personally. If you are getting a snake on a 7.5tonner you are probably is some serious trouble!

[hiluxstihl]

accelorate out, id always try to have a touch more weight on the hitch...

[gooseflight]

There must be weight on the hitch. Think about it, if the trailer is rear heavy the hitch and the rear of the vehicle are unweighted. This means that the rear of the trailer becomes controlling and has a negative influence on the front of the trailer (hitch) and the rear of the vehicle. There's a lot more activity at the pivot point than there should be. The longer the trailer the worse the problem because the weight (think pendulum) is farther from the pivot.