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Make sure the wheels are turning …
This popped up on the “RV crashes and disasters” Facebook page. Not sure what happened (most of us could guess). The guy who posted this said the car had a manual transmission and “had been” in neutral; which doesn’t make sense to me. The poster said the wheels on both sides were worn down and the frame was now rubbing on the road. The shadows makes it difficult to see exactly what happened. But most of us should be able to figure it.
The Lesson Here: Check to make sure the wheels of the toad are going around and around!
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6 Replies
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If it was not in neutral, but was in a gear other than the top gear it is possible when being towed the wheels were turning initially, but in a lower gear it is possible the engine was over revved and seized. That would lock things up and the end result is what is shown.
It is hard t make fun of RV owners who have that kind of mishap because it is so easy to omit a vital step when hooking up and end up with bad results.
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That hits a little close to home. My first attempt at towing my Grand Cherokee in December ended badly. I had it set up correctly, but the right front tire on the Jeep went flat while towing after dark. Probably road debris, but the tire was too damaged to tell. After the sun went down I could barely make out the shape of the Jeep in my backup camera when the lights of a passing car would hit it, so no visual cues were present. I was happily oblivious until a trucker flagged me over east of St. Louis. I was putting out some smoke. I had last done a walk around at a rest area fifty miles back, so it could have been dragging flat for quite awhile. I thought the AWD drive train was wrecked when I saw how cocked the front wheels were, but I got away with just replacing a wheel and a wheel bearing. I should really get a TPMS!
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From actual experience and prior to the availability of TPMS I was towing a Grand Cherokee on I-90 east of Cleveland. I crossed a bridge and when I hit the expansion joint I heard a noise, felt a little tug on the coach and then an undescribeable feeling something was going on with the toad.
I pulled to the shoulder immediately and was very glad I did. The right front tire had a large ragged hole in the sidewall that had instantly let the air out. No damage, put on the spare, and when I got to our destination I had all 4 tires on the Jeep replaced.
My point is a TPMS would have confirmed my gut feel, but if we are sensitive to noises and changes in noise level or how the coach feels it is a good secondary way to monitor tire condition.
As most know I am proof a bus towing a heavy toad is capable of driving up through the gears as if nothing was wrong despite locked brakes. that’s where the noise sensitivity comes in. Locked tires sound incredibly like a slipping belt.
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Hard to tell if that’s just a flat tire and the wheel is buried in the mud or an actual disaster.
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Years ago was wanting to tow my 4 runner all wheels down. Talked with local Toyota service manager and he said it’s no problem since it’s 4 x 4 and can be placed in neutral. Showed the manual to him were it indicated it could not. He had egg on his face since he told several people it could. Always refer to owners manual for procedures also.
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I’m a firm believer in the tire pressure monitor system, I don’t leave home with out them, 12 of them.
1984 96" with 8V92TA
(remodeled Liberty Coach)
Greenwood, MO
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