Strange sightings on I-40 yesterday!

Busted Knuckle · April 03, 2012, 10:44:49 AM

OK while traveling I-40 yesterday between Jackson, TN and Little Rock, AR I saw several things that made me go hmmm.

1st was between Jackson & Memphis I saw a Freightliner FL 60 or 70 Business class Toterhome with at least a 24' living quarters before the "western" style bed and it was towing a 53' Commercial trailer!

Now keep in mind this toterhome was as long or longer than a 40' bus and had a regular 53' dry van semi trailer behind it! Now I ain't the brightest crayon in the box, but there is NO WAY this was even close to being legal or safe!

Second was a 5th wheel rig that had gotten into a wreck in a construction zone over in AR and stopped traffic for about an hr both ways while they cleaned it up!
What got me about it was a Ford F350 Crew cab pulling a huge 5th wheel trailer, pulling a bass boat.
The 5th wheel was huge and had 3 slides on the side I saw (drivers). But the front end of the truck was smashed up like it'd rear ended something, and then the boat/trailer ran thru the back of the camper!
The rear bumper of the RV was still attached to the broken boat trailer tongue! The boat trailer tongue broke where it joined the side rails of the trailer and the boat & trailer ended up going up inside the rear of the camper. The boat was busted up some on the front, but still attached to what was left of the trailer.
They had loaded the boat & 1/2 trailer on a rollback and laid the RV bumper & trailer tongue on top of the boat and strapped it down. The truck/RV were being towed together and the back of the RV was wide open with a huge hole in it. (one could probably by it from the salvage auction and make the new opening in the rear a slide out patio!

)

I have no idea if the truck rear ended something and the g-forces pushed the boat thru the back of the RV, or if the rear bumper of the RV gave way allowing the boat to go thru the back of the RV or if the boat was rear ended and shoved everything forward and caused the truck to rear end something.
But what was clear is that the truck had rear ended something hard! It's bumper was shoved back & up an the corners of it were pointed at the ground! The grill, radiator, hood & fenders were history too!
An the RV's bumper was still attached to the trailer tongue strapped on top of the boat!

I'm not an advocate of more enforcement. But it's obvious that the toterhome was way over loaded & over length & in my opinion unsafe, & the P/U-RV-Boat combo more than it should have been also!

BK

uncle ned · April 03, 2012, 12:30:59 PM

They Fed-ex my 55 pontiac to Fairfield County Concours d'Elegance in 2009 the last year of Pontiac.

The truck that came to pick it up was as long as Huggy, a 4104 and was pulling a trailer that you could put 6 cars in, double decked inside.

And the truck was beautiful, red with all the fancy chrome. and the driver was a perfectionist.

uncle ned

Busted Knuckle · April 03, 2012, 01:49:30 PM

Quote from: Uncle Ned
They Fed-ex my 55 pontiac to Fairfield County Concours d'Elegance

Boy that musta been one big FedEx envelope!

BK

Seangie · April 03, 2012, 02:03:43 PM

hmmm....

Bus towing travel trailer......

towing car....

Traveling with 4 kids ain't gonna be so bad.

TomC · April 04, 2012, 07:27:21 AM

As long as you're on a designated federal highway system road, and pulling up to a 53ft commercial semi trailer, you can be as long as you want. Perhaps that Freightliner FL70 with the large toterhome was just delivering new empty semi trailers. If it was a private trailer for private use, then yes it was way over length.

In some states you can pull a 5th wheel with a boat behind-as long as you have a class A commercial driver's license. But, as always, it sounds like the vehicle was not made strong enough-what a surprise. Good luck, TomC

chev49 · April 04, 2012, 10:11:41 AM

I think they must have used a fed ex box...

wg4t50 · April 04, 2012, 03:08:39 PM

The law concedrning length is an interesting thing to tackle, when I wanted to use the MCI7 to tow a 25' fishing boat on a trailer, I thought I should ask the Virginia Dept of Vehicles about the law. Well I started with a State Police Man, he was total clueless, he directed me to the district office, they also clueless, but they knew a very old woman who worked in the office in Richmond who knew everything. OK, we called her, she claims the length of tractor/Coach does not matter, and you can tow a 53' trailer. Now for the boat, nope, I need to put it on a flat bed trailer and move it that way as when towing a boat, overall length can not exceed 55'.
I said the h#ll with that and towed it. Now you see how clear the establishment is concerning our highway laws, the police only know what they work with every day, as for the length, not a clue.
Clear as mud
Dave

Mex-Busnut · April 04, 2012, 06:33:01 PM

I would be curious to know how much that boat behind the fifth-wheel weighed, and if they had wired up any kind of electrical brakes on it. Maybe its weight aggravated the tow rig's impact and damage.

niles500 · April 05, 2012, 12:29:12 AM

Folks - Triples are allowed throughout the USA, differs in Federal vs State and from State to State (As in 5th wheel primary vs tag primary) No different than double bottoms - FWIW

PADoug · April 05, 2012, 06:12:27 AM

Kind of related: The "TotorHome" idea, and I'm hoping Tom can confirm this:

A friend of mine who is OTR trucking in the DC area as I write this, said that either 2013 or 2015 there will be new laws going into effect about minimum sleeper size. Something about 6 feet instead of the old minimum of 24 inches? I can't find anything on either the American Trucking Association or Government websites. I've looked at Trucking logbooks (vs Coach logbooks, which we use) and note the "Required" "Sleeper time" on the pages. But then again, why would the government want bigger, heaver, and costlier trucks on the road?

I'm thinking this is rumor..

TomC · April 05, 2012, 07:11:18 AM

I haven't heard anything about truck sleepers. Freightliner has a 24" sleeper that is the smallest DOT approved. The next smallest-a 48" has a 35" wide bed. Our largest is a 72" (measured from the middle driver seat travel from the back of the seat to the back of the sleeper). So either way, Freightliner is ready.

2014 is the next hurtle for smog requirements, at least in California. Trucks will be required to get at least 6mpg for green house gas reduction. Of which Freightliner is already certified. Good Luck, TomC

PADoug · April 05, 2012, 02:28:30 PM

Thanks Tom. Wifey (I think jokingly

) asked me if we could become OTR truck-drivers. I said "No" in a roundabout way. "We would need a HOME to come back to occasionally, and I'm sure the trucks can be claustrophobic." She didn't get it. "We'd always be driving, or when stopped, sleeping or walking." My reply: "During an Ice/wind/snowstorm??"

TomC · April 05, 2012, 10:43:05 PM

When I drove, my Kenworth cabover had a 8ft box behind with a crawl through with shower, toilet, refer, microwave, double bed on electric lift, 4ft kitchen counter with small bar sink, etc. Once you have the ability s### shower, shave and eat on your big rig, ALL the tension of being on the road goes away. Stuck in a snow storm-no problem-just fire up the generator and stay warm till the roads open. Have a weekend layover-no problem-you have your motel with you. Get sick for 4 days (like I had) just camp out behind a gas station till you're better with your toilet, food, water, TV all with you. And-my Cabover had the same wheelbase (235") as the new conventional 72" sleepers do now. I had a 2 night being stuck in a truck stop in a snow storm waiting for the Wyoming roads to open-no problem-I was in my converted sleeper. Good Luck, TomC