I thought I could tow it

[6Quigs]

Check out this damaged Airstream trailer on e-bay

Airstream

Those trailers must weigh about 6,000 lbs and he was towing it with a Nissan (Pathfinder) Xterra, rated for 5,000 lbs.

Bet he had never heard of an anti-sway bar before!!

edit, thanks Mike up for coorrectly point out it ts a Nissan Xterra not a Pathfinder

[Russinator]

Bummer. What a nightmare.

Russ

[robbie]

There is an RV show happening up my way sometime in October. I'll bet you a weeks pay that there will be a sales rep somewhere who will utter the immortal words " Sure! A Chevy Cobalt can tow this baby!" .

I'm always amazed at the number of people who don't do a little basic research when shopping for an RV.

[curryp]

Anyone who has traveled on I-88 including myself know that road often has strong crosswinds. That tow vehicle for the Airstream  was obviously not enough. Unbelievable that someone would head out on I-88 with that set-up. In the second photo  the camper is showing PA plates. Apparently the person made it a few miles before flipping out.

[LimeJeeeep]

There is an RV show happening up my way sometime in October. I'll bet you a weeks pay that there will be a sales rep somewhere who will utter the immortal words " Sure! A Chevy Cobalt can tow this baby!" .

I'm always amazed at the number of people who don't do a little basic research when shopping for an RV.

that very thing happened to a friend of my wifes in another state.sold them a trailer that they really couldn,t tow

now for us on the other hand anywhere we went they first asked what we were towing with

[AustinBoston]

As someone who had a very close call with trailer sway with what should have been an adequate setup, I have to say they are very lucky nobody was killed.

Rollovers are really bad, and air bags don't do much to protect you.

No matter what this guy thinks, I think that trailer is now aluminum foil.



Now back to the Campaign:

It's incidents like these that demand that we get these darksides out of our campgrounds, off our roads, and away from our parks and forests.

Vote for AustinBoston for President.

I'm AustinBoston, and I approved this message.

[ScouterMom]

As quoted by my two teens - "What a Dumb A$$!"  

my question is, did he have insurance? and if so (looks like both the vehicle and camper were totaled) WHY?  

why would an insurance co insure a camper if the TV was not big enough? Insurance co's usually protect their interests better than that.  if he didn't insure the camper, would his auto insurance cover the stupid act of the owner trying to tow something too big?  

if the camper is listed as 6000 lbs tow weight  - that usually mean DRY, UNLOADED, doesn't it? and the rating of the vehicle for towing 6000 is the maximum alowable.   so if you put ANY gear inside, or fill the propane tanks & water tanks - it's already way overloaded.

He's lucky he was able to walk away from that accident and that he didn't take anyone else down with him!  

Laura -

BTW - AustinBoston -  :U you got my vote!

[flyfisherman]

I use to tow a 28' Airstream ... with a Ford station wagon. Of course the Ford was set-up from the factory to tow and we used a WD hitch. But let me tell ya, If all does not go according to plan, that trailer can get riled-up and start to take over!  Sort of like we're fond of saying ... "the tail wagging the dog". And the hell of it is when you have one of those secure fitting hitches and the tail gets to wagging the dog and gets to be roll over time ... the TT is taking the TV with it!


Fly

[Mike Up]

That's not a Pathfinder. That's either a 2003 or 2004 Nissan Xterra. The Xterra has one of the shortest wheelbases of any SUV and should only tow anything over 18' with very good (read not friction based) sway control. The payload on these are only 1050 lbs and the towing is 5000 lbs and tongue weight rating is 500 lbs. He's lucky if he didn't get a ticket as the trailer weight exceeded the hitch rating. Then if he had any gear or anyone else besides himself, he exceeded the Xterra's GVWR with such a high tongue weight with little payload.
 
Way to much trailer, way to little truck. How do I know? I owned a 2000 Nissan Xterra SE 4X4 and now own a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder SE 4X4. All specs can be found at www.nissanhelp.com
 
Have a good one.