Lets be careful out there towing.

Rather than join the speculation pool I'm going to say that there is not enough info to speculate properly. Could have been a malfunction, could have been bad setup, could have been an interesting text message that started the whole mess.

But this is a towing thread where everybody knows everything!

iceracer wrote: As is the case in most crashes (accidents?) inattention is the culprit and incorrect response when something happens.

You pretty much nailed it. I am going to say that is the case in -All- crashes. If not you, the person that hit you.

Yikes, good to hear they are ok. I'm gonna go with the not enough info to determine crash crowd.

On a side note, where are you located and what are they doing iwth the boat?

mad_machine wrote: 4500 pounds is too light to two a pontoon boat? Those boats are not heavy, I doubt they weigh 2000 pounds fully loaded with engine and people. they are basially two aluminum tubes with a deck between them

It may only be a couple thousand pounds, but it's size makes it a huge sail. That large sail gets leverage on the short wb vehicle and it's over. One mistake is all it takes and there you go.

I don't doubt that. I also think the lightweight of the pontoon boat helped, as that big engine hanging off of the back was probably a good chunk of the boat's weight.

I know with my sailboat, which weighs 3200 pounds, they recommend removing the outboard when towing due to all it's weight being at the extreme end of the tail. Even though it only weighs 75 pounds, it being all the way out there is enough to upset the tow rig

Well... the lake is right out of the question but they get to go car shopping!

re: mad_machine

The engine doesn't look that big to me. I can drag the old 115 mercury around on my own, so I'm wondering if the weight of the outboard is being exaggerated a bit here.

i'm surprised they recommend removal of a 75 pound outboard on a 3200 pound boat. Do you actually remove it when you tow? I can't see many people doing that and honestly a lot of people would be physically unable to do it.

914Driver do you know what make/model/size outboard is on that boat?

A little research shows a "large" pontoon boat with an MSRP of ~$40K would weight ~5,000lbs dry on the trailer. My neighbor tows one succesfully all summer long with a 2nd gen Nissan Pathfinder. Durango's tow capacity is ~7,000lbs. Loaded with fuel, bbq grill, and all the crap you'd take on a pontoon boat adventure I'm guessing they where VERY VERY close to 100-110% GCWR for a Durango. ANY tow vehicle loaded to 95-100% of the GCWR requries VERY attentive driving and reduced speed to operate safetly. Any time your towing 5,000lbs requries attentive driving even if your Tow vehicle has a 12,000lb tow rating.

To everyone passing it off as they did something wrong or thinking your tow vehicle can handle unsafe operation please Heed the warnings and think critically about your towing safety and technique. 100% of the time check trailer condition, check all tire pressures, ensure proper hookup, check toungeweight, Don't exceed equipment ratings, ensure load is fully secureed, don't tow tired, if the weather is poor consider waiting, and SLOW DOWN. You can't win the race, have fun at the lake, blast your ATV's off road, or bring your new Mill home if you never arrive.

Glad they are OK, no one else was injured and hopefully someone will learn a lesson from this.

Looking around It appears 200+ HP outboards are ~500-600lbs. That's quite heavy and explains why the wheels are so far back on boat trailers.

Its not so much the weight of the motor, but the location of that weight.

As a Durango owner (same gen thats in the pictures), I would have to say that the Durango is more than capable of towing that pontoon. It has a 7300 lb maximum towing capacity and a 116 inch wheel base, which is the same wheel base as a Tahoe and 3 inches shorter wheel base as an Expedition, both from the same year, both considered full size SUVs.

Because the owner could not give a description of what happened, we can only speculate. There is probably more than one factor into what caused the flip.

I'm glad everyone came out ok.

Here is what I know.

Pontoons are light and they are huge wind catchers.

That model of Durango is a heavy sucker for it's wheelbase and a great tow vehicle for it's size and definitely capable of towing that pontoon safely.

Glad everyone is OK.

If I was to SWAG it, I would say that a cross wind hit it and sucked it off the road.

I bet speed was a factor. Most people fail to realize/understand/accept that you cant just bomb down the highway like you normally so with a 3000lb highly articulated mass attached to the bumper.

Aren't 99% of accidents driver error? I already see this being the case here.....

No information on the boat motor, no more info on the crash.

Once the dust settles I can ask.

Where ya at? I'm doing a surprise overhaul of my dad's boat he has had since forever and a new Yamaha power plant would be excellent for the right price, though that one looks a little small.

You just never know. My tow rig was in the shop, so I borrowed a friends f350 which is more than up to the task of pulling my race car and trailer. Go to turn on the interstate on ramp, wierdest sway ever at 25 miles an hour. Pull over, no obvious problem. Go down the interstate, go to exit the interstate for fuel, same damn sway comes back. Thought I'd die. All the way down to 5 miles an hour......what in they hell. Check everything again. All seems normal. Finally figured it out, the trucks wiring was wacky. Use right blinker it would activate the right side brakes on the trailer for some reason. That was messed up and dangerous.

Looking at all this, I wonder if the new electronical sway controls in new tow vehicles could save an accident caused by sway?

Ref: trailer sway damping

My X3 has trailer sway damping by the back brakes. I felt it kick in once. Neat little feature.

"Towing capacity is a respectable 4400 pounds with the 3.0-liter engine, and BMW's stability control has been modified to detect trailer sway, applying both the car and trailer brakes as necessary to keep the rig under control."

Read more: http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/suvs/0401_bmw_x3/#ixzz2UiLTSYB3

that crash reminds me of a particularly nasty almost-crash today, guy in a GMC 3500 dualie towing a trailer with a small box truck on it and the tail wagged the dog pretty harsh on a sweeping on-ramp and I seriously thought I was gonna watch 20,000lbs of tow rig and box truck and trailer start barrel rolling...

914Driver wrote: It's 7:00am, can someone cut the E off of careful? Thank you.

Got it. Sorry it took so long to see this.

Looking at all this, I wonder if the new electronical sway controls in new tow vehicles could save an accident caused by sway?

Uhh, i believe that is the exact purpose of such functions. If i was buying a newish vehicle primarily for towing id be weighing any trailer-stability programming EXTREMELY heavily over other factors.

I really don't see the weight of the outboard being a factor, it is a small percentage of the total boat weight. As long as the center of gravity is located correctly on the trailer and proper tongue weight, we are good to go.

On the wheelbase thing. Gee, tractor trailers have a huge difference and they tow a lot more than the tractor weights.

OK, enough of the guessing. Just glad the only injury was to their feelings.

Vigo wrote:

Looking at all this, I wonder if the new electronical sway controls in new tow vehicles could save an accident caused by sway?

Uhh, i believe that is the exact purpose of such functions. If i was buying a newish vehicle primarily for towing id be weighing any trailer-stability programming EXTREMELY heavily over other factors.

I'm totally tow-inexperienced. Put a few thousand miles flat towing my MG Midget behind my Ford Ranger, but don't know how much help these kind of newfangled electro-nannies would actually help- hence the question. Could "sway" me into a newer vehicle for the eventual Airstream against my cheapness gene.

Trish talked to the girl today. Again, no idea of their trailering experience.

They were on Rt. 67 between Amsterdam and Ballston Spa, NY. Traveling at "a good clip". Google the road, it's a good one at 55 mph, it's a GREAT one when the shadows are long, you're late for dinner and on a motorcycle. Never any cops on it.

Dan