Towing with a motorhome
 

Just found this on Towing World web site. It looks like I am over length towing. The reason I started thinking about this was this accident.
http://rvdailyreport.com/News/tabid/...ar-pileup.aspx

http://www.towingworld.com/PDFS/TowingLaws.pdf

Re: Towing with a motorhome
 

Thank you for posting the links. We are 61' wish I'd bought a shorter trailer. It sounds like the guy should not have had a lic.
Thanx Trevor

Re: Towing with a motorhome
 

There needs to be a license requierment for these rigs. There is noreason some one with just a regular license should be allowed to drive a rig of this size. I don't think they need to have a full CDL but some kind of test to prove they can handle the rig.

Re: Towing with a motorhome
 

What about the onerous permit and fee laws varying from state to state?The talk around the pits at Pomona this week was the Nevada permit fees and proceedures that supposedly took effect August 1,'09?

Re: Towing with a motorhome
 

You do not want them to start with special licensing because those who are retired and on meds will be in for a rude awakening. CDL of any kind will bring in the feds and you will not be driving big campers. I have heard from a good friend some states are already talking about this very subject and the feds will join in for sure.

Re: Towing with a motorhome
 

I just found out that the little girl died. Very sad day.

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/21617157/detail.html

Re: Towing with a motorhome
 

This is a case where a 72 year old man admitted he stepped on the wrong pedal in his vehicle.

It could have happened regardless of what vehicle he was driving.

There's little doubt the size and weight of his vehicle made it worse.

But it is a stretch to blame the accident itself on the size, weight, or length of the vehicle.

It should be said, however, that regular motorhomes were neither designed nor intended to tow enclosed race car trailers, and really shouldn't be used for that purpose.

Eventually, someone is going to wreck a rig like that, and someone else will figure out that they can make a fortune in court over it. When they do, you can bet that between insurance companies and the government, you won't be using anything but a real truck designed for towing to tow a race car trailer.

Re: Towing with a motorhome
 

Bob if it prevents things like this from happening it is worth it to me. They need to do something. I am not saying full CDL with medical and log books but a classification that would have a writen and driving test that shows the people know what they are doing. It was obvious this person had no buisness driving this rig or possibly any vehical. Any one that hits the wrong pedal and from the sound of the story kept hitting the wrong pedal should loose there driving privlages on the spot.

Re: Towing with a motorhome
 

As one who is becoming "elderly" whether I want to or not, I can see how those things happen. I was the victim of a foot on the gas instead of brake scenarios awhile back right in my own back yard. My elderly neighbor was attempting to back up a homemade ramp to repair a tire on his little Dodge motorhome, and overshot the ramp backwards. Not wanting to run into the neighbors yard where kids were playing, he yanked it into low, and hit what he thought was the brake. Well it wasn't. It was the accelerator. He roared across his lawn and driveway, through the spot we normally park our enclosed trailer and car (it was in the street as we'd just returned from racing the previous night), ran right through my cherry little 1981 Malibu Wagon that WAS going to be an N/SA Stocker, and pushed it three feet through the sidewall of my garage.

I wish that were the end. Still with his foot planted on the accelerator, he backed off of the carnage into his son's yard again and proceeded to run over two lawn mowers a bike, and finally (thankfully) became high-centered on a snowmobile trailer which he crushed.

The story has a good ending though as he voluntarily turned in his drivers license. Will I or we be smart enough to do that BEFORE we get to that point? Probably not!

My sympathy to all of those involved in that Indiana tragedy.

Jerry

Re: Towing with a motorhome
 

Can't thank you enough for the post. I recently pulled the trigger on an enclosed trailer that would have put us over 75ft, but it couldn't make the turn into my driveway without significant apron reconstruction. Turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Our prayers go out to the family in Indiana.

Re: Towing with a motorhome
 

Some info about that accident:

Not only am I from Indy, I was in the opposite lanes about 20 minutes after the accident and saw it first hand. I swear to you all - you have NEVER seen a rear end accident this horrific in your life. The family was in an SUV and it was imbedded a full 10 feet into the motorhome. When my wife and I saw it our only thought was "it's rush hour, hopefully a commuter with no one in the back seats."

Not only did this motorhome rearend them, it pushed and pushed and shoved. I know the 72 year old said he hit the wrong pedal, but he must have hit the wrong pedal and held it for 10 seconds not being able to figure out why he wasn't stopping.

It's not about towing. It's about being in the fast lane (3rd of 3 lanes) at rush hour, on the busiest stretch of road within 100 miles. The overlength issue was just another way to give the man a ticket. So many decisions could have been made to avoid this. Instead, I assume the 72 year old's remaining life will suck. And the family - on the way to Disney - is likely psychologically ruined.

Im in my 40's. This was the worst I've seen ever. I think about it multiple times everyday.

Re: Towing with a motorhome
 

That is a horrible deal for sure, but I'm afraid the problem is clearly an incompetent driver. Like Alan said, it was obviously made worse by the weight of the vehicle, but come on...the guy hit the gas instead of the brake. I'm pretty sure thats the root cause.

The world is full of people with that are incompetent, or just flat have their head up their ***. I flew home last night from Pomona, and no matter how many times the flight attendants told people to not congregate in the front galley while waiting for the bathroom, I watched them do it for four hours straight, only to be told to step back a few rows. Hello, does anyone pay attention...

Furthermore, I've never understood why one can get their license at 16 and NEVER be required to demonstrate a given level of compentency again. It's a joke.

And as I consult the length chart, apparently the only place I can legally drive in all of North America is Wyoming. I always knew I liked it there...

Re: Towing with a motorhome
 

[QUOTE=Dan Fletcher;

The world is full of people with that are incompetent, or just flat have their head up their ***. [/QUOTE]

I couldnt pass this quote up.....Are you talking about NHRA, IHRA, or our current administration in Washington D.C.? Sorry....it was just to much for me to resist.....lol. I didnt mean to make lite of the post about the accident.

Re: Towing with a motorhome
 

The only thing worse than an incompetent RV driver is a guy that just rented a big U- haul truck and is moving cross country especially if he is towing his car behind it--- He only drives one of those trucks about every 20 years so no clue as to what is happening -----no idea how much room he needs to start/merge/stop etc gets all screwed up at the gas station/pumps and zig zags on down the road totally oblivious to the people trying to get away from him----That Indy accident was absolutely horrible!!!!!! My sincere sympathies go out to that family--- Hopefully lots of people learned a lesson---- Absolutely no excuse for it at all--- The RV driver I hope is grounded for life no fricking brains !!!!!!!!--- I'm all for some kinda testing for competency in handling a RV ----But who knows that guy coulda been driving a pick up truck and done the same thing----as somebody on this website said "you can't fix stupid---Comp387

Re: Towing with a motorhome
 

Yup....when I got my license in 1964 I could also buy a car off of the show room floor that had 350+ HP.

Re: Towing with a motorhome
 

I live in Florida and you know who else lives here....that's right more people over 70 than any other state plus we have the Snowbirds who leave the North and drive their motor homes south for the winter, so I am more familiar with this situation than most.

But, I'm going to play Devils advocate.
I guarantee 18 wheeler's are involved in more accidents than 72 year old men in motor homes but I hear no outcry about them. One horrible accident should not dictate a change in policy for those drivers. Someday we will all be that age and how many of you want to have to walk because you have no license?
If you look at the stats you will find that teenagers have more accidents that any other age group but I hear no calls to raise the age limit so that they may mature more before driving. I've come closer to being killed or injured by little girls on cell phones than I have but those older than me.

This accident was horrible and my heart goes out to the family.

JimR

Re: Towing with a motorhome
 

I guarantee you, per million miles driven, professional truck drivers are the safest drivers on the road.

Re: Towing with a motorhome
 

x2 and by a very large margin.

And there have been outcrys about changing the driving ages.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...-drivers_N.htm

Steve