New Year's holiday traffic was light on Mississippi's I-10 when Chris Cason merged his F-250 into the slow lane. A brand-new Triton 2895 Center Console, rigged out with twin 250s, sat on the big Ford's hitch ball. The 7800-pound load didn't pose much of a strain on his pickup.
Cason called his customer, letting him know he was on the way with his new boat. Less than a minute after he finished the call, a big rig blew by in the center lane, then a second big rig came right behind the first.
The trailer behind Cason's truck started a death sway. Less than 30 seconds later, he was crawling out of his pickup on the shoulder while watching the dust settle around the boat, which had come to rest 50 yards away in the center median of the six-lane Interstate. He wasn't hurt, but the boat and trailer weren't as fortunate.
This travel trailer is hooked to the factory receiver and drawbar--the tow vehicle needs a weight-distributing hitch to legally tow this weight travel trailer.
RISK TAKING
He was lucky. If anyone had been hurt in the accident, there could have been a huge lawsuit: Cason was towing the big boat/trailer without a weight-distributing hitch, which is required by Ford on any trailer that weighs more than 5000 pounds. Cason risked being hit with all sorts of liability issues from personal to business because his tow vehicle wasn't "properly equipped." It's a lesson anyone who tows a trailer needs to take seriously.
Towing is a big part of our lives. We tow trailers for work--and for play. It's one of the main reasons we buy pickups and SUVs instead of cars.
That fact isn't lost on automotive manufacturers. Towing capacities are a huge sales tool, and today, when it comes to measuring the level of a pickup or SUV's performance, higher towing capacity numbers are touted more than horsepower.