It's been a while since I've posted on this subject. The crash was almost a year ago. It's all repaired and is 99 44/100% finished.
I've agonized over taking it out. I've lost my nerve. I can't seem to get back on the horse.
I know the trailer is perfectly safe but I can't bring myself to tow it empty, let alone with one of my cars in it. I get the shakes just thinking about it. I'm not alone. I've talked to a bunch of people who have wrecked while towing trailers and my symptoms are quite common.
I've hired a driver to take it on its maiden voyage to the very same show we were on our way to on that fateful day. I committed to bringing it and the Porsche, wrecked at the same time. It has been restored to an amazing level.
I contacted a gentleman who tows Rolls-Royces for a friend. He turned me onto a guy in the Detroit area that tows because he likes to. Not really a job, more like an adventure for him.
I sent him my cardomain.com site and he read two hours worth of posts and met me knowing everything there is to know about the trailer, the accident and the repairs.
He looked it over and said he wanted to give it a try so I set today as the test run. We hitched his Avalanche to the trailer and tested all the lights and the brakes. I cinched up the weight equalizing hitch and headed out to get it weighed.
I rode as passenger in the tow vehicle and had someone follow in my SUV, laden with tools.
The first mile of the trip was horrible. There was no strain on the tow vehicle, it just felt very unstable and minimal steering inputs produced very strange reponses, just like my F-450 behaved. I was sweating bullets. I had him pull over in a parking lot I knew he could turn this beast around in.
I decided to try cinching the hitch one notch higher, transfering more weight to the front wheels of the tow vehicle. That made a noticeable difference in the way the truck felt, even from a passenger's perspective.
We drove it to a public scale and for $8.00 had it weighed. I drove it on the scales and they weighed it a 9,240 lbs. I thought I should weigh it again, detached from the tow vehicle. The weight went up to 10,200 lbs., a true number. My driver couldn't believe that he had pulled a 10,000 lb. empty trailer.
It's a tad heavier than your average toybox but the driver stated that it towed easier than a trailer half its size. He kept repeating, "I'm really impressed". When I reattached the trailer after weighing it I jacked the hitch another notch. This produced ideal driving conditions. There was a noticeable nose-down attitude to the truck, unlike the F-450 I crashed.
On the way back from the scales he took the trailer on the freeway and did 65 mph. It seemed like 200 to me. I was a nervous wreck. He drove it into my shop and couldn't quit gushing at how easy the tow was on his truck.
I explained that the precision package bearing system coupled with 6 tires inflated to 110 lbs or pressure under a very slippery shaped trailer shell. The trailer body is the crosssection of an airplane wing so it slips through the wind. The full belly pan contributes to its silky glide.
He had a little trouble getting used to the electrically-activated hydraulic disc brakes but loved them very quickly because they come on gradually, unlike the electromagnetic brakes he's used too. The brakes offer 24,000 lbs. of stopping capacity with a 15,000 lb. loaded weight. Plenty to spare.
The driver brought a pal of his from their car club. The guy's a retired engineer. He asked a lot of great questions and marveled at the exercise. He drove the chase car with all the tools in it. He detected a bit of movement in the clam-shell doors, but everything stay closed. He said it was highly visable from the rear. He said the auxillary brake lights down low were delayed slightly but that's because they're tied into the hydraulics, not the tow vehicle.
We arrived safely back at the shop and we were all kinda grinning from ear to ear.
It was a banner day for me.
