Think about the last time you tossed an object into the back of your pickup truck and didn’t think twice about it. Most objects stay put but sometimes they don’t.
One Canadian recently survived a freak RV towing accident when a flying ratchet tie down caused nearly $6,000 in damage to a truck towing a fifth wheel trailer.
First, the window shattered.
Nobody expects to join the freak RV towing accident club. But that’s exactly what happened to a Canadian snowbird hauling his triple-axle toy hauler fifth wheel last season.
The return trip from the Southwest to Canada was just like any other during the last five years. Canadian snowbird John Smith (not his real name) was enjoying an uneventful drive north in West Virginia while towing his 2009 Chevy Silverado and 40′ toy hauler down the highway.
Life was good at 55 miles-per-hour until the split second he felt a sickening jerk motion coming from the rear, followed by a loud “Pop!” explosion from the cab window.
Shocked and uncertain about what just happened, Smith instantly took his foot off the accelerator to stop the rig. He glanced in his rearview mirror and couldn’t believe what he saw.
Then the ratchet tie down fell between the cab and truck bed.
The Chevy window shattered to pieces.
He managed to safely pull the 50-plus foot rig over to the shoulder. All he could see was shattered glass when he looked around the truck. But then he spotted a mysterious liquid trailing from underneath.
At that moment he understood the gravity of the situation. Smith quickly got he and his wife out of the truck, walked a good distance and then called his emergency roadside assistance provider. Within minutes they arrived at the scene. After dropping the RV at a nearby campground, they towed the truck to a repair shop. That’s when Smith was astounded to learn what caused the shattered truck bed window.
An ordinary ratchet tie down like this caused the freak RV towing accident.
Flying ratchet tie downs can damage.
According to Smith, somewhere between California and West Virginia he tossed the strap into the bed of his truck and forgot about it.
“The loose end of strap found it’s way down between the box and the cab,” he explained. “It wrapped around the drive shaft, taking the ratchet with it.”
The ratchet wrapped around the drive shaft.
The ratchet tie down didn’t just take out the rear window. “Then it continued down between the cab and box, damaging both, and then flailed around under the truck ripping off the fuel lines and shredding the fuel tank shroud,” he said.
Smith and his wife got lucky. The flying ratchet strap didn’t rupture the fuel tank. Had it done so he might not be alive to explain what happened. This freak RV towing accident is something that isn’t quite so unusual after all. Other people have experienced the expensive and potentially life-threatening damage from flying ratchet straps in online discussions like “Flying ratchet strap not good!”
It shredded the fuel tank shroud too.
The total cost to repair Smith’s truck? $5,900 Canadian dollars! The next time you toss something into the back of your pickup truck, think twice. Remember how even something as ordinary as a ratchet strap can cause a freak RV towing accident that hurts in more ways than one.
Rene Agredano and her husband, Jim Nelson, became full-time RVers in 2007 and have been touring the country ever since. In her blog, Rene chronicles the ins and outs of the full-timing life and brings readers along to meet the fascinating people and amazing places they visit on the road. Her road trip adventures are chronicled in her blog at LiveWorkDream.com.
that has to be one of the freakiest event i have read about in a while. WOW. Just trying to figure out how a strap in bed of truck made it way between the cab and bed and then down to the drive shaft.. If this a 5th wheel unit with no cover on the bed??
glad it all worked out but that was crazy.
Carl, the owner (whom I know personally) had no idea how it happened. You’ll see that in the Forum posts I link to, it’s not impossible and has happened to others, although they weren’t towing.
I had a similar experience with a chevy truch. I have a rollback bed cover. The bed cover has a strap (seat belt material). I was carrying material in the bak of the truck so the bed cover was open. I had the strap in the bed tucked in near the front of the bed. I was going down the freeway and all of a suddenly i heard a bang. The strap had somehow blown between the bed and the cab and got caught by the rear tire and was torn loose putting a major dent in the front of the bed of the truck. Loose rope and straps need to be secured as it seems the wind sucks them between the bed and cab
VERY freaky and scary! The article doesn’t say whether it’s a 5th wheel or a trailer, but a 5th wheel wouldn’t have a cover over the bed, would it?
Hey Chris, it was a fifth wheel. I just edited the article for clarification. Thanks for pointing that out.
$5,900.00 lesson. Hope he learned something.
Freak RV Towing Accident Caused by Flying Ratchet Tie Town
New to RVing is that supposed to be Ratchet Tie Down?
I could be wrong, blessings.
My father was towing his 27′ 5ver home from our yearly trip and he had the generator and a couple other items strapped down in the bed of the truck. One of the strap ends came loose and found its way down to the driveshaft. There was a bang and an odd thumping noise, but no vibration. (thought it was a flat). They pulled on the sholder of the interstate and saw what happened. The strap had put a 16″ dent in the front of the bed! luckily only the loose end broke free!
Sounds similar to incident that happen to friend in a Class A DP. A tarp flew out of the bed of a pick up directly in front of him at highway speed. No time to slow down and couldn’t drive around it. He seen it go under the coach. Carried on for a few miles when coach started slowing down. Pulled of the highway and stopped. Trap had wrapped around the drive shaft. Had to be towed to shop for very expensive repair. Not sure if any of us would have had a different outcome. Some days its just not Your day !
There is a Vacuum created, or low pressure zone always at the front of the bed or back of the cab, all bed debris collect there, always have everything in the bed or towed trailer secure. The loose strap ends end up in Bad places. This problem is more common than you think, but some people are just lucky, and that is all it is.
yes, loose odds and ends … serious problem! surely happens more when towing something than when the driving ‘horse’ and the trailer are not separate pieces, such as in a motorhome or RV or a camper van and similar vehicles …
Yes! This does happen even if you are not towing! It happened to my son in law. The loose end of the strap worked it’s way down between the cab and bed and the rear tire ran over it. When the back glass shattered he thought someone had shot his truck! Very scary! Secure all loose straps!