Sunday, 3/15/2004, I-5 North of Turntable Bridge, Shasta, CA. Coming down a 6% Grade, passing semis running very easy,
go through the final left curve and unwind the steering wheel for the straightaway.
Truck wants to continue the left turn. I grab some right wheel to keep 'er straight and ease up on the throttle. Truck is still pullin' HARD to the left!
I turn off the OD, Crank in all the trailer brakes and tap the brakes, knowing the left front is goin down. Check the mirrors and there's no one around. I hit 4-way flashers and head for the shoulder of the road.
Left front tire EXPLODES
I never put pressure on the brake pedal, until about 10-15 mph, just enough to light the brake lights and energize the trailer brakes. With the brake controller I have it doesn't depend on inertia. Just voltage from the brake pedal so the trailer brakes come FULL ON !
In my opinion that put more weight on the rears which took some weight off the front. Another advantage is, the whole rig stopped straight, and WAY FAST!! About 175-200 feet!
Only damage was a 0.010 taco in the rim, within runout tolerances.
The ironic thing is, we were on our way to an alignment shop with 6 spares in the basement of the trailer!
6% grade down, 21K lbs, 60mph then blow a FRONT tire
Linear Mode
