Anyone else terrified to tow?

I wake up at 3am to head down the cajon pass and deal with the 10 east. The potholes are so bad i would drive with my right side tires over on the shoulder at times. In order to straddle the potholes. Coming back westbound with no right shoulder is super sketchy. We hit morongo a lot its still all jacked up there. (as of a couple weeks ago)

If you guys have dedicated tow vehicles i would do as rockwood suggested and have a tire shop crank as must caster as they safely can. Go for straight line stability. 

I have a bumper pull around 30 feet and have tried different WD setups. Having sway control made a world of difference. 

 
Doesnt bother me too much.  Lots of distracted drivers to keep an eye out for.

I replace my trailer tires religiously every 3 years no matter what.  Never had a blowout. 

I use this hitch for my 30' weekend warrior.  Expensive but by far the best weight distribution/sway control hitch on the market as far as im concerned. 

https://www.huskytow.com/husky-towing-33039-weight-distribution-hitch

 
Storing will help the anxiety a lot.  Not having to worry about all the extra tires going pop and saving at least an hour each way on the trip itself makes going to and from so much easier. Just take it slow leave a nice gap and when some tard gets into your gap just lift on the skinny pedal and get your gap back. 

For me the biggest issue is driving after dark from Blythe down the 78.  If I cannot make it to GDS before sundown I leave in the AM so I hit the 78 at sunrise.

 
Oh Dear God...  Let me share my experience on this.

- 16 foot box...F150  no issues.  

- 16 foot box Ram 2500 no issues.  

- WW 2600 Ram 2500 no issues

-27 foot pontoon Ram 2500 no issues

- Attitude 32 TAG Ram 2500  No issues at first and over time...I dreaded towing.  I would white knuckle and have so much anxiety by the time I got to where I was going.  It wasn't fun at all.  I did work on my truck...made it better for a while then got bad again.  Always check the tires.  Adjust the hitch, load it different...you name it.  The trailer was a beast all on its own.  #10K dry.  You load it...it could push #15K.  It was always the tail wagging the dog.

- Attitude 32 TAG Chev 2500.  MUCH BETTER.   Then it got bad again.  I was just done.  Sold the trailer only to find out, the 2 main channels that ran the length of the trailer and most of the cross beams...all cracked!  I bought the trailer back from the guy and took it to Squatcher's brother and he fixed it.  New beams, boxed them,  gussets, braces, you name it.  I went to pick it up and dreaded towing it.  No issues what so ever. Towed like a dream.  Still sold it as I was just done with it.

- 22 foot box Chev 2500 no issues

- 25 foot pontoon Chev 2500 no issues.


Check your trailer frame, shackles, braces, etc...tire pressures, tires, check the shackles on your truck, springs, etc.  I am a big fan of air bags.  If you need it...a good weight distro hitch and anti-sway.  Other than that, the more you do it, hopefully the better you feel.  I will say as you get older, anxiety can have a part.  If you drink or partake in other stuff...that can add to your anxiety and over time, just mess with your whole body chemistry.  I started hitting a wall around 45.  By 50, I was a mess.  I rarely drink these days, Vitamin D deficient (take it everyday and that helps a lot), I don't partake in any additional stuff.  Getting older just sucks.

 
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used to tow a 27' bumper pull and got good with that, then went 6 years with out towing anything more than a 12' flat bed. just got a 35' 5th wheel. only towed it once from santee back home to palm springs, it was not nearly as bad a i thought it would be. but i pretty much only go to glamis. its about 105 miles from my driveway to wash 6 and its the straight flat freeway. only thing im not going to like are the traffic lights on the 86 between indio and the big arco in mecca. i am scared about needed to stop quick. but im fine just going nice steady pace, glamis is not going anywhere it will be there when i get there. with that trailer im close to the weight limit on the truck but im not as worried since my drive is pretty simple, no hills, no big turns. the trailer breaks are in good shape and work great that is my main concern. i would like to do a pismo trip but i dont really want to tow that big trailer all the way to pismo. i didnt really like the 27' going through LA and then having to find a gas station that was easy to get in around thousand oaks. ill just stick with glamis and maybe just take the flatbed and tent to pismo for a weekend. 

 
I guess it is where how and when,  towing is one of my favorite parts, but by choice, the way i take to Dumont is 30 miles longer than taking the I-15 but the way i take is so relaxing and i can set the cruze-c at 75-80 mph, on the way to idaho, the drive is around 750 miles, i will run 80-83mph,  the steep grades stress me out, the truck will only pull about 60mph so when the speed limit is 75mph peeps get a little angry, 

I have confidence in my truck and tire combo, and the trailer tires i have are not going to be a issue, the tires and rim package i put on the trailer, i could loose 2 tires and still be within my wait limit, 

To many fun places to travel to, if i have to be in a area where the speed limit is 55 to tow, it is most likely not worth towing in that area,  

 
The widening of the 60 freeway from Moreno to Beaumont sucked!  Took them years and 2 lanes for trucks and cars with K rails on both sides.  Now the Morongo area also.  I didnt mind towing when I had my Chevy 2500 cause the steering was like a truck, took effort to turn.  Now my current tow truck is Ford F350 V10 which I love more then the Chevy but the steering is so light you can turn wheel with a pinky so any little adustment from driver or wind and it can turn into a pucker moment for sure...No not going back to Chevy.

 
Since I'll be stored and delivered in Glamis, I will be taking the 8 to save time from Laguna Hills. .. the season can't come quick enough.. Foodrill sending me the boxed arms .. need to contact Shock Therapy to have them retune since the added weight of the arms.

OK, back to towing.

abc

 
 I always enjoyed towing, the white knuckled Palm springs wind with the Moho and 26ft with two cars in it not so much...

But last MoHO had 3 blowouts in one season ...

Even with new MoHo I gotta admit I get a little anxious now ..,

 
What sucks is my truck is 22 ft. trailer 40 ft. and they tell you to stay in the right lane, then in some area's there is a off ramp with no straight lane, traffic is to heavy to move over. I think San Diego has some of those. Also in San Diego it is hard to find diesel in a station you can get a long rig in. When towing I research on Google map before the trip and figure out where all my stops are. DON~~~

 
Only one time I got a bit scared...I purchased a 40FT weekend warrior 5th wheel in Stockton area and decided to drive through Yosemite and end up in Mammoth...If you've ever driven down Tioga pass you will know it's brutal (coming down into Mammoth / the 395).  It was my first time towing a 5th wheel with a new to me Duramax Dually...After living through that - nothing scares me now.

 
wesinls said:
Only one time I got a bit scared...I purchased a 40FT weekend warrior 5th wheel in Stockton area and decided to drive through Yosemite and end up in Mammoth...If you've ever driven down Tioga pass you will know it's brutal (coming down into Mammoth / the 395).  It was my first time towing a 5th wheel with a new to me Duramax Dually...After living through that - nothing scares me now.
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Heading to Mammoth in another week and towing over the pass. For some reason it doesn't make me nervous. 

 
Been towing my whole life, never bothered me one bit. Not in wind not through mountains, driven cross country bunches of times towing, blown tires hit by a drunk driver going to Glamis once no sweat, stay calm get the job done

 
Only time I’m usually concerned towing is snow or gnarly crosswinds. 
 

I’ve had a couple hairy situations with my super duty wandering and hard to control with wind, passing or being passed. Even with air bags, weight distribution and sway control. 
 

New steering gear, tie rods, track bar bushing and ball joints (3 were obviously bad and at least 1 tie rod end) in the off season and she drives like a new truck. Excited to not dread towing again. 

 
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Not too much to worry about rolling the 40' DP down the highway, it's mindblowingly easy to drive. The drive to the dunes is always at night, when my wife wants to snooze on the couch I put in my ear buds and crank them up.  For the drive home she usually drives, I hate to say it but she crosses the rumble strips less often than I do lol. 

 
MWB said:
Storing will help the anxiety a lot.  Not having to worry about all the extra tires going pop and saving at least an hour each way on the trip itself makes going to and from so much easier. Just take it slow leave a nice gap and when some tard gets into your gap just lift on the skinny pedal and get your gap back. 

For me the biggest issue is driving after dark from Blythe down the 78.  If I cannot make it to GDS before sundown I leave in the AM so I hit the 78 at sunrise.
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This. If I am on that road when it is dark I just slow way down. As you're going up and big trucks are coming over the rises those lights are straight in your eyeballs. You simply can't see. 

 
Hondajimz said:
Heading to Mammoth in another week and towing over the pass. For some reason it doesn't make me nervous. 
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up isnt an issue...coming down with a 20k 5th wheel is a different story...and you'll only go up Tioga pass if you actually drive into Yosemite park.

 
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