Close call today while towing near Bryce Canyon NP

[bertschb]

My wife and I left Bryce Canyon this morning for Moab. We were towing our Solitude 310GK on a two lane highway when I saw a truck approaching from the other direction. When he was about 200' away (rough guess), a kayak fell off his roof. It started tumbling towards me. I immediately started moving to the right shoulder which was very narrow and dropped off sharply. I tried to react quickly but not over-correct. It's a fine line while towing a 5th wheel! Anyway, that kayak couldn't have missed me by more than a few inches. It may have even hit a tire on the truck or RV. I'm not sure what would have happened if I had run over it but I don't think it would have been pretty.

Once my heart started beating again I was wondering what would have happened if that kayak had fallen off the truck just 1 or 2 seconds sooner. It would have been directly in front of me with nowhere for me to go. The good news is Bryce Canyon was stunning and the drive to Moab had some beautiful spots as well.

[1carguy]

Sounds like a close call for sure. You never know how it would have turned out if you hit it. Last week at about 75 mph I hit a large Igloo type cooler straight on. I couldn't swerve so just held on and hit it full force. It made a huge noise and went flying 2 lanes over like a missed NFL field goal attempt. It luckily didn't hit any other cars. I stopped to assess the damage and was amazed that the plastic bumper on my car didn't have a scratch on it!

[SolarPoweredRV]

My wife and I left Bryce Canyon this morning for Moab. We were towing our Solitude 310GK on a two lane highway when I saw a truck approaching from the other direction. When he was about 200' away (rough guess), a kayak fell off his roof. It started tumbling towards me. I immediately started moving to the right shoulder which was very narrow and dropped off sharply. I tried to react quickly but not over-correct. It's a fine line while towing a 5th wheel! Anyway, that kayak couldn't have missed me by more than a few inches. It may have even hit a tire on the truck or RV. I'm not sure what would have happened if I had run over it but I don't think it would have been pretty.

Once my heart started beating again I was wondering what would have happened if that kayak had fallen off the truck just 1 or 2 seconds sooner. It would have been directly in front of me with nowhere for me to go. The good news is Bryce Canyon was stunning and the drive to Moab had some beautiful spots as well.

This is a conversation I have with my wife all the time. If you are Towing, your absolute best bet is to keep your wheels straight. Obviously, this is much easier said than done, but, when Towing you have to keep it straight.

There have been a few occasions where I have had to take my own advice and it is not easy to keep that wheel straight when you are looking at a crash. But, if you try whipping that trailer around to avoid an obstacle, then you run the risk of that trailer whipping you around and causing a much worse accident (or rollover) than the initial accident would have been.

I am glad you missed the kayak and did not over correct getting back onto the highway.

[orbiker]

Bryce is a beautiful area. I'm glad trouble slide right on by you Brian.

Brakes and hold your line are the best thing you can do on a motorcycle too. Swerving to avoid a deer might be the last thing you do. Towing too.

Safe travels everyone, KEN

[Buckskin]

Beautiful pictures.

[attaboy]

Congratulations on taking good evasive action.
Could have been a bad scene.
Beautiful pictures.
Bob A.

[Dakota]

Glad you are ok! The pictures look amazing. Utah is on our list now that we have a new 5th wheel.

[Ynot4me2]

Close call for sure. Good and quick reaction. Tks for sharing those really nice pics.

Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk

[jmbopp]

Two years ago I took a retirement gig working for a canoe outfitter. As I tied a pair of canoes on his truck, he looked at them and nodded his approval. I told him "I've been canoeing for 25 years, haven't lost a canoe yet, and I don't want to start with one of yours."

In May / June we took a 6-week trip and saw 5 National parks, and a few State parks and National monuments. Arches, Canyonlands, Zion, and Bryce in Utah were all stunning in their own ways.

[Redapple63]

My wife and I left Bryce Canyon this morning for Moab. We were towing our Solitude 310GK on a two lane highway when I saw a truck approaching from the other direction. When he was about 200' away (rough guess), a kayak fell off his roof. It started tumbling towards me. I immediately started moving to the right shoulder which was very narrow and dropped off sharply. I tried to react quickly but not over-correct. It's a fine line while towing a 5th wheel! Anyway, that kayak couldn't have missed me by more than a few inches. It may have even hit a tire on the truck or RV. I'm not sure what would have happened if I had run over it but I don't think it would have been pretty.

Once my heart started beating again I was wondering what would have happened if that kayak had fallen off the truck just 1 or 2 seconds sooner. It would have been directly in front of me with nowhere for me to go. The good news is Bryce Canyon was stunning and the drive to Moab had some beautiful spots as well.

First off, glad you are all ok and you averted it. Second your pictures are absolutely stunning. Glad all is ok and you get to experience the sheer majesty of this great land!