Beware of the Tail Swing!

[JCZhome]

Not only an extra long RV but also an extra long truck. Crew Cab Long Box makes me extra extra long.

John

I have the same situation....cc, longbed pulling a triple axle Momentum. I had a similar experience just before we went full time. At the RV storage lot in San Diego, RVs packed in to tight for these long trailers and the triple axle just doesn't turn as quick. Rubbed up against the RV next to me....took out his awning and a few scratches....$2,800 damage to his RV and just the rear corner bead on my RV. I could not believe the damage to his unit and had to really look hard to find the couple little scratches up high on the corner plastic trim on my unit.

But, like you, learned a lesson and now if I'm within 4' on either side I ask Babe to get out and walk it.....especially if it's on my blind side.

 

[branog]

Tail swing - it happened to me

Pulled the trailer out to rinse off the ash from the fires here on the West coast. Photos show the damage from the tail swing which hit the rig parked next to ours.

 

[LV Naturist]

I feel your pain. I was able to fix mine with just some touch up paint. looks like you'll need some trim pieces. any damage to the other rig?

John

 

[Calbar]

Pulled the trailer out to rinse off the ash from the fires here on the West coast. Photos show the damage from the tail swing which hit the rig parked next to ours.

Yes tail swing can be nasty. Sorry about you bad luck with it. I did much the same thing with my Rockwood years ago on one of those orange posts at the gas station. Needed a tight turn to get out and caught the post.

Rob

 

[WhittleBurner]

That is so easy to do. Years ago stopped at a busy station and in a hurry. After gassing up had to make a sharp turn to be able to get out. Those poles are never up high enough to see them on the opposite side of car. Yep, put a couple of dents in the side of my van.

 

[kscaddo]

Yes tail swing can be nasty. Sorry about you bad luck with it. I did much the same thing with my Rockwood years ago on one of those orange posts at the gas station. Needed a tight turn to get out and caught the post.

Rob

IIRC those are called "bollards". I hit one with a Dodge van back in the '90s in Mississippi. Regards

 

[Nogrey]

Thank you for sharing. Just picked up a new Momentum 351. I am not new to towing, but have never had a 5th wheel and never such a tall rig. So many, many things to watch as we move these beasts from one place to another. I'm always watching those curbs when making a right hand turn so as not to hit them with the trailer tires. Swinging wide as carefully as possible. Tail swing is just another one of those things for me to worry about. Sure love it when we reach our destination, but sometimes getting there....and back out again is tough. Thank you for sharing and sorry for the incident.

 

[FT4NOW]

Thank you for sharing. Just picked up a new Momentum 351. I am not new to towing, but have never had a 5th wheel and never such a tall rig. So many, many things to watch as we move these beasts from one place to another. I'm always watching those curbs when making a right hand turn so as not to hit them with the trailer tires. Swinging wide as carefully as possible. Tail swing is just another one of those things for me to worry about. Sure love it when we reach our destination, but sometimes getting there....and back out again is tough. Thank you for sharing and sorry for the incident.

Dont forget to look UP and pay attention to those low clearance signs and gas station roofs.

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[Nogrey]

Thank you, this is by far the tallest trailer I've ever owned. We took measurements at a dealership before we bought because we have a 44' RV garage with a 14' door. With 3 ac units, it measures just shy of 13'6" tall. I now check my routes carefully before traveling to make sure there are no underpasses with lower clearance. Lot's to remember. I've been towing trailers for years and years. I still feel like a rookie with this one. Takes time and practice.

 

[geotex1]

Thank you, this is by far the tallest trailer I've ever owned. We took measurements at a dealership before we bought because we have a 44' RV garage with a 14' door. With 3 ac units, it measures just shy of 13'6" tall. I now check my routes carefully before traveling to make sure there are no underpasses with lower clearance. Lot's to remember. I've been towing trailers for years and years. I still feel like a rookie with this one. Takes time and practice.

Great app for your route planning - Sygic Truck. You can program in all of your parameters, and it'll route you clear of low overpasses, low rated bridges, etc.

 

[Nogrey]

Great app for your route planning - Sygic Truck. You can program in all of your parameters, and it'll route you clear of low overpasses, low rated bridges, etc.

Awesome! I'll look into it! Thanks!

 

[RoyBell]

I found this out the hard way. Coming around my office building to load up in the back, I scraped the neighbors building. The shared drive was crowned in the center, so which I was watching from my mirror the best I could, I did not see the top of the camper was on the brick! Luckily it barely caught it and it was just the corner trim piece & gutter extension that ripped off. Ordered them for $15, some caulk and dicor and looks like new.

I also did it again this weekend pulling out of the driveway. It was garbage day and I must have clipped it and knocked the can over lol.

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

We check every park out on Google earth and any chance of tree damage we avoid it.

 

[jjbbrewer]

Yesterday I didn't allow enough room for tailswing.

I was pulling out from a gas station and didn't go forward enough from the end concrete barrier (bollock?). The good part is that the only damaged parts are the J-wrap aluminum and the clearance light. Fortunately the ladder & fuel station weren't affected.

Does anyone know where I can get replacement J-wrap. I'd rather not take it to the dealer (where wait times are measured in months) for something I'm pretty sure I can fix. TIA

 

[geotex1]

Yesterday I didn't allow enough room for tailswing.

I was pulling out from a gas station and didn't go forward enough from the end concrete barrier (bollock?). The good part is that the only damaged parts are the J-wrap aluminum and the clearance light. Fortunately the ladder & fuel station weren't affected.

Does anyone know where I can get replacement J-wrap. I'd rather not take it to the dealer (where wait times are measured in months) for something I'm pretty sure I can fix. TIA

View attachment 35084

Can be ordered from Grand Design. The freight will be way more than the metal.

 

[jjbbrewer]

Can be ordered from Grand Design. The freight will be way more than the metal.

Looks like GD got their parts website working as of this morning (it wasn't yesterday). Indeed, I reckon shipping of a 9 foot length of j-wrap will cost me an arm and a leg even though it weighs about 8 lbs. Ugh.

 

[FT4NOW]

Looks like GD got their parts website working as of this morning (it wasn't yesterday). Indeed, I reckon shipping of a 9 foot length of j-wrap will cost me an arm and a leg even though it weighs about 8 lbs. Ugh.

Might be worth calling GD and ask if they could put the metal in a camper that is headed to a dealer near you, and pick it up locally from the dealer. Wouldn't cost anything for shipping that way.

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[jjbbrewer]

Can be ordered from Grand Design. The freight will be way more than the metal.

I received this from GD:

We do not sell any parts directly to retail customers. All parts orders must be processed through a Grand Design dealership. We have a few dealers that does a lot of these orders and can have the parts shipped directly to you.
• You may contact the following to drop ship to anyone in the country

o Coachlight RV Sales – 5305 Garrison Ave. Carthage, MO 64836 417-358-7444
o Pharr RVs - 320 N Loop 289 Lubbock, TX 79403 806-765-6088
o Youngbloods of Paducah KY – 5146 Heartland Drive. Paducah, KY 42001 270-443-8211 / [email protected]​

• You may also email into [email protected] for Part #’s, please include your vin #.
• If you need further assistance, please call in and speak to any Regional Service Managers 574-825-9679

It looked like a cut-n-pasted response since there were two different fonts used in the email. Plus they didn't address my question about getting a piece smaller than 12'. Oh well ..

 

[geotex1]

I received this from GD:

It looked like a cut-n-pasted response since there were two different fonts used in the email. Plus they didn't address my question about getting a piece smaller than 12'. Oh well ..

Don't email! Call the number and then press 7. If a FACTORY short section is damaged, you can buy that - these are commonly the end, rear sections. Otherwise, a full-length is what you are going to have to buy. LTL is required either way, and doesn't matter if dealer drops to you or not.

 

[Scuba4155]

This subject is very fresh in my mind. I hit someone last week with the tail of my trailer why pulling into a RV spot. His truck was was extending onto the street about 18" which was in violation of park parking rules, but doesn't matter, he was stationary and I was moving. My fault according to the insurance company. The damage to both vehicles' was minor, but still adds a lot of stress to a otherwise nice 4th of July. Definitely need to use a monitor in the future and not rely totally on mirrors...