I will attempt to attach photos from a horse trailer accident in High Point NC that occurred on Friday. The truck overturned and the trailer came detached from the truck. The horses were OK with minor cuts and abrasions. They had shipping boots on. The good ole Exiss seemed to remain intact protecting them.
Posted 2009-08-29 10:30 PM (#110106 - in reply to #110099) Subject: RE: Horse trailer accident in NC
Member
Posts: 34 Location: Summerfield, NC
I heard on the news that the driver went off the road and tried to correct and overcorrected. I am wondering if this was cell phone/texting or some distraction. It occurred early in the morning.
Posted 2009-08-30 12:25 AM (#110109 - in reply to #110099) Subject: RE: Horse trailer accident in NC
Expert
Posts: 3853 Location: Vermont
Based on the fact that the trailer has traveled further down the road than the truck...she probably jackknifed...started to roll the truck which broke the connection between the trailer and the truck...
And picture 5 looks like she may have hit the inner guardrail...unless that was from some other accident...
Posted 2009-08-30 6:42 AM (#110110 - in reply to #110099) Subject: RE: Horse trailer accident in NC
Expert
Posts: 5870 Location: western PA
Hey Bartley. The photos of this wreck may answer half of your questions "Alum vs steel in accidents" Posted : 2009-08-15 11:06 AM Post #109425. Obviously without close up and more detailed photos, specific questions can't be answered. But I would like to offer some general comments.
The roof of a trailer contains its least strongest construction. Yet the bows of this trailer were strong enough to maintain the width of the walls, even when the low side was being crushed upwards. In addition the upper wall was being slammed downward during the tip over, it's own weight amplified by the temporary increased G forces. The roof panel is not significantly deformed, again indicating the bows, properly maintained the walls' distance. The roofing didn't explode, when the terrified horses were thrown forward and upward during the tip over. Following that when they were on their sides, and scrambling trying to regain their footing, the inside roof structure undoubtedly took a terrific beating.
The integrity of the "box" is intact. While it may be somewhat tweaked, it still is a visible rectangle and hasn't turned into a parallelogram. This would indicate at the very least, that most of the aluminum welds and structure have not failed. It also graphically illustrates the suitability of aluminum as a structural element.
The axles are in place and still secured. Their mountings must be quite adequate, considering at some point in the accident, all the weight of the trailer was solely on their right ends, pushing them backwards and towards the opposite side. Any poor design or weak attaching materials, would have resulted in them being sheared from the frame.
What pleases me are the stall dividers. I have been a longtime advocate of the Exisses' divider construction. In the photos, you can see that they are still in place, and that the hinges have not failed. When you consider those large horses' weights were significantly magnified by the G forces of the crash, throwing them forward into and when on its side, onto the dividers, they held all the weight and didn't fail. They prevented the rear most horse from crushing the forward horse during the accident, and which then ended up being partially under it afterwards.
The most telling photo that shows the trailer's adequate construction, is the one of the light coloured horse with abrasions on his right rear flank, and the caption that the horses survived. I don't know what speed the rig was traveling at the time of the accident, and unlike some others, what caused the accident. The fact that those two animals were standing afterward, shows that they were well protected.
Bartly, now you need some photos of a similar accident involving an all steel trailer, to answer the other half of your question. As I've previously said, both materials are adequate. Another point is that the aluminum trailer could probably be economically rebuilt, where as the SD truck is assuredly a total write off.
Posted 2009-08-30 1:09 PM (#110119 - in reply to #110099) Subject: RE: Horse trailer accident in NC
New User
Posts: 2
Location: High Point, NC
I just stumbled upon this. I was the driver of the truck.I've towed that particular trailer all over creation and have never had a problem with it swaying before. The investigating officer believe that my electric brakes may have malfunctioned which caused the sway. The trailer flipped the truck. I still don't know how we all walked away. The grey is scraped up, the bay has some stitches, and I'm very sore. Other than that we are all fine.There was no cell phone/distraction involved and the weather was relatively clear. It was just a sway that caused me to lose control. I also wanted to note that the horses were in the front 2 stalls of the trailer and we were going approx. 55mph when the accident occurred.
Posted 2009-08-30 4:08 PM (#110124 - in reply to #110099) Subject: RE: Horse trailer accident in NC
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 342 Location: MS
Yes, thank you for coming in and giving us details. That way there can be no speculation. I am so thankful that everyone survived relatively unscathed. The outcome could have been SO much worse!!
Posted 2009-08-30 4:43 PM (#110125 - in reply to #110119) Subject: RE: Horse trailer accident in NC
Expert
Posts: 2614
Am so thankful that you and your loved ones,first of all,were OK and not injured,and that your animals were still sound,and no other drivers hurt.You had an unseen CO-PILOT with you,my friend!!!
Posted 2009-08-31 7:17 AM (#110137 - in reply to #110099) Subject: RE: Horse trailer accident in NC
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 317 Location: Barnesville, Ga.
What year model is your trailer? I have an '05 Exiss of similar size BP except that it is a stock model with a dressing room. I am glad to see it did so well in a major accident. Glad that you and your animals are OK.
Posted 2009-08-31 1:31 PM (#110159 - in reply to #110099) Subject: RE: Horse trailer accident in NC
New User
Posts: 2
Location: High Point, NC
Thank you everyone for your kind words. We are VERY blessed that such a horrible situation had such a positive outcome.
To answer some of the questions, the trailer was a custom 3-horse slant load bumper pull. I'm not sure of the exact model or the model year. There were not sway bars. I had driven this particular rig several times down windy mountain roads, interstate highways, and with more weight in it and had never had a problem until the time I wrecked. The official police report says that the accident was caused by a vehicular malfunction.
Horse trailer accident in NC
Am so thankful that you and your loved ones,first of all,were OK and not injured,and that your animals were still sound,and no other drivers hurt.You had an unseen CO-PILOT with you,my friend!!!
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