Folks Of Interest Driver Killed returning home from Back to the 50's

Studebaker pulling a vintage trailer rolled returning home from the Back to the 50's
Show.
http://chippewa.com/news/local/pass...cle_60fcd37a-1fba-56bc-a155-33a9954f9365.html

 

I saw this on the local news, it happened about 30 miles away from me. This is never good to see.

 

Shit!

 

Prayers & condolences to the families of those involved. Old car hobby is a brotherhood. Sad indeed.

 

So sorry to hear about the death, condolences and prayers to the family.

 

This kind of story always touches us. It hurts personally.

 

Actually the driver survived and his 85 year old passenger died. Isn't that a pretty big trailer to be towed by a pickup truck? My condolences to their family and friends....

 

Man I hate to see stories like these... first the couple hit changing a tire, and now this...

 

I spent some time in the traffic back-up. When I got to the scene I couldn't see the pick-up or trailer, looked like they had been forced off the road and over an embankment. There was a lot of crazy driving going on from the state line, all the way to where I turn east on hwy 29.

 

What horrible news. So sad to hear of this. Condolences to the family and friends. We just arrived home and took the same route home hauling our hot rod. My heart goes out to the family.

 

Has anyone heard anything about the black sedan on southbound I-35 that flipped over? I saw the car towed away on a rollback, didn't look good.

 

Those Studebaker pickups aren't very big but lots of cars towed those Airstreams back in the day. It wasn't too far from where I live. The police don't really know what happened. Traffic can get crazy there but a tire could have failed or another part. With the damage from the crash, it's difficult to tell what broke when. The driver was injured pretty badly too. They don't know if he will know what happened either.

 

I don't know if another vehicle was involved or not. The tracks looked like he might have been jackknifed before he went over the edge.
BTW the trailer was a nicely polished Spartan, not an Airstream. I drooled over it a bit at the show.

 

Man, that just sucks........my condolences and prayers for them and their family. I've often wondered about pulling a trailer like that with an older 1/2 ton truck, and this appears to illustrate my fears rather well. I know the truck is capable of pulling it, but is it capable of stopping it in a panic situation? Now I've violated this rule more times than I like to admit in my youth (and gotten away with it mostly unscathed, Luckly!), but the biggest thing you can do to Increase your safety factor when towing is SLOW DOWN! Somewhere around here I have a picture of a 1974 Winnebago speedometer indicating just slightly over 100 mph on the way to Vegas! Knowing what I know now about how flimsy those things were built makes me shudder at the thought of what havoc a blow out would have caused! I gotta admit, when I first moved to California, I thought their 55 mph speed limit for towing a trailer was idiotic, but I've grown used to it and it's really not that bad to me anymore.

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Sadly this was in the news also: http://www.kentucky.com/2015/06/21/3911612_couple-struck-killed-on-i-75-apparently.html?rh=1

 

That is sad, and it hits home with anyone in the hobby.
IMPORTANT -
Check your insurance and DMV before using your old vehicle in this way.
Insurance companies are in the biz to make money for the investors, not to pay claims. The fact sheet Penndot issues for antique and classic plates has in bold type "..trucks MAY NOT haul cargo.'' If the insurance co sees a way out, you can be sure they will exploit it. Woe be to the little guy who tries to fight them.

 

Very sad news indeed. I hesitate to even take my cars out anymore with other people using "electronic devices" while driving seemingly on the increase. People just don't pay attention while operating their vehicle , and things go south real quick at 65-70 MPH. Thoughts and prayers to those involved.

 

Certainly a tragedy for all involved in this and the other accident in Kentucky.

In general, I heartily agree with your recommendation to be sure you understand the State Motor Vehicle regulations for the license category you are operating under. Personally, I think it's "cheapness" to buy Antique category plates and then use the vehicle in the same manner as a daily driver.

As for the Insurance companies, I think your comments are off base to some degree. An Insurance Policy is a legal contract that specifies the precise circumstances under which the insurance company will pay for a loss and how the amount of that loss will be calculated.

People have a tendency to think, believe or wish that when they have "insurance" on something, any loss they incur should be covered, regardless of circumstances, and get pissed when they find it is not. Coverage is available for almost any type of loss and is priced accordingly. The time to determine the limits of your coverage is when you are buying the policy, not when you are making a claim. To make assumptions about it is foolhardy.

No, I do not, and have not ever, worked for an insurance company. But I have purchased a lot of insurance. both personal and commercial, over the decades.

Ray

 

Ray, you're right. I'm a little harsh on the insurance companies, and what you said about the contract is spot on. Folks who put historic plates on a DD are using the system. Stepmom was a claims inspector, friend is a retired insurance man of many years. The not pay claims comment came from him. I won't bore you with any stories. Yes, when we generalize, we tend to be more wrong than right. The companies are businesses.
But I will stand by the statement to be sure to tag the vehicle properly for it's use.

 

Sad to hear, two deadly accidents this weekend. Condolences to the families of all involved.

Agreed. And something that often goes overlooked. When I had my 60 F100, I had regular car insurance with agreed value. Cost me about $90 a month, but I never worried when hauling a motor, helping a friend move, or towing a trailer.
Lot of people asked why I didn't put classic insurance on it, but it was a truck, and I didn't want to be limited in its use.

 

The combination looked to be an accident looking for a place to happen. Unfortunately, it did. Back in the 40s and 50s, people didn't tow with pickup trucks, as a rule. When I grew up, in the suburbs of Los Angeles, nobody, except plumbers, carpenters and the like, had pickups. They used passenger cars, often big Cads, Oldses, Buicks, etc., as tow rigs. Heavy road cars. That lightly sprung little Stude was way under suited to tow that big Sparton. It appears that there was no leveling hitch or equalizer. If the trailer began to whip, there was not enough weight over the rear of the truck to help dampen it. I don't know if anyone will ever know what really happened but, I wouldn't drive that rig around the block

 

my prayers go out to the family. Always sad to lose a fellow rodder.

 

Crap, I just came home from a 4000+ mile RV trip. I hate to see that.

Carl is correct towing was done with wagons and land yachts way back when. Trucks were for plumbers.

Anyway all that aside my condolences to the family.

 

Condolences to friends and family.

 

Looks like lift attachment there. I only see one safety chain tho. The truck was way to light to pull that big trailer.

 

Yes it was terribble, but a dual axle Spartan was/are 'park' models. They were the first 'single wides' for trailer partks not to be moved daily to a new camp ground. They were ment to be towed by a large heavy tow rig (45 mph back in the 50's). I have had single axle Airstream's and the smallest vehicle I felt comfortable useing was my 1 ton duelly. Again tragic, but a lesson for Rodders that want the RV life also.

 

A guy who lives near me has a big restored single axle Airstream that he pulls with a Ford Ranger pickup. Every time I see it on the road I wonder if that's the trip where they'll be picking the whole rig up with brooms and dust pans.

 

There must have been a lot of plumbers.

 

About 20 years ago we sold our Winnebago & the bride wanted a jayco designer series 30' trailer so we bought one. I had a dodge ramcharger at the time & pulling that thing was a bitch. It was like driving on ice even with all the correct hookups. Never could figure out what was wrong. Time came to get a new Cal D L so I got a book to bone upon the rules. Right up font it stated that it was against the law to tow over 6,000 lbs with a 1/2 ton chassis. I bought a 3/4 ton suburban & you could pull that trailer any speed anywhere & hardly know it was behind you.

 

And here come all the accident experts to describe what the poor folks did wrong that caused their death. Sheesh!