I flipped my M416

[mep1811]

I flipped my M416 this week . My RTT was totaled as well as some new Alu-Boxes. The trailer seems fine. Now to figure out how it happened. The road was not too rough and the speed was slow.

I was thinking the lunette ring was too tight not allowing the trailer to stay on the ground when the truck is articulating.

Lucky there was a tree that allowed a 90 degree winch oull to get it righted.

 

[mep1811]

More pictures

 

[mep1811]

more pictures

 

[mep1811]

flipped my M416

more pictures

 

[Mark W]

I have flipped my M416 and M100 at least half a dozen times. Tightly secured loads in tough containers and I have never had any damage or even spills (Even from the 55 gallon fuel drums in or out of cradles. That is one reason I am not a fan of RTTs and such on the trailers. No way to make them tough enough to survive a layover when they are way out on top to take the hit if you go over. Leads to a pretty high center of gravity as well unless you have the bed filled with fuel or some other heavy (over the rated limit) load

It looks like it took you a bit of distance to realize it had flipped. Our flips and layover have always been at slow speeds in brush, rough terrain or river banks and we have drug them only a couple of feet after they go over. You can definitely get them bouncing and airborne at higher speed over rough terrain, but so far I have never had one flip due to bouncing like that.

Sucks when you have to get them upright by yourself. 4 guys can make pretty quick work of it even loaded with 1100 lbs of fuel, but one or two will be hurting doing it manually.

Mark...

 

[titanpat57]

Damn Mike...

Sorry to see that..


Looks like the gear to a pretty good shot also.

 

[mep1811]

Thanks, The Alu-Boxes were just bought at the Expo. The trailer was lighter than usual with less water on board. It does bounce even with 25lbs in each tire.

 

[mep1811]

Here is the video of the recovery.



M416 recovery after roll - YouTube

 

[oregonfj]

Man what a bummer! I'm in the planning stage of mounting a RTT to my trailer. Looks like as low as possible and hope for the best.....

 

[Assassin]

sorry that happened to you...........
hope you get it repaired and problem solved and back on the road soon---

 

[KS-Ryan]

Next time run less air in your tires. I run about 10 psi in mine off-road and it really helped the bouncing. I've never come close to rolling mine.

 

[Rubiconcruiser]

OUCH really sorry to see this, but thanks for the pics.

 

[george_tlc]

Expensive ouch there. Glad no 'serious' damage/injury occurred.

Those trailers have shocks to control the springs? I can envisage (relatively) lightly loaded trailer with leaf springs getting bouncy pretty easily without something to dampen/control the springs. Obviously letting a lot of air out of the tyres is one way to dampen the spring oscillations, though I'd think some appropriately matched shocks would have to help.

cheers,
george.

 

[CanuckMariner]

Mike, sorry to hear the bad news, shortened the AZ strip trip some, no doubt. Put it down as experience and learn from it. Heavy stuff in the middle over the axle. keep cog low, drive slow, watch the rear view mirror and continue the fun.

Really was looking for you two guys making it to my base camp for a swim and cool ones. Perhaps another day. The invite is always there, Amigo!

Jan

 

[Mark W]

Even with good shocks, it is easy to get these trailers going too fast over rough terrain... the Cruiser (even a '40) will handle bumps easily that send the trailer flying.

I flat out LOVE my 416 and 100. But they do introduce extra considerations.

Mark...

 

[mep1811]

Yes they do get bouncy. I was in low range second gear when this happened. Hopefully a lesson for all of us to be aware of.

 

[ntsqd]

I'm thinking that it is more stiff springs than lack of damping that makes them bounce when lightly loaded. Going to a more supple spring should help with the bounce, but will cause a larger change in ride height loaded vs. unloaded.

 

[greentruck]

Yes they do get bouncy. I was in low range second gear when this happened. Hopefully a lesson for all of us to be aware of.

I was wondering about how big a factor speed was. However, as you point out, even very little speed can put a dirty hex on things. A tip of the hat to you, sir, for turning a decided negative into an enlightening story that we should all keep in mind.

 

[george_tlc]

I would still think having a set of appropriate shocks on there would have to help control the springs from oscillating if the tyre pressure (too high) isn't the major contributing factor.

I once blew out both front shock mounts on my swb nissan and it was very dangerous to drive on undulating dirt roads - obviously repaired as soon as we reached town. This is a heavy duty set of springs for a diesel/winch/barwork/arb etc front end, so lots of weight. Without the shocks the front end would start to oscillate after any bump, we drove cautiously to the next town (few hundred miles) to prevent breaking a leaf or worse...

Obviously on a trailer you could have springs that are very stiff for the particular weight of a trip and if the tyres can't absorb/dampen the oscillation then the trailer can start bouncing, I imagine shocks wouldn't help too much in that case since it's the tyres versus the springs that are oscillating.

Anyhow, a good lesson for all. Good luck with replacing the damaged gear.

cheers,
george.

 

[Mark W]

In my experience it is not a matter of oscillation or a buildup of sway/bouncing. Simply a single large bump that sends the trailer airborne, or a tilt of more than it can handle that lays it over. The airborne over bumps bit is disconcerting to watch, but so far I have personally never had a trailer go over due to this. All of the flops I have had (or guys driving my rigs for me have had) can be attributed to uneven terrain or brush.

I/we have flopped them over more than once when cross countrying through thick willow and alder. The Cruiser is heavy enough to press the brush down, but it stands back up as the lighter trailer passes over it and tosses the trailer on it's side.

Mark...