Melton is having a bad day in Knoxville

Discussion in 'Trucking Accidents' started by bryan21384, Jun 4, 2025 at 8:16 AM.

  1. bryan21384

    bryan21384 Road Train Member

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    20250604_080943.jpg 20250604_073149.jpg

    Flying J in Knoxville, load shift. He made too sharp of a turn, out of a parking spot going downhill he was in a bad way. I would have gone up the hill and past that last row in the back and came out the other exit by the Beacon.
     
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  3. Tb0n3

    Tb0n3 Road Train Member

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    I'd say it's more flimsy trailer than load shift.
     
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  4. D.Tibbitt

    D.Tibbitt Road Train Member

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    That's why u don't jackknife a loaded spread axle... can get away with it when ur empty... dudes got that thing at a full 90 degrees... if u never run a spread axle they will move side to side like that when u turn real sharp, combine that with top heavy load, recipe for disaster.. surprised he didn't pull those trailer tires right off the wheel
     
  5. bryan21384

    bryan21384 Road Train Member

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    That's exactly what he did. He made a left turn out of his parking spot and another left to head toward the exit on a hill. He needed to have gone the long way and made the right turn to go up the hill........I'm glad you said that because that is the key when backing spread axles too.
     
  6. Tb0n3

    Tb0n3 Road Train Member

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    That's why I said it's a flimsy trailer. In my experience the steel frame trailers flex a lot compared to full aluminum. I never run into any issues like that with our reitenouers. Just one of the benefits of aluminum trailers.
     
  7. bryan21384

    bryan21384 Road Train Member

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    I understand...I still wouldn't have chanced even when I pulled a steel trailer. If I sw even the slightest lean in my mirror, recalculating.............. lol
     
  8. Tb0n3

    Tb0n3 Road Train Member

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    It's just a difference in the properties of steel and aluminum. Steel can flex a lot more before it has plastic deformation which is a permanent change. Aluminum has to be thicker and it is much weaker when flexed so it's made to be stiff. All this leads to different performance characteristics of the trailers. The one time I had something heavy on a steel trailer it freaked me out seeing it flex around curves in the highway.
     
  9. D.Tibbitt

    D.Tibbitt Road Train Member

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    They will all do it if u turn it sharp enough... theres no reason to put a spread axle at that angle, doing nothing but damage
     
  10. Tb0n3

    Tb0n3 Road Train Member

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    That depends entirely on where you deliver. We've got lots of really tight places to deliver that are basically just some guys driveway. And by basically I mean exactly some guys driveway.

    One of the easier drive through deliveries.
    Screenshot_20250606-104612.png
     
    Last edited: Jun 6, 2025 at 10:55 AM
  11. bryan21384

    bryan21384 Road Train Member

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    Those turns are definitely easy. The Melton driver didn't have nearly much real estate. At least in the pic, the trailer can straighten out some before the next turn.
     
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