On I-10 it was a little windy. Anyway one tractor was towing three others in the usual way where the front of one was up on the back of the one before it. Frequently the train would start swaying and it looked like the driver was having trouble with it. A couple times it looked like it was getting out of control. Anyway is this kind of towing normally a difficult thing to control or was the wind probably contributing to it? The truck was going about 70MPH. I didn't pass.. 70 is OK for me but it was a weird situation.
I would imagine its like towing doubles or triples. Try to keep the lead tractor in the lane and hope the rest just follow you. And dont watch the trailers or you will wreck trying to keep the tail straight. They dont call them wiggle wagons for nothing.
The sail effect is compounded the faster you go. If the driver was getting pushed from the cross wind, then they should back off on the throttle and drive at a slower speed. It will take more time to get there, yet at least they will get there safely.
I see. Well that about the wind makes sense in light of what I was doing. I was driving an empty Chevy van and came up behind the mentioned truck (the picture describes that setup perfectly) and when we came down off the mountains the cross wind gusts were shoving me around enough to make me nervous and slow down to about 60 until I was through that valley area in AZ but I'm no pro just the company's road trip guy, so.. I have no negative comment to make about the driver, just curious and yeah slowing down never hurts. I do it a lot. Thanks!
When it sways, you are losing the battle against the wind. There is enough force in the wind to topple you over. Ive fought winds before. But really bad winds, the kind that claw at the paint off the cab and shriek I end up sitting still waiting for it to pass and hope that if it should push us over no one will be hurt. The first I would do is slow down, this reduces the battle. 25 or less if I have to. It's not pretty but it helps. If the train kept swaying or started to topple becuase driver is stubborn and did not slow down, you don't want to be anywhere near it.
If the driver is fighting wind, messing with his phone, or otherwise moving the wheel, that rear trailer/truck will slide around in what appears to be an uncontrolled manner. While this can quickly get out of control, it is usually fairly common to see a vehicle towing double or triple trailers have the back one sort of just hanging on for the ride. That is exactly what it is doing. The term for the trucks is called "decking". They are lifted up with a crane or tow truck and connected to a mount on the frame of the truck underneath. Usually by the axle. The drivelines, rear axles, and front tires are removed from the vehicles being towed.
If it was windy and his wagons were empty, that would without a doubt contribute to what you observed.
