Wrecked Buick

[imported_75RivGS]

Today a trailered '60 Buick Electra which was recently imported from the US and on its way to its new German owner fell off the trailer on the highway here in The Netherlands:

Sad photos:

[Pete Phillips]

AWFUL! The truck driver must be beside himself. What a waste! Just goes to show, you can never be too careful.

Maybe a very skilled body repair person could graft a new flat top onto the car, but 1960 flat tops aren't around every corner, especially in Europe.

Pete Phillips, BCA #7338

[Guest my3buicks]

That's a lot of car to be trailering behind a Ford Explorer isn't it? Bet it wasn't set up for towing properly and started swaying and fishtailing with the results evident. Sickening to see.

[Guest Malcolm_M]

I don't see any tie down straps laying anywhere. Was the car even held onto the trailer by anything other than the parking brake?

[critterpainter]

Too small a trailer, too small a tow vehicle, not enough common sense. If you look at the trailer both axles are bent. I bet the trailer was whipping pretty good before the car flew off.

Bill

[JZRIV]

Its almost hard to believe they even got the car on that little dinky trailer.

At first I thought hope he has insurance but then after seeing the setup, he probably wasn't smart enough. Can't imagine paying all that money to have it shipped, then being so careless. Hey, he probably saved a $200 by hauling it himself vs hiring a rollback. Now he had to pay for a rollback anyway.

Look at the bright side - Now there is a really good parts car in the Netherlands.

[Guest 40series]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: critterpainter</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Too small a trailer, too small a tow vehicle, not enough common sense. If you look at the trailer both axles are bent. I bet the trailer was whipping pretty good before the car flew off.

Bill </div></div>

This is a tragedy to the hobby but he was kinda asking for it wasn't he

[lrlforfun]

OK Buick People: I have probably towed more 1960 Buicks than anybody on the planet. I use an 18' foot "PJ" dove tail trailer. It has a metal bed, a winch and an electric trailer brake. It is towed behind my 97 1500 (1/2 ton)Suburban 4x4 with a 350 engine.

Safety first. Safety first. Safety first!

I don't tow in the rain.

Tires are good and aired to proper psi.

Load is centered on the trailer and strapped down with wratcheting straps to the frame and rear axle in the rear, around the a arms and center link in the front aided by the winch. I always make sure the car is in park w/the e brake on, tires inflated.

Signals , running lights and brake lights gotta work, safety chains hooked up.

Driving...always in the slow lane. No distractions if possible. Be defensive and let the other maniacs have the road.

I hope this can help others if they have to tow. If not find a tow truck and let him or her do it! Don't be cheep because it ain't worth it.

Andddddddd........if i'm doing something wrong here please bring it to my attention. Mitch

[JohnD1956]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: lrlforfun</div><div class="ubbcode-body">OK Buick People: .

Load is centered on the trailer and strapped down with wratcheting straps to the frame and rear axle in the rear, around the <span style="font-weight: bold">a arms and center link in the front </span>aided by the winch.

Andddddddd........if i'm doing something wrong here please bring it to my attention. Mitch </div></div>

Do you really strap down a car using the center link? Wouldn't this raise possibilites of damaging the center link?

[Guest imported_Thriller]

Mitch,

The only suggestions I would add are that a half ton vehicle can be borderline for pulling these big Buicks. When you need to stop, the bigger brakes on a 3/4 ton are your friend. That is essentially why I have Max.

When possible, I have really come to like the wheel straps around the front wheels. I know you don't lock the car down and the suspension can do stuff, but it really is an easier way to tie down the front end.

Strapping down the back end is always a bit tougher and really depends on the vehicle. In many cases you can't use the axle due to rear brake lines being in the way. Getting in between the frame and body can sometimes be an issue as well. I've been told that you can use the rear coil springs to tie it down, and I did that with the '41 on the way back from Seattle and everything was fine, but it isn't my preference.

I've heard of folks inflating the tires after strapping the car down to tighten the straps a bit more.

My enclosed hauler is nearly 5000 lbs. in and of itself. When you add a 4000 lb. car, you definitely have a load, particularly when we aren't necessarily professional truckers.

I'm not saying I do a better job than you...just some additional suggestions. I have learned a lot over the past few years, some from experience, and I know I don't like a lot of what I see on our roads.

[Guest Reatta1]

That trailer looks like something you would tow a dune buggy on. Looks like it only has wheel ramps and nothing in between. Definitely not sufficient to put a full sized 60 Buick on. What a shame to destroy a fairly rare vehicle for want of a adequate trailer. I'm sure the guy feels bad enough as it is without our comments.

[lrlforfun]

OK Buick People: A couple things. I use the center link as a safety singe and on the rusted cars the link won't bend, they will just plain cut loose. As far as brakes go the ones I have have new meat and my Burb stop great. The trailer brake stops the trailer from pushing the tow vehicle. 2000 lb. trailer with a 4000 lb. Buick is not quite the 9000 lb. deal as Derek, still quite a bit of weight.

My biggest issue is myself. If I get impatient and don't get over cautious i make myself vunerable. Have I also mentioned that I ask a certain Higher Power for assistance?

If any body knows the owner of this car I have a perfect parts car I can sell them. Mitch

[Bill Stoneberg]

One last comment about Europe, in general they have smaller cars then we do. You will be hard pressed to find a 3/4 ton Dodge Dually (Max) over there. The Explorer in the pictures is a big car over there.

Rob, I am glad it wasn't yours.

[imported_buick5563]

All things considered, he is lucky nobody got hurt ( or worse).

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I have done some really dumb things in my life and have been lucky. This guy did something dumb and lady luck wasn't with him. It's a sad lesson. I'm sure he was confident that it could be done. It clearly couldn't.

[jaxops]

We towed my Cadillac limousine and tied down all 4 tires with axle and wheel strap-downs, and I chocked the rear tires. That car swayed like a big fish behind us if we went over 50 mph, so we took it very slow.

What a shame to get the car all the way over there and then lose it all over the road. Luckily no one was behind him when it came off!!

[BUICK RACER]

i've seen this time and time again on I-75 a little truck towing a trailer bigger than their truck, you just don't do that. That's why I have Big Red, and I tow a 28' enclosed trailer with no problems!

[Guest DELTAWINGFLYER]

I tow daily 5000lb to 6500lb pieces of equipment for my business over the past 20 years

my rule I live by and not die by is having twice the GVW of what your towing

My tandem axle trailer has two 7000lb axles =14000lb I have carried as much as 8500lbs once and was pushing it ,

for the equipment I use a F550 to tow with

and for the Buicks a F350 this maybe over kill for the average car guy ,

but if something happens theirs no second chances,

also you may want to check with your insurance provider to see if you are covered to carry or tow that kind of GVW in the first place , ignoratis is not above the law ,be safe out there ....

[Guest imported_Thriller]

The ultimate reason I got Max was that U-Haul wouldn't rent me a trailer. The reasoning they gave me, although it could have been a line, was that some jurisdictions were setting a limit of towing no more than 125% of the weight of the tow vehicle (so 1.25 times). When I contacted them about towing the '56 Special (weight about 3800 lbs) with my 2000 GMC 1500, they wouldn't book it for me, in spite of the truck being rated to tow either 7700 or 8700 lbs (I forget which). The local dealer could have inspected my truck and allowed me to rent, but they wouldn't book it for me in advance. So I rented a trailer locally and went out with it empty to avoid the hassle.

Ultimately that is the reason I bought Max (I did need to change to a crew cab as well, but the 2500 HD is due primarily to the towing). The advantage of this truck is that, aside from the visual clues, you really don't feel the tent trailer or boat behind you (about 3500 lbs. and 2200 lbs respectively).

To an extent, I'm with DeltaWingFlyer - better safe than sorry. At least with the bigger brakes on the medium duty trucks, if the trailer brakes fail, you have better stopping power than with a light duty truck.

The more I see, the more I think that there ought to be a license endorsement required to be able to tow anything and a course to go over the rules. While some might think that too intrusive, it may avoid circumstances like this 1960 Buick tragedy.

[Guest Reatta1]

I run a 3/4 ton Chevy pickup that is supposedly rated to 10,000 lbs according to the trailer package specs. I think it is overrated since it has the 350 engine and struggles towing my 7,000 lb boat over the hills around here to get to the lake. I towed it over the mountain when we moved here and I could barely make 40 mph in second range of the automatic tranny. Otherwise it handles the load just fine on the level roads.