Do Ya Buckle Up That Pickup Truck?

For fifth-wheeling RVers, a pickup truck is the essential vehicle for RV travel. Most of us fiver-owners pride ourselves on driving safety--but how about personal safety in the truck? Most folks agree that wearing seat belts can reduce injury and death in vehicle crashes, but what do their actions say?

It seems like pickup drivers and riders have a little bit looser attitude about belting up--at least in Ohio. Researchers from the Miami University Applied Research Center say that while they found roughly 84% of folks in the front seats of cars, minivans, and SUVs used seat belts, at the same time only 71% of front seat occupants in pickups used theirs. While the reasons for the disparity weren't commented on, it is interesting to note that Ohio doesn't have a "primary" seat belt law--meaning law enforcement can't stop drivers and cite them simply because they see seat belts aren't in use.

Sadly, those same sort of statistics seem to work out on a national level. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says 70 percent of those killed in pickup truck crashes in 2003 did not wear safety belts, compared to 50 percent of the fatalities in cars. At the same time, statistics show seat belts reduce the risk of death by 45 percent in passenger cars and up to 60 percent in pickup trucks, SUVs and minivans.

Yes, we've heard the 'campfire argument' that, "A seatbelt can jam and trap you in a burning car, or drowning when you go off the road into water!" The NTSB looked into that, too. Only one-half of one percent of all crashes ends in fire or submersion. Most crash fatalities result from the force of impact or from being thrown from the vehicle, not from being trapped. Ejected occupants are four times as likely to be killed as those who remain inside the vehicle. Notwithstanding, if you're not wearing a seat belt and your rig tumbles off the road, or gets into a hairy crash, you're head is likely to hit something, knocking you out. Try and get out of a burning or flooded vehicle when you're "out cold." You don't stand a chance.

Yeah, we'll probably get a lot of reaction from this posting--and it won't all be pretty. But if just one more RVer buckles up after reading this, it's worth a lot of static.

Be Kind To Your RV Tires and Axles

If you haven’t crawled under your 5th wheel to examine your axles, leaf springs and leaf spring equalizers you should. As a safety precaution, be sure your RV is adequately supported with appropriately rated jacks before you crawl under it. Most axles will have a tag on them (usually centered in the middle of the axle) that will tell you the weight rating. Axles are made from steel and therefore are flexible. If you overload your 5th wheel it will bend the axle, stress the equalizers and tires (not to mention the brakes, bolts and frame welds). This 5er is overloaded because the axles are bowed making the tires meet the pavement at an angle instead of being perpendicular. This will eventually wear out the tires and can cause severe damage to other components. To be safe, you should put each tire on a scale by itself and make weight shifts accordingly. You should also weigh each axle to ensure you are not exceeding the rating. Some axles have zerk fittings as well as the leaf spring equalizers and bolts holding them (called wet bolts). These components require greasing at manufacturer recommended intervals. The 5er below is being towed so the passenger side tires frequently cross over the fog line and ride on the “wake-up” bumps as I like to call them. Most RVers will not wear out a set of tires on a travel trailer or 5th wheel from mileage, but will replace them due to expiration of time, tire failure or road hazard. When you pull your rig over the fog line you are exposing your tires to road debris such as screws, nails and shrapnel of all varieties. The “wake-up” bumps will also ruthlessly vibrate your leaf springs causing fatigue in your axle system. This vibration will also work it’s way throughout your 5th wheel simulating an earthquake inside while you continue driving oblivious to to what is happening to your tow. If you are not completely confident where your rig is when you're driving, I suggest you stop on a lonely road where there is no traffic and it's safe to stop, get out and go back and look at where you typically drive in the lane. If you are not centered get back in, drive another 30 yards or so until you think it should be centered then go back and check again. Once you’ve established your visual reference points inside your truck that will keep you centered as you drive, look at your mirrors and note where you are in the road in relation to your mirrors. That is what you should see when you’re driving to stay in the center of the lane and avoid damage to your tires and suspension. Giving it to you straight - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing

It's a Fifth Wheel! It's a Yacht! It's Domani!

With all the noise about declines in sales and layoffs in the RV manufacturing industry, one player says they're bucking the trend and increasing staff for the spring production of its high-roller fifth wheel.

Carriage Inc., says they'll be putting more folks to work as they bring their high-end "Domani" line into higher production. With prices starting in the 70,000s, and factoring in the current state of the fuel market, it'll be interesting to see how many "Regular Joe RVers" will be towing these cappuccino-sounding rigs down the road.

Described as, "an innovative towable with yacht-like interiors and modernistic exteriors," the Domani line is relatively lightweight, the smaller 29' model scaling in at an unloaded weight of 9,000 pounds. Company puff says, "There isn't a straight corner on it. It's all curves, radiuses and angles. There is a feeling or more space in the 30-footer than any other 30-footer on the market.” Check out the company promo here.