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I just have bad luck...

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R

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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
Well, I just did a 3500 mile road trip with 4 small sailboats on the truck and a powerboat in tow.

Unfortunately, while in Clearwater Florida, I was pulling into a business and the lady behind me got impatient with me turning slowly and decided to pass me on the sidewalk while I was turning right, with my signal on. Here is the result:

Fortunately, nobody was hurt, the boats all stayed on the truck, and the truck was not mechanically hurt, so I was able to drive it home from Florida to Wisconsin via Mississippi. Unfortunately, the lady that hit me had neither a drivers license, nor did she have insurance.

I dropped it off at the body shop this morning and have to drive a ford focus while they fix it. It isn't quite the same as my Ram, but I will hopefully get the Ram back soon. This is the second trip to the body shop for this truck, not a good start when it is not even three months old. What a bummer!

On the plus side, the truck pulled like a champ! I got just under 10mpg for the trip which isn't bad considering the air brake up on top of the cab. I think I am going to put some airlift 1000 bags in the back to level things out a bit once I get the truck back from the body shop and probably add some tow mirrors to the truck so I can see a little better around my load. It is an awesome road trip truck and I am thrilled with the upgrade from my Ford Exploder.
 
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Colorado700R

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#2 ·
Ramsail said:
Well, I just did a 3500 mile road trip with 4 small sailboats on the truck and a powerboat in tow.

Unfortunately, while in Clearwater Florida, I was pulling into a business and the lady behind me got impatient with me turning slowly and decided to pass me on the sidewalk while I was turning right, with my signal on. Here is the result:

Fortunately, nobody was hurt, the boats all stayed on the truck, and the truck was not mechanically hurt, so I was able to drive it home from Florida to Wisconsin via Mississippi. Unfortunately, the lady that hit me had neither a drivers license, nor did she have insurance.

I dropped it off at the body shop this morning and have to drive a ford focus while they fix it. It isn't quite the same as my Ram, but I will hopefully get the Ram back soon. This is the second trip to the body shop for this truck, not a good start when it is not even three months old. What a bummer!

On the plus side, the truck pulled like a champ! I got just under 10mpg for the trip which isn't bad considering the air brake up on top of the cab. I think I am going to put some airlift 1000 bags in the back to level things out a bit once I get the truck back from the body shop and probably add some tow mirrors to the truck so I can see a little better around my load. It is an awesome road trip truck and I am thrilled with the upgrade from my Ford Exploder.
Click to expand...

Sucks about your luck, but glad everyone was ok
 
spuds

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#3 · (Edited)
^^^^^ No one got hurt. The ooooch will be removed from the Ram and life will go on.
However , it still sucks,your truck got the snot knocked out of it. You gotta drive a ford.
Fingers crossed this is the last encounter your Ram has with the repair/body shop.
 
R

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Discussion Starter · #5 ·
They are a load distributing hitch. I pull a ton of different trailers in my business so it isn't very practical to add the bars to every trailer and it is impossible on customers' trailers. If I pulled one trailer all the time, that would work well, but I probably hook up to 50 different trailers in a year, each with different tongue weight and different loads in the bed. None are terribly huge, but a little help for the coils would be good.
 
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2

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#8 · (Edited)
Ramsail said:
Well, I just did a 3500 mile road trip with 4 small sailboats on the truck and a powerboat in tow.

Unfortunately, while in Clearwater Florida, I was pulling into a business and the lady behind me got impatient with me turning slowly and decided to pass me on the sidewalk while I was turning right, with my signal on. Here is the result:

Fortunately, nobody was hurt, the boats all stayed on the truck, and the truck was not mechanically hurt, so I was able to drive it home from Florida to Wisconsin via Mississippi. Unfortunately, the lady that hit me had neither a drivers license, nor did she have insurance.

I dropped it off at the body shop this morning and have to drive a ford focus while they fix it. It isn't quite the same as my Ram, but I will hopefully get the Ram back soon. This is the second trip to the body shop for this truck, not a good start when it is not even three months old. What a bummer!

On the plus side, the truck pulled like a champ! I got just under 10mpg for the trip which isn't bad considering the air brake up on top of the cab. I think I am going to put some airlift 1000 bags in the back to level things out a bit once I get the truck back from the body shop and probably add some tow mirrors to the truck so I can see a little better around my load. It is an awesome road trip truck and I am thrilled with the upgrade from my Ford Exploder.
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear that brother! That's Florida drivers for you. I used to live there and about the only thing I miss is the fishing. You shouldn't need the bags or a stabilizer if you are just pulling that boat. I used to pull a 20 footer Chaparral with my '06 1500 and it barely sagged the rear end, which actually made it level with the front end. I brought the boat with me from FL to OH and had no problems.

Now, when I got my 25 footer travel trailer I installed a 4-point sway control (equalizer) and it's easy to forget you are towing something heavy. That was with my '06 1500 and the 4.7 engine. I can't wait until the weather gets better to pull the trailer with my new Hemi.
 
Cobrajr

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#9 ·
If she did not have a license or insurance, AND pulled off a very illegal maneuver to do that damage to you, are there not massive legal reparations in your favor here? I at least hope that the bodywork is not coming out of your pocket....

Good luck in the future.
 
GTyankee

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#10 ·
Sorry about the damage

It sounds like you also use your Ram as Marine transport vehicle & being without it cuts down on income.
You likely can't wait on the court system to go through the process of awarding you damages, you need a work vehicle now!!

I use my Ram to escort the larger 12' plus wide boats that are coming in from Clearwater, Fla.
I have to carry Commercial Insurance full coverage, with uninsured motorist, to be in the business. Up to a million dollar policy in several states that i operate in.

I think that i would harm someone that ran into me, even if they had insurance
 
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R

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Discussion Starter · #11 ·
Yes, it is all properly insured. I sell small sailboats and coach the kids who race them. Fortunately, I don't have another trip until the end of April, so there is plenty of time to get it fixed without totally killing my business. It will be a bit of a hassle, but nothing too terrible.
 
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R

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Discussion Starter · #12 ·
And yes, I certainly am having my insurance fix it now! They will go after her in civil court and if they recover anything, I'll see my deductible back. In the end, a working vehicle is worth a lot more than that award.
 
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AlbertaRam

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#13 · (Edited)
2012Longhorn said:
Sorry to hear that brother! That's Florida drivers for you. I used to live there and about the only thing I miss is the fishing. You shouldn't need the bags or a stabilizer if you are just pulling that boat. I used to pull a 20 footer Chaparral with my '06 1500 and it barely sagged the rear end, which actually made it level with the front end. I brought the boat with me from FL to OH and had no problems.

Now, when I got my 25 footer travel trailer I installed a 4-point sway control (equalizer) and it's easy to forget you are towing something heavy. That was with my '06 1500 and the 4.7 engine. I can't wait until the weather gets better to pull the trailer with my new Hemi.
Click to expand...
Just my $0.02 but you have to keep in mind that you're 2012 is coil and not spring suspension on the rear. Lots of talk of rear end sag when towing on this forum on '09 models and up. Also, the "level with front end" that you like actually represents less weight on front end which can compromise steering, especially in an emergency situation.

Weight distribution hitch is always a good idea but the use airbags cannot be discounted at all when towing with these coil spring.
 
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