2019 ford ranger burned to the groud during flat towing

[Elkhunter1959]

Questions for Elkhuner, from OK to near Gainesville, FL, how many stops along the way did you make & did you disconnect & drive tow vehicle at any of them?

Just curious.

From oklahoma 2 seperate stops and disconnected both times drove fine then day of fire drove for approximately 5 hours before the fire...in answer to others no dual cam dash cam that records but I always have a live feed to view my tow never noticed anything till fire started

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[RoadtripsOfUnusualSize]

Sure seems fuel or incendiary related to me. I'd expect issues with the transfer case or a failed tow mode would result in a bang and scattering of expensive gear teeth. This was a heck of a fire. If this happened soon after a fuel or rest stop, I'd suspect mischief from a bystander at the stop location.

 

[Motorpsychology]

Hmmm...respectfully , I disagree.
It can be very hard to feel added friction, eg brakes binding. Funny story: I once drove behind a truck pulling a jeep, with the jeep's entire rear AXLE (and wheels) was missing. The axle + wheels narrowly missed hitting my vehicle as it fell off. The truck didn't even slow down to the point that the jeep's rear was glowing red hot from heat, and the asphalt was melting and on fire wherever it contacted the jeep. The searing left miles of deep grooves on the highway.

We tried for minutes, but were never able to communicate with the driver to stop, despite honks, pulling alongside and waving / pointing, etc. There was too much power in their truck for them to notice anything was off...

Also, brake smell might not be smelled if driving fast.

OP stated It was confirmed that the fire started in the engine compartment. Also a hot brake would be hard to smell on a vehicle towed behind a motor home.

 

[Motorpsychology]

From oklahoma 2 seperate stops and disconnected both times drove fine then day of fire drove for approximately 5 hours before the fire...in answer to others no dual cam dash cam that records but I always have a live feed to view my tow never noticed anything till fire started

I am not familiar with towed vehicles; Was your Ranger equipped to provide braking via a signal from the motorhome when those brakes applied, like electric trailer brakes?

 

[dtech]

Realizing some are anti agency on here but wondering if this gets reported to the NHTSA by the responders - police/fire or if it's up the the owner to decide . Vehicle fires get the attention of the NHTSA - and for good reason .

 

[jsphlynch]

That's awful! Glad you are ok, and were even able to save the RV.

Doubt this is what happened here, but this tragedy made me think of this: Not long after I bought my '03 Ranger, my sister's in-laws were on a trip with their RV towing their Ranger, and someone pulled up beside them and frantically waved them down. Turns out their Ranger was on fire! As I recall, that was some random issue with a cruise control switch that created a short. It was extra problematic because the switch continued getting power even when the vehicle was off, so vehicles would catch fires while in people's garages, or (apparently) when being towed behind RVs. Might be misremembering some of the details, but perhaps it's something Phil would know about.

 

[VAMike]

Realizing some are anti agency on here but wondering if this gets reported to the NHTSA by the responders - police/fire or if it's up the the owner to decide . Vehicle fires get the attention of the NHTSA - and for good reason .

yeah, vehicle fires with people in them suck

 

[VAMike]

Amazing how much is gone with plastic & aluminum removed.

How did this survive ???

heat rises, passenger compartment is fairly intact. (seat is also not completely burnt away.) IMO that supports that the fire was mostly in the engine compartment. bed cover seems completely untouched. either the gas tank managed to not light off, or FD arrived in time to keep it from doing so? would be interesting to see investigation report from someone who knows what they're talking about.

 

[Motorpsychology]

Realizing some are anti agency on here but wondering if this gets reported to the NHTSA by the responders - police/fire or if it's up the the owner to decide . Vehicle fires get the attention of the NHTSA - and for good reason .

Pretty sure responders forward the report to NHTSA, but they certainly would welcome, maybe request, the victim's account.

 

[Motorpsychology]

i think its up to the consumer to file a report, then the NHTSA reviews it, and determines if there is a wide spread problem, or trouble brewing, then they act on it. I dont think first responders have that task placed on them as part of their jobs.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem#index

Just shooting in the dark, but the on scene responder(s)/accident investigator file a report on the event they responded to, to the agency that sent them; village, city, county etc. I imagine someone in that chain of command forwards a report or summation to NHTSA. Perhaps there is a threshold for what gets forwarded.

 

[CHS]

Some mention the brakes being a possible suspect. I personally have no opinion on the topic. But it does bring up the need for a TPMS installed on all flat towed vehicles (not the OEM one from factory) That is the only way you will know if you are having brake temperature or pressure issues before it becomes a disaster.

 

[Deleted member 1486]

Tell me this is an early April fools joke

Just my 2 cents flat towing anything is not good. uhaul trailer or any trailer is the best option

 

[RoadtripsOfUnusualSize]

does bring up the need for a TPMS

Yes, great point. A $500 TPMS system is not cheap, but it's pretty inexpensive insurance. My 10-wheel TPMS monitors all my tires on one screen. Sure, it's yet another thing to scan when driving, but it's good info to have.

 

[kieefer]

From oklahoma 2 seperate stops and disconnected both times drove fine then day of fire drove for approximately 5 hours before the fire...in answer to others no dual cam dash cam that records but I always have a live feed to view my tow never noticed anything till fire started

How many times have you towed this truck and disconnected it for use?
Was all wiring connections from the RV to the truck intact?

 

[Elkhunter1959]

How many times have you towed this truck and disconnected it for use?
Was all wiring connections from the RV to the truck intact?

I had towed this truck 50 to 100 times over a lot of miles. All connections were intact when I had to disconect while it was burning

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