Its supposed to POUR rain in Chicago on Friday and turn to snow once we get up to Crivitz Friday night....that scared me thinking about ice/snow transition. True story --- about four years ago I was sleeping in the back of a Ford F150 Supercrew heading north. It had rained all day but was well below freezing at night and ice was about an inch thich on 90 outside of Madison (we only knew this after the fact). All of a sudden --- picture this---ford supercrew xlt with 3 guys and 3 sleds on a four place trailer loses traction on a gentle turn in the highway and started doing 360s (literally, the truck, trailer, the whole setup doing 360's down the middle of frickin I90 at 60mph) The whole setup was spinning so fast it whipped 2 of the sleds off the back of the trailer and flung 'em into the air. One cartwheeled into the ditch and the other (my brand new IQ) landed perfectly upright, cover still on, on the side of the road. After about 5 or 6 complete spins that absolutley scared the chit out of everyone, we ended up facing oncoming traffic nestled snugly against the highway divider which was covered in fluffy snow. Not a scratch on the truck, trailer, any of us, and just the damage to the sled that cartwheeled (broken trailing arm). Other than that, trooper helped us get out of there and we went straight back home white as ghosts. Not a moment anyone EVER wants to repeat.
That said, I bought the trailer brake hookup and it works like a charm with the trailer. Had 2 sleds on there today and everything seemed perfect. Trailer brakes work and Escape tows at 65 just fine.
Now, it may be a slightly different story with the 3rd sled, 2 more guys and gear. That right there will add 1100 lbs to the deal but we will take it easy and we should have smooth sailing.
