‘Thought I Was Doing Him a Favor:' Woman Tries to Tow a Payload in Husband's Dodge Ram Bighorn. Then She Makes a Common Mistake
Helping your spouse tow a trailer should earn you brownie points, not body shop bills. But when one woman forgot to lift the tailgate on her husband's Dodge Ram, she got a crash course in clearance, and a viral moment that's now a teachable one.
There's plenty of regret and empathy stoked by a recent TikTok clip from creator Meggles (@meggles2446) that shows the crumpled aftereffects of her attempt to run an errand and help out her husband using his truck.
'I was doing my husband a great favor by pulling this trailer around. Didn't realize his tailgate was down, and I done [expletive'd] it up,' she said in the clip that's been viewed more than 440,000 times. Whether the trailer jackknifed or just made a tight turn, the top of the tailgate is crumpled.
The problem comes down to clearance and geometry. When you're backing up or making a tight turn, the front corners of the trailer tend to swing inward toward the tow vehicle. A lowered tailgate sits exactly where the trailer's tongue jack or A-frame wants to go, and the result is often an expensive collision. It's a good idea to take a few minutes to refresh on the best tips for hauling with a pickup.
Always Tow With the Tailgate Up
Many trailers include a vertical tongue jack designed to lift the coupler. It's great for getting the trailer hitched, but terrible news for an open tailgate. Even a mild turn can cause the jack to punch directly into the gate, creasing it or worse. And unlike the heavy steel tailgates of older trucks, most modern models use lightweight aluminum construction that's engineered for vertical strength but not horizontal impact. Trucks like the Ram 1500, Ford F-150, and GMC Sierra are particularly vulnerable, and a trailer tongue can fold an open tailgate like a paper plate.
The issue becomes even more acute when trailers include large front-mounted accessories like toolboxes, propane tanks, or spare tires, which reduce the already tight clearance. These elements sit high enough and far enough forward to make early contact with a tailgate that's been left open, even if you're being careful. In trailer math, inches matter. And a lowered tailgate eats up a lot of them.
Thankfully, it's not hard to avoid this kind of damage with a few common-sense habits. It starts with a simple walkaround. Before towing anything—even across a driveway—it's smart to check that the tailgate is closed and latched, the hitch pin is inserted, safety chains are crossed and secured, and the trailer lights are working properly. Physically touching each component helps avoid the kind of memory lapse that leads to viral regret. U-Haul offers a basic towing checklist that's worth reviewing for new haulers or anyone stepping into a borrowed setup.
More Towing Action
The Lexus GX550 Tows Like a Dream: Review
Man Arrested After Trying to Tow a Car Backwards on a Highway
For those who don't tow often, a printed cheat sheet or a digital checklist app like Checklist Wrangler can be a lifesaver. Visual reminders also help. Some owners slap warning stickers inside the tailgate or use bright clothes or magnets to prompt a last-minute check before driving off. More DIY-savvy owners even wire in custom tailgate sensors that display a dashboard warning if the gate's still open when the vehicle moves.
And for people who tow regularly, there's a more permanent fix. Fifth-wheel-style or 'V-notch' tailgates—designed to allow clearance for gooseneck hitches—can also protect standard trailers from tailgate interference. These drop-in replacements often come with locking latches and powder-coated steel construction, and can be found from aftermarket suppliers like Buyers Products or etrailer.com.
Motor1
reached out to the creator via direct message and to Dodge/Stellantis via email. We'll update if either responds.
Now Trending
Mechanic Says These Redesigned Lugnuts Are the 'Worst Thing' Automakers Have Done. Then He Shows Why
'Watched Too Much Fast & Furious:' MK4 Toyota Supra Evades Police on Highway. Then a Trooper Conducts 'Insane' PIT Maneuver
Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily.
back
Sign up
For more information, read our
Privacy Policy
and
Terms of Use
.
Share this Story
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
Flipboard
Reddit
WhatsApp
E-Mail
Got a tip for us? Email:
tips@motor1.com
Join the conversation
(
)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
35 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Ford Escalates Battery Job Warnings as Congress Mulls EV Cuts
Ford Motor Co. intensified its campaign to preserve clean energy manufacturing subsidies Monday, warning jobs at its electric-vehicle battery plant in southwestern Michigan could be at risk if Republicans in Congress pare back tax credits in President Donald Trump's multi-trillion dollar economic package. The $3 billion plant in Marshall, about 100 miles west of Detroit, is slated to produce 20 gigawatt-hours of lithium iron phosphate, or LFP batteries, and employ 1,700 people after it starts production in 2026. The 2 million-square-foot site, which is still under construction, has drawn intense political scrutiny since it was announced in 2023 because Ford is licensing the technology to build the batteries from China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd, the world's largest battery manufacturer.
CBS News
43 minutes ago
- CBS News
Ford is recalling more than 197,000 Mustang Mach-E cars due to door latches that may trap passengers
Ford Motor is recalling more than 197,000 Mustang Mach-E vehicles over an issue with door latches that could trap passengers inside. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced last week that the automaker is recalling 197,432 of the all-electric vehicles, model years 2021-2025, due to an issue with door latches that puts children at risk. The Michigan-based company is also recalling 120,000 Mustang Mach-E vehicles in markets outside the U.S., according to a Ford spokesperson. If the car's battery level drops too low, the NHTSA explained, the door latches may remain locked once a passenger exits and shuts the door, potentially trapping children and others who are unable to unlock the doors using the inside door release. This could result in serious injury, the NHTSA said, particularly in the event of extreme heat. The Ford spokesperson told CBS News they are not aware of any injuries or accidents associated with the faulty door latches and said the company is issuing a software update to address the recall. Ford is expected to send letters notifying owners of the safety risk on June 23, the NHTSA said. Affected owners can contact: Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 (recall number 25S65) or The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 This action follows a recall from the automaker last month. On May 9, the NHTSA said Ford was recalling over 1 million Ford and Lincoln vehicles due to a software glitch with the rearview camera. contributed to this report.
Motor Trend
44 minutes ago
- Motor Trend
Does Our $80,000 Lincoln Nautilus Have a Better Interior Than a $120K Navigator?
The wow factor on our yearlong review 2025 Lincoln Nautilus SUV is its panoramic screen, a marvelous and slick 48 inches of pixels and information spread across the width of the vehicle but placed low enough to not be a distraction. It made its debut on the Nautilus, and the two-row SUV held court for a while. But Lincoln has a new flagship Navigator, and you just knew the Nautilus was about to lose its unique status. The 2025 Lincoln Nautilus arguably offers a superior interior, thanks to its 48-inch screen, better layout, and intuitive controls compared to the pricier Navigator. Despite its smaller size, the Nautilus provides a more tailored experience, appealing to tech-savvy buyers. This summary was generated by AI using content from this MotorTrend article Read Next As our long-term Nautilus' chaperone, I was keen to check the 2025 Lincoln Navigator out myself. Could the newer and more expensive vehicle do the big screen thing better? The answer is yes and no. Both SUVs have the 48-inch panoramic screen and a separate 11.1-inch infotainment screen to control the expansive display. Both feature the intuitive Lincoln Digital Experience user interface to run Google programs, as well as Apple CarPlay or Android Auto phone mirroring. Being newer, the Navigator launched with a few more apps and goodies than our Nautilus has, such as a light mode for daytime viewing, which will eventually also be deployed on the Nautilus. Some of the other additional apps have already been added via over-the-air updates, such as a Quick Tips app that can be downloaded from the Google Play Store to help owners better use the system. Also new: a Sirius XM sports widget to show the score during a live game. Size Matters Because the Navigator is a much larger—and more important, wider—vehicle, its screen doesn't extend fully from one side of the vehicle to the other. Lincoln's designers cleverly placed speakers on each end for aesthetics, but it means all the displays shift slightly versus where they are in our Nautilus. Instead of having the speedometer directly in front of the driver, it has moved a bit to the right. It is still easy to see in the Navigator, but the slight relocation bothered at least one editor. We recognize it would likely have been prohibitively expensive to develop a wider screen, and we are all for keeping costs down and vehicles more affordable, but at the same time Lincoln is asking $102,190 for a base Navigator. We get the rationale, but we award points to the smaller Nautilus for its more tailored look. Software Can Fix This, Right? Perhaps Lincoln can rearrange the Navigator's graphics on the programmable digital space on the screen to make the speedometer more front and center and move some less vital information closer to the left pillar. An over-the-air update should do the trick. This is how Lincoln will continue to add some of the features and apps now on the Navigator to the Nautilus, such as the Quick Tips app that has already made its way to the smaller SUV. Another offshoot of the Navigator's sheer size: The control screen might feel a bit too low and out of reach because the vehicle is so big and the screen is integrated into the dashboard. The Nautilus is smaller, and the screen is mounted higher on the dash, making it easier to access. What About the Lincoln Aviator? If you are wondering why we compared the Nautilus to the Navigator and skipped the middle man, the smaller three-row Aviator, that's because the 2025 Aviator did not get the splendid screen as part of its refresh. It has a 13.2-inch center touchscreen—an improvement over the outgoing model but a far cry from the 48-inch screen on the smaller and more affordable Nautilus, which struck us as odd. We were told the splashier screen went into the Nautilus because the two-row SUV attracts a younger, techier, more metropolitan buyers while the Aviator is more family-oriented. We still think families would have liked the bigger screen in their Aviator, but at least Lincoln recognized the flagship Navigator needed the wow factor of the panoramic screen. The piano key gearshift is nicer in our Nautilus Black Label, a sparkling silver and integrated into the dash. The Navigator Black Label we drove had glossy black buttons incorporated into the center console, to the right of the ignition button, a location that puts the gearshift farther from the driver's reach. The ignition button is on the dash in the Nautilus, another location we prefer to the larger Navigator. One placement improvement where the Navigator wins: The button to open the rear hatch is still left of the steering wheel, but it's higher up and easier to see and use. The Nautilus houses its button lower where it is harder to get at, alongside the button to release the fuel door—thankfully the Navigator does not require that. The Navigator also has an angled wireless phone charging, but instead of being up at the front and angled toward you, it's now side by side with the cupholders. We recognize the Nautilus and Navigator buyers are not the same and have different needs. But the fact that our Nautilus keeps up with and in some ways surpasses the flagship three-row is a testament to the high-end nature of our long-term vehicle. More on Our 2025 Lincoln Nautilus Long-Termer: 2025 Lincoln Nautilus Black Label Yearlong Arrival: A Worthy SUV of the Year? 2025 Lincoln Nautilus Interior Review: How Nice Is the Black Label Interior? Experiencing a Moment of Zen From Our 2025 Lincoln Nautilus Black Label Our 2025 Lincoln Nautilus Black Label Proved To Be a Winter Warrior
