Rocket Science

Episode 8: Runaway Trailer
The Challenge: Unlike a semi-truck, there is no way to stop runaway boats and motor homes attached to trucks in an emergency. The Smash Lab team has an idea.

The Material: Retro-firing rockets; enough said.

What to Watch For: Retro-firing rockets attached to a runaway trailer and, hopefully, bringing it to a stop.

When to Watch: Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 10 p.m. ET/PT

Comments

[matt]

stopping a runaway trailer? hum. well... people are allowed to use runaway truck ramps and i don't think i want any "retro firing rockets" on my already out of control vehicle. just putting that out there.

[charles]

I think the girl "scientist" needs a serious neck brace the way her head keeps wobbling back and forth every time she talks. She looks like a living bobble-head!!!

[Ben]

The crushable concrete is the obvious choice for this.

[Rob]

Yes that is a great idea. I want to put Solid fuel rockets on my trailer. Not like it wouldn't blow up in an accident... What if you aren't a runaway and some one t-bones you.... These guys haven't had a reasonable solution for any problem yet on the show.

[Marc]

So, far I haven't seen many good ideas on this show. And to top it off there are plenty of safety features on trailers for this particular situation. A situation where all of those fail. Not too likely.

[matt]

you know.. when i saw the high-rise escape system... i thought, "you know what. this show just might be turning around." then i watched last weeks episode and now this one. it's so ridiculous that i can't even believe it's on tv. but as bad as i want to say, "PLEASE! TAKE THIS SHOW OFF THE AIR!" i'm really thinking "PLEASE! KEEP THIS SHOW ON THE AIR! I LOVE COMEDY!"

[Debbie]

Smash Lab needs to be more realistic. Runaway ramps are designed to stop semi-truck and trailer, something that is much heavier than suburban and camp trailer. This is a common problem with this program. The least they could do is to say they're not being accurate with their tests.

[Mike]

This show is garbage. I've been a huge fan of Mythbusters for a long time. This show is a knock-off of something really informative and entertaining. It's not just the production, but the ideas they try to make "scientific". I've read the other comments, and it seems that other's agree with me. The things depicted in this show are useless facts about ideas that don't really interest me. Don't get me wrong, I love explosions, fire, destruction... SMASH!!! I gave this show a chance, perhaps more of a chance than it deserved. I was thuroughly disappointed.

[Danny]

Lame, oh so lame. This show is a poor attempt to duplicate Mythbusters. They should try to come up with a way to make my remote change channels automatically when they come on so I don't have to waste the energy.

[ZZZZZ]

In your best Scottish accent:

"It's crrap, crrap I tell ya!"

[hotrod]

I don't understand how this show has made it past the producers/directors of scheduling. The whole purpose of this show it yet to be known. they haven't produced a single real-world solution to any real-word problems that I've seen. when i origanlly seen previews for this show i thought 'cool, mythbusters with a twist' but it's definitely failed to produce anything close. i love DSC and the content they bring to us cable subcribers but maybe they'll take a closer look ot Smashlab and the 'far out wicked unrealistic' approach they've shooting after.

[Aaron T.]

This show is unintentionally hilarious. It's a perfect example of their backwards approach to problem solving, where they choose the technology first and then try to make it fit a problem that already has better solutions, and where they perform poorly-planned experiments without making any predictions first, then ignore the results. Did they do even a tiny bit of calculation before testing their crazy rocket pinwheel or braking mat ideas? It should have been trivial to predict whether the retrorockets would be able to stop the trike or not. Except, didn't they use far fewer rocket motors for the retrorocket test than they did for the pinwheels? Did I miss why they're not just putting more powerful anti-lock brakes on the trailer's wheels?

[John]

This show has me yelling at the friggin tv! I am not a scientist but am amazed how many times I have been right and the cast has been wrong. You guys set the bar high with mythbusters which is a great show. Smash lab, is BAD!

Where did you guys get these people for the show? Wow they are stupid. I'm guessing this will be the only season. Try a new cast with some brains.

[brent hampton]

man I was not impressed with your approaches to using rockes to stop a runaway.
should be called people doing qrazy stupid stuff.

first there is the inherant danger of the fire to things nearby like grass and brush and bystanders.

second it isnt an enduring stop, what keeps a truck on a hill from just rolling foward again

if you must use a rocket engine for a brake system use it to apply a mechanical brake system an a presurizing charge also include a relief valve for overpresure either a cylinder with a braking shue or an air bag with a scuff plate.

[Ron Hickey]

Very good TV-verrry dramatic! But...no connection with the real world.
I'm an RVer. You should have consulted with one of us.
A trailer has a COMPLETELY separate braking system. If the truck system fails, the "suicide"...sorry "magnetic" brakes
will certainly be worthless in stopping in any reasonable distance. The trailer brakes WILL however keep the rig straight.
For about $3000 you can get the "suicide" brakes replaced with a hydraulic/disc brake system capable of stopping the entire rig in an emergency. I feel my life is worth more than the $3000 cost to upgrade.
Rockets, however, are sexier.

[Brad]

ya know, whenever the wiring connecting the lights on the back of the trailer gets disconnect, some brakes could be automatically applied. Quite a bit safer than attaching rockets to it LOL.

[Spencer Rockwell]

This show has really lowered the maturity level of the discovery channel dramatically. I understand that the average viewer only wants to see destruction and such, but honestly this is the episode that crossed the line. The goal is to find the best way to slow down a moving vehicle and trailer using rockets. They act like they are experimenting to find reasonable solutions for everyday problems. Yet, there is nothing reasonable about using rockets whatsoever. I'm going to set aside the fact that attaching rockets as a back up "safety" feature is completely ridiculous in itself. I'll even let go of the fact that their experiments were inaccurate due to the fact that they changed the weight of the three wheel cart on every test. And even the fact that they didn't measure the stopping distance without rocket brakes at all. No one needs this evidence to clearly see that this show is nonsense. I'm extremely upset that the characters on this show are obviously being deliberately misconstrued as scientists.

Please report back, I would love to hear your thoughts.

SpencerRockwell@wctablue.net

[John]

PS- Other then this really bad show, I love the discovery channel. My son learns more watching it then he learns in school. Thanks.

[Steve]

Hey, now theres an idea. Lets put rockets on a trailer so that when I'm asleep in a campground, the rockets can go off or explode killing everyone. STUPID. Didn't you guys ever play with Estes Rockets when you where young. Oh wait, they are young. And STUPID

[A Gomez]

Make this show go away, please. The guys on Mythbusters could do a better show sound asleep. B O R I N G and silly. A great combination Discovery.

P.S. The phony-baloney scientist, inventor, engineer, etc., are not believable at all. B O R I N G!

[Chris Colflesh]

ok these ideas were all good but most trailer have their own braking system over a certain gross vehicle wieght and with a camper that you tested with it should have had them on it

[jake]

So...this episode is a joke right? Can you see the logic of constantly talking about how dangerous it is to be fooling around with rockets, especially rockets big enough to stop a truck, and then claiming you're making the world a safer place? Do you seriously think it might ever be even slightly a good idea to strap *bombs* to the outside of my car?

Also, are runaway truck ramps generally really THAT short? Do they generally end with an unimpeded drop off of a cliff? Oh yeah...no!

[Marc]

heres another thought. if you lose all brakeson truck and trailer, and theres no run away ramp. TUCK & ROLL!!!! Thats about the only way to come out alive.

[Aaron]

Rockets!!!! What the in the world? That is one of the, the worst ideas ever! Anyone with some iota of forethought and idea of practicality and wait for it, safety, would know that is a bad idea.

"Hey lets attach rockets onto a trailer to make it stop."
"Doesn't that have the potential to start a fire and then have a speeding ball of flame on the road?"
"Psh, its not like rockets have ever caused a safety problem. I mean, NASA uses them and they've never had problems with them. Besides, rockets are the most obvious idea to make a trailer stop. Not some sort of air break or runaway ramp."

God this show has reached a new low of pointless flash that no one would ever use.

Another note:

At the beginning the narrator is saying how the "crew" looks at the accident with the slow motion camera. The camera that they are looking at is not a high speed camera! It is a Sony Professional HVR-Z1U 3CCD. That is not a high speed camera. I should know since I own one.

Please cancel this show to prevent Discovery Channel and quality programing becoming an oxymoron.

[Jonathan]

If the rockets aren't secured properly, and get loose from the frame, "[it] could be deadly for anyone within a seven mile range."

And you want to put that on a car... Seriously?