escaped a major mess from stupid mistake

eodguy2

Cadet
Joined
Sep 23, 2013
Messages
22
Talk about a bine head move. was running behind for winterization apt for boat. got all hooked up, made apt. got it all done and went to where store for winter. well apparently I didn't check to make sure ball was all the way in, because when i went over a ruse in road, yep.. you guessed it trailer lifted off of ball, slammed into bumper of truck, tongue of trailer rode on road for a bit which pretty much destroyed wiring, and pulled out the emergency brake cable which did activate at least. im pissed since its all on me, but also counting blessing as could have been worse. any ideas on how to fix the emergency brake cable??
 

GA_Boater

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
May 24, 2011
Messages
49,038
Sounds like the breakaway cable worked as designed, thank goodness. Do you know what brand of coupler is on the trailer?
 

GA_Boater

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
May 24, 2011
Messages
49,038
You can get a new breakaway cable for most brands of couplers after you figure out what's on the trailer.
 

jayhanig

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 27, 2010
Messages
836
If it makes you feel any better I've done the same thing... just didn't have any damage. But you're not the first nor will you be the last to do this. Look at the bright side: nobody got hurt and your boat is intact. I doubt you'll make this mistake again.
 

smokeonthewater

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
9,838
most have a catch that needs unbolted to reset... On my EZ Loader there were 4 bolts on top .... remove them so catch can move and then the actuator can reset.
 

mercurymang

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 14, 2012
Messages
850
Ouch. I did that once except instead of riding on the pavement it lifted up and slammed into the back of my suburban. :facepalm:
 

eodguy2

Cadet
Joined
Sep 23, 2013
Messages
22
yeah. it could have ended soooo much worse. figure the 2 dents i now have in my truck bumper is a heck of a lot better that a hole punched through tailgate, and boat ending up with major damage.
 

Volphin

Lieutenant
Joined
Jun 5, 2011
Messages
1,405
You got lucky this time! :) Last season I saw a pontoon come loose and land on her toons right in the middle of the road. Not good!
 

WrenchHead

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Feb 15, 2009
Messages
120
After connecting my trailer for a fishing trip I then use a laminated check-off list to make sure I am properly connected. The list has about 10 steps to check. Once it saved me when I also forgot to latch down and insert the pin in the ball latch. It also saved my tongue jack once when I forgot to pivot it up. Before launching my boat I always do a second walk-around the trailer to be sure everything is disconnected. Once a fishing buddy got the stern ready while I got the bow ready. When I walked around the trailer for the final check I saw the transom saver was still attached. I also do a last minute walk-around when I load my boat on the trailer for the trip home. On the subject of making sure the ball latch is properly seated -- I line up the trailer ball and tongue with my back-up camera. Then I lower the tongue jack until I see a small degree of weight is being placed on the ball. I then latch and insert the safety pin. Then I visually check the ball is latched and continue lowering the trailer tongue down onto the ball. If you lower the tongue all the way down sometimes it makes it hard to close the latch.
 

drrpm

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 24, 2008
Messages
707
Have the shop fix the cable when they winterize the boat.
 

Twidget

Commander
Joined
Jun 16, 2004
Messages
2,192
I did something similar once. I put the hitch on the ball completely, got distracted by the salesman and drove home...25 miles. When I got home, I went back to disconnect everything and I had forgotten to put the latch down. It was sticking straight up with my unlocked padlock hanging on it. :facepalm:
 

Twidget

Commander
Joined
Jun 16, 2004
Messages
2,192
Lucky is probably an understatement. That 25 miles was all highway, in city traffic.
 
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