Man is that slick?

[gpfishingdude]

The first time out with the pontoon boat and the trailer just wasn't set up for loading up easily. I had the wife back in far enough to hit the bunks. The ramp was slick with slime and algae at the power plant lake and the tires would just spin as the truck eased its way deeper down the ramp. So I told her to take the back seat floor mats and stick them in front of the back tires. They shot out into the lake like frisbees when she tried hitting the gas. I finally had to crawl down from the boat into the back of the truck and work my way up to the drivers seat where I managed to burn the slick off of the ramp by a careful combination of accelerating with one foot and holding the truck from sliding back with the other foot on the brake. Now- I don't even need the four wheel drive even on the slick ramps but I know how to engage it if I do. The boat loads a lot easier now and the new wider tires we have get a LOT more traction. This scared the wife so much that she wanted to get a power winch and load the boat from way up on the ramp but I finally convinced her that the trailer has to be in the water to load the boat on to it.

 

[Grub54891]

Re: Man is that slick?

I would kick in the 4wd, why suffer without it??:happy:

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Man is that slick?

Yea after all that's what its for.

 

[gm280]

Re: Man is that slick?

I have seen and experienced slick ramps myself. And I don't have four wheel drive or even one wheel drive depending on the differential. I wish boat ramps were forced to have a washboard pattern in them when built/poured initially. That would give the most grip possible and eliminate all that wheel spinning, or at least some of it.

 

[MikDee]

Re: Man is that slick?

Yea after all that's what its for.

My thought's exactly? My vehicle kicks into AWD if the tires start to slip, no thinking needed. Did you recover your "frisbee mats"?

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Man is that slick?

Many years ago I once asked my wife to pull me and the boat out with my new 2 wh drive S 10. The NRHA would of been proud of the burn out she did. :laugh: I think the tires were still smoking 5 minutes after she parked.

 

[coresuper]

Re: Man is that slick?

The ramp at our local lake is very steep, but does have the washboard concrete. Pull my 24' toon up and out with 2wd f150 with no problem even when wet.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Man is that slick?

I have a buddy who swore by his two wheel drive pickup, said it could do anything my truck could as far as towing and ramps etc etc...


Anyway, we went to a irrigation reservoir in northern Colorado, the reason why this is important is that these types of lakes develop algae like no other.

Neither of us have any issues dropping the boats in the water, but at the end of the day it was another story, I get mine loaded and I needed 4 wheel drive to pull up the ramp a bit and then back in to two wheel drive and I wait for my buddy.

So my buddy gets his boat loaded and here we go, when I think of this I tend to think of that benny hill song going on in the back ground, he is sitting at the bottom of the ramp with the wheels spinning, he needs like two feet before the wheels get onto decent traction, he sees me waiting and flips me the bird(our way of saying love you Brother) so just to show my how bad his truck is he leaves it in drive with the wheels spinning and gets out to check the situation, jumps into the back of the truck to adjust weight then jumps out of the bed of the truck and forgets the ramp is slick and his feet fly out from under him..


At the hospital a couple days later.....

My point is why tempt fate? Is having a 4x4 so bad? I think its just cheap insurance. My buddy now has one.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Man is that slick?

I've never gotten stuck on that stuff ... spun the wheels once or twice. I may have fallen in a couple of times walking back toward the trailer ... maybe

 

[blackhawk180]

Re: Man is that slick?

Not that long ago, I decided on a winter fishing trip to my favorite lake. Air temp was about mid 20's when we arrived but it had been much colder the previous few days. Well, I was #2 to launch so prepped the boat as usual and when #1 trailer cleared the ramp, I started back down. Again, nothing unusual. What changed things from usual was #1 trailer box frame filled with water as he pulled it out, it spread water all over the ice cold concrete ramp and promptly turned from liquid to solid in the few minutes it took me to back down.
Needles to say, it was a sporty launch but I was able to finally stop when my truck tires reached the lake. My buddy, who was in the boat waiting to drive it off the trailer calmly asked why I had backed down so far. After my rather colorful explanation, he laughed and wished my good luck getting the truck back up!
Being it was winter, I had a couple sand bags in the back plus some deicer so it did end well but made note to self: water on ramp may be slicker than you think.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Man is that slick?

I buried my 68 Chevelle at the ramp, we would use it to haul our sears "speed boat" to and from the lake in Austin Tx. Being a stick shift did not help matters when the slime covered ramp only caused the boat and car to slide further and further into the water. We did the floor mats Frisbee toss too, bed sheets and any other item I could find in the car, as the water now was entering the inside of the car.
About that time a Dodge Duster pulls up and says you want some help? It was quite embarrassing to be towed up the ramp by a 6 cylinder "Duster" in my 327 Chevy Chevelle with my crappy boat hooked to the back. That was over 20 years ago and about 10 boats too, but the memories are good. I now drive a 4 x 4 and have no issues.

 

[CharlieB]

Re: Man is that slick?

Force of habit, even with a posi rear I ALWAYS shift into 4X at every ramp. Just to be sure.

One never knows when slickness happens, and when it does it is often butt-pucker time for a few seconds.

Don't need that, I get enough of that elsewhere in my life.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Man is that slick?

I still remember driving down a ramp to hook onto a F350 dually diesel 2WD with a grady white on the hitch. he was spinning his tires and had talked 4 people into standing in the bed attempting to get traction. After watching for a few minutes. I told him I could get him out. He said there was no way my durango would pull him out. I said never under estimate the guy with the right tools. So I put my lowly durango in 4WD low, drove down the ramp forward with my boat still on the hitch, hooked to his bumper and proceeded in pulling his 2WD truck and grady white out of the water and slime covered ramp without even breaking 1200 RPM while backing up the ramp.

he and his friends never said a word.

I own a 4x4 tow vehicle because I have enough drama in my life with kids and a wife.

 

[Captain Ollie West]

We regularly fish in the winter, sometimes in extreme cold wheather. After a few boats have been launched, the ramp is covered with a nice sheet of ice. The first time I slide backwards down the ice covered ramp with a 21 foot Northwest Jetboat attached was a little strange. My dad was in the passenger seat and calmly said you will stop when the boat hits the water. he was right. I have always used 4 wheel drive for tow vehicles.