2 close calls with trailering. Very much SHT worthy

First of all, these happened last July. I am much more educated on boating and especially trailering now. Last July I bought my first boat that needed to be trailered, a $300 1963 Starcraft on a '63 Aero trailer. My father and I rebuilt the hubs, bought new tires, checked the lights, etc. We took it out to a small lake close to our cabin and launched it. After 30 tense minutes of floating we assured ourselves that not only did it float, but it also did not take on any water. All is going very well in my opinion. All I needed to do was haul it back to my house, 3 hours away.

After 15 miles I stop and get out to check the trailer. Hubs are cool, lights work, but the latch is up and not latched. I put it back down and away I go.

About 45 mins later I stop and do the same check. Hubs cool, lights work, and latch is back up. Being totally neive to how a trailer works... I just put the latch back down again and figure I will learn how to fix that once I get home. It did not occur to me that there is a hole to put a pin or lock to keep that latch down.

Halfway thru the trip, same thing. Latch is up again. !$#& trailer, I am going to figure out how to fix this when I get home.

On the last stop before home everything is fine. Hubs, lights, and latch are all working properly. But once I get off the highway on my exit I notice a weird clunk whenever I slow down or speed up. Its as if the trailer is still moving after I stop. And when I take off, the trailer hesitates for a second then moves...

Luckily I got it home safe with no accident. The latch was up again, surprise. And when I went to unhook the trailer, the ball was only held on by a few threads. It was just wobbling loose on my receiver. That caused a big "Oh CRAP!" moment, then I figured out the mechanics of the little latch that kept coming undone... bigger "OH CRAP!" moment.

Anyone else tow a trailer unlatched for a longer distance?

Re: 2 close calls with trailering. Very much SHT worthy

I've never had a latch come undone, but usually have a pin in it. I did have a ball lossen up one time on me. The last couple of threads were screwed up from backing it into something at some point, and was the only thing preventing the nut from backing completely off. I replaced the ball, nut, and lock washer, then thought about it - that would be pretty easy to recreate. I now put a quick tack weld on the bottom thread of the ball. I don't change the ball but when it's too rusted, so it's easy to grind off the tack weld if need be. Figure it's a good last measure for safety.

Re: 2 close calls with trailering. Very much SHT worthy

Well, it wasn't on the road, but I had an expensive event with an unlatched hitch.

Had some laborers helping me with a project that required moving the boat. Sent "Bob" back to guide the ball under the tongue and hook it up. Clunk, clunk. "Okay now, Bob, hook up the safety chains." "All hooked up, Dr. JB.". Bob climbed into the boat and sat near the stern.

I started to pull her away. . .Clunk, prannnnnnng, BANG!!

The tongue popped off the (not latched) ball. (Clunk) Bob's weight astern raised the tongue about a foot. The safety chains grabbed the tongue and snatched it for'd. (prannnnnng!) The tongue punched a $1,000 hole in the hatch on my almost new Mercedes Benz ML 320.(BANG) .

I suppose my error is obvious.:redface:

Re: 2 close calls with trailering. Very much SHT worthy

Friend of mine borrowed my car trailer once and I assumed that he knew car trailers usually have a 2 5/16 ball. He hitched up and left, but when he loaded his jeep on the trailer the tounge came up, trailer rolled forward and stopped when the tounge mashed the tailgate.

Turned out that a 2" ball didn't work very well

Re: 2 close calls with trailering. Very much SHT worthy

I depended on someone else to put the latch down and towed my boat fifty miles over partly interstate and partly bumpy, two lane, secondary roads at speeds of up to 75mph.

Only after the boat was launched and I parked the truck did I discover that it had never been latched. The pin was still in the latch with the lever up. Now I check the latch myself regardless of who actually sets the socket down on the hitch ball.

I had a 2 inch bumper mounted hitch ball that had been on my truck for at least ten years. Maybe half again that long. Never felt any clunk or movement when pulling my boat, a relatively light 14' aluminum V hull with a 35 horse outboard. Eventually needed to change it for a smaller ball to pull a different trailer. Nut had been on so long that I ended up having to cut it off. When I got it off I found that the threaded shaft had been moving back and forth in the hole for so long that it was nearly worn in half. The nut was tight enough to make it difficult to tell that it wasn't tightened completely but loose enough to allow movement when pulling the boat. Had I been pulling a heavier rig, or if I hadn't discovered the problem when I did, I suspect I might have had an unpleasant surprise at some point.,

Now I'm using a drop hitch, which I check every time I hook up.

Re: 2 close calls with trailering. Very much SHT worthy

Once when coming out of a Carter lumber yard I got stuck behind a guy who's boat trailer (he was using it to hall lumber) came lose right at the exit gate. No one could get in or out until the trailer was unloaded and everything moved. It to ripped a hole in the rear of his Explorer. What got me was he said this happened earlier the same year and his wife was going to kill him. You guessed it, to small ball for the coupler. Kind of an expensive home project

Re: 2 close calls with trailering. Very much SHT worthy

huh? i was going to buy some new planks for my backyard deck, now i know how to haul them !!!!!

Re: 2 close calls with trailering. Very much SHT worthy

Our old boat was a monster to get off the trailer. In the end we used to let her down on a length of chain to get the trailer deep enough so the boat could easily float off.

We became very good at the procedure. As we all know familiarity breeds complacency.

A very busy city boat ramp with impatient boaties everywhere.

Float the boat back onto the trailer, no problem.

Getting a mate to tow boat and trailer up the ramp easy, watching him go a little too quickly - concerning.

Seeing him brake hard - alarming. Watching the boat and trailer pass the stopped car - terrifying.

"T boning" the next boat waiting - very disappointing. Unable to get the tow hitch out of the side of the other boat, blocked the ramp for 1&1/2 hours, no boat in or out. Much abuse all round. Absolutely no sense of humour at all.

Boat ramps can be humiliating.

As I regularly tell my good wife - no matter what she threatens me with, I have been through the valley of death. Even after 10 years I don't really laugh about that afternoon.

B

Re: 2 close calls with trailering. Very much SHT worthy

Bournville said:

Our old boat was a monster to get off the trailer. In the end we used to let her down on a length of chain to get the trailer deep enough so the boat could easily float off.

We became very good at the procedure. As we all know familiarity breeds complacency.

A very busy city boat ramp with impatient boaties everywhere.

Float the boat back onto the trailer, no problem.

Getting a mate to tow boat and trailer up the ramp easy, watching him go a little too quickly - concerning.

Seeing him brake hard - alarming. Watching the boat and trailer pass the stopped car - terrifying.

"T boning" the next boat waiting - very disappointing. Unable to get the tow hitch out of the side of the other boat, blocked the ramp for 1&1/2 hours, no boat in or out. Much abuse all round. Absolutely no sense of humour at all.

Boat ramps can be humiliating.

As I regularly tell my good wife - no matter what she threatens me with, I have been through the valley of death. Even after 10 years I don't really laugh about that afternoon.

B

Click to expand...

ouch..

Re: 2 close calls with trailering. Very much SHT worthy

Bournville said:

Our old boat was a monster to get off the trailer. In the end we used to let her down on a length of chain to get the trailer deep enough so the boat could easily float off.

We became very good at the procedure. As we all know familiarity breeds complacency.

A very busy city boat ramp with impatient boaties everywhere.

Float the boat back onto the trailer, no problem.

Getting a mate to tow boat and trailer up the ramp easy, watching him go a little too quickly - concerning.

Seeing him brake hard - alarming. Watching the boat and trailer pass the stopped car - terrifying.

"T boning" the next boat waiting - very disappointing. Unable to get the tow hitch out of the side of the other boat, blocked the ramp for 1&1/2 hours, no boat in or out. Much abuse all round. Absolutely no sense of humour at all.

Boat ramps can be humiliating.

As I regularly tell my good wife - no matter what she threatens me with, I have been through the valley of death. Even after 10 years I don't really laugh about that afternoon.

B

Click to expand...

Being a witness to all of that=PRICELESS!

Re: 2 close calls with trailering. Very much SHT worthy

I just started using a pin on a larger boat; never had a latch come loose on the smaller ones after 40 years of trailering. (go ahead say it out loud--it's going to happen soon!)

I know that if you set the trailer on the front of the ball, and lower it, you can end up on top of the latch mechanism, so it looks latched but is just set on top. A good reason to check behind any "helpers."

Twice I have forgotten to latch down and had the boat bump off--once in the parking lot near the ramp (going up a hill and a speed bump--if it hadn't been for chains I might have re-launched!). The other time, just got on the highway and felt like the boat was bouncing; pulled off and when crossing railroad tracks, the boat bounced off; I stopped first then the boat stopped later: winch stand into tailgate. Still have the dent, as a reminder. A neighbor has the same dent from the same thing--on the same road.

Once I pulled away from the trailer without unhooking the safety chains. First BANG was the chains tightening; second was tongue hitting my bumper.

Did you know that you can raise the bumper of your car if you don't unlatch, and you crank the trailer jack? Have not yet determined the point of failure. But not a bad way to test your latch.

Here's the secret I've learned the hard way--go slow when you are hooknig up or unhooking. When you get in a hurry, you make mistakes and often get hurt. Do each step one at a time, don't multitask (crank the jack with one hand while unhooking the chains with the other and unplugging the lights with your toes). That's fertile ground for error.

Re: 2 close calls with trailering. Very much SHT worthy

I've also started to take some steps to help "idiot proof" the hook-up process. Because of what I've read in this thread and others, I allways jack the trailer back up to make sure it stays on the ball and allways use a padlock to make sure it's locked down and also to minimize the chance of the trailer being stolen while at the ramp.

I appreciate people telling us their embarassing moments to help us remember not to do the same thing. Now to get my wife to remember to make sure the winch is LOCKED before I start backing down the ramp :redface:

Re: 2 close calls with trailering. Very much SHT worthy

Had a close call myself once with a U-haul car trailer.

We were moving and had a flat-bed U-haul car trailer hooked to our Suburban. We stopped for the night in Indianapolis and left everything hooked up. After driving another 300 miles, we arrived at our destination and proceeded to unload the car. Much to my surprise as I backed the car off the trailer, the trailer popped off the ball and put a nice dent in the back of our Suburban.

Only thing I can figure is that someone unscrewed the coupler (U-haul uses a screw-down coupler, not a latch like most trailers) during the night. Thank goodness the weight of the car was way forward on the trailer so it held on while we were driving. I've learned my lesson and now check everything anytime the trailer has been out of sight.

Re: 2 close calls with trailering. Very much SHT worthy

I always listen to my trailor and brake check for noises or jolts carefully as I leave home.I can hear the boat squeaking if it has gotten loose on the bow mount,I stop and crank it tight.you can usually hear a knock or bang and feel the slight jolt of a loose ball or hitch pin etc.when you apply brake or gas.you should find and fix anything thats loose as it will only get worse/more dangerous with wear.

Re: 2 close calls with trailering. Very much SHT worthy

I can very much appreciate the examples of trailer woes. No accidents on my part, but I was pretty scared pulling my very first boat home about 3 months ago obsessing about something going horribly wrong. I was afraid to drive faster than 50mph, so it made the 25 minute trip home a little long . Made it home alright, read lots of posts on iboats about trailering, and immediately upgraded a few things on my trailer:

1. Brand new safety chains and hooks with safety clip so the can't come off, and new bolts that hold the coupler to the trailer frame. They were so weak they twisted in half when I tried to wrench them off - the bolts were frozen on the threads.

2. After inspecting the winch - completely shot - I realized it was wound with this pathetic and badly worn rope. Amazing it held the boat at all. Replaced with new winch and 2" strap, and new hook.

3. A pin for the latch so it can't pop up/off.

4. New transom strap to replace the old metal transom "straps" that had spring like mechanism and a mechanical latch that locked em down tight. They were unbelivably worn and bound to fail - including rusted hooks they attached to on the trailer.

5. Lights didn't work, so replaced the whole thing with a new light kit and wiring. At least other people can see what I'm doing now, and it is legal for my state. Even if they were working, the old ones weren't even up to snuff.

Anyway, posts like this really helped a new guy avoid some serious troubles - thanks.