Here's a new one (long)

[airdvr1227]

After 2 weeks we were very excited to get our rig back. Backed it into the driveway to hook up the muffs and survey the work that had been done. Very excited. Didn't back it in as far as I normally do but what the hell. Excited to see the work and finally hear that V8 purr.

Unhooked the tow vehicle and moved to the side, went into the garage and got the stepladder. Climbed in and lowered the drive. Very excited. Went in and got the muffs and hooked them up to the drive and turned on the water. Climbed back aboard to finish removing the mooring cover...what was that? Strange sensation. Ah, never mind. Very excited to hear that V8...oh crap! We're moving!!

My driveway doesn't have a terrible slope to it but there's enough. I can attest that it's a sick feeling to be standing on your swim platform, on your trailer, in your driveway and realize that you are moving. We now have 5,000 lbs of boat and trailer taking a ghost ride down the driveway!

I can also attest that jumping off your swim platform while your boat is on the trailer onto your concrete drive costs skin and brings blood. But I didn't care. I had to stop the runaway. How I was going to do that I had no idea.

Just about the time I picked myself off the driveway and ran around the front of the tow vehicle I hear this terrible screaching sound. The boat and trailer have stopped. Amazing! Until I realize they've stopped against the side of our Trailblazer. Oh no. I was relieved that it had stopped but now it's time to survey the damage to the SUV. Amzingly the hull had ground to a stop against the passenger side mirror. No damage other than a long scuff on the hull.

In hindsight that was very fortunate. I would have tried to stop 5,000 lbs on wheels, possible getting run over and seriously injured or worse.

Lesson learned. Chock your rig.

 

[kellmike626]

Re: Here's a new one (long)

My driveway has a bit of a slope, so we put 2x4s underneath the wheels of the trailer so it can't go anywhere when we unhook the trailer from the tow vehicle.
Glad you learned a lesson, although I wished it ended a bit better, at least you weren't hurt

 

[airdvr1227]

Re: Here's a new one (long)

Yep. Typically I'm backed in far enough that it isn't an issue./ I use bricks to chock the wheels but I was impatient.

 

[scanman]

Re: Here's a new one (long)

Patience my friend! It wasn't goin anywhere, or was it!?!

 

[korygrandy]

Re: Here's a new one (long)

I was parked on the street at an old bosses house and his neighbor, for whatever reason was unhooking his Cruiser from his camper on the street. He pulled the camper into his drive and off to the races went the boat tail end backward. I noticed it was heading towards my car...ran thought about jumping in my car to move it and realized it would be too late and I would get pummelled. Just as I aborted the mission and slammed the cardoor the boats front wheel caught and the whole rig jumped the curb and the outboard and kicker motor slammed into the mailboxes. My car had a driveways width in between getting smashed by a couple outboards. Although it would have been cool destruction to see I only got to see the guys outboards get smashed.

He was an angry stout man and proceeded to yell with embarrasment to his son to "grab the truck son"...I think it was too late for that.

 

[boltonranger]

Been there..

Been there..

After a day of boating fun with my wife and her parents; they left me alone to put the boat away in the garage. No problem; except I didn't secure off my swing jack in the vertical position. Thankfully no-one got hurt; just my pride. The tongue landed with a load noise on the garage floor. I could have been seriously hurt; but thankfully wasn't.
I used a floor jack to raise the tongue and double-checked the pin lock this time before pushing the boat into the rear of the garage bay.
-Glad you weren't injured etc.
-br

 

[korygrandy]

Re: Here's a new one (long)

^^ Did that twice. The second time I was amazed I didnt get hurt but my shoulder bounced off the hull of the boat. I don't think I will do it again though. I've been making sure that thing locks everytime now.

 

[PGFISHER]

Re: Here's a new one (long)

I always double check everything. I'm amazed that one little pin is counted on to hold all that from falling; or my hitch to my reciever; or a sheet metal shoe keeps the trailer on the ball. As you may have guessed, I'm OCD, but I'm sure that someday I'll forget something; I just hope someone gets a good laugh out of it. (like my wife)

 

[road kill]

Re: Here's a new one (long)

You would be surprised at how much weight you can stop in a situation like that. I was working at a car dealership years ago, they had hired a new kid to do small jobs. About an hour into his first day I turned to see him pulling the front wheels off a very off balance truck on a lift. Without any thought I ran to the back of the truck and propped myself under the back bumper as it began to tip back off the lift.
At the same time screaming at the idiot to put the wheels back on and lower the truck. The kid at that time had already ran from the shop. I somehow managed to shove the truck forward on the lift pads enough to be able to work my way around to the front and get a wheel back on it.

Needless to say the kid was fired, not for his first mistake, for running away. The truck was brand new, if it fell it would have no doubt taken out both vehicles on either side and most likely a tool box or two. How I held up the back end of a 4 door 1 ton pickup like that I have no idea, but it worked.
The way I felt, I had escape room into the open isle behind the lift. I never felt I was in any danger of it falling on me and my reasoning for grabbing the truck was that if it only took the weight of the tire to off balance the thing enough to fall, I could certainly apply double that force to the back bumper to keep it on the lift.

I also can't count how many run away cars I've seen in shops, guys reaching in and just turning the key, or starting the engine from under the hood without checking the transmission position. I watched one guy launch one off an alignment rack by jumping the starter from underneath for some reason. The thing took off in reverse, bounding off the 3' high alignment rack, slamming into another car on a lift on the other side of the shop, dumping it onto another and sending a fourth car rolling away towards a glass wall. The worst thing that usually happens when trying to stop something like that from rolling is that it don't stop and only changes direction. Tossing a brick under the wheel of a vehicle rolling 5 mph will only get run over, stopping only one wheel on a rolling trailer usually makes for a hard sudden turn.

I watched a neighbor one day dump his boat in the driveway. He parks his boat forward against his garage so that it's harder to just pull up and hook up to it. He pulls up, chocks one wheel, then swings the tongue straight chocking the other wheel. For what ever reason one day he leaves about 4' between the one chock and the trailer wheels, the boat starts to roll down hill, and it's a steep hill, hits the two huge rubber wheel chocks, and stops dead, but the boat doesn't. I could hear the winch ratchet clicking away and heard a load pop when it let go. He had a safety chain on the bow, but the thing had an open hook which just straightened out. The winch ratchet pawl stripped out and the winch unwound letting the boat, which sat on a roller trailer keep going. Not to worry though, the outboard's lower units broke it's fall. After a new pair of lower units, $3400 worth of glass work, a new winch, a turnbuckle and bracket on the bow, and he was all set again. He still parks there, only now he put in a short telephone pole along side the garage in the bushes which he ties the boat trailer too before unhooking. Personally, I would just make up a bar that slides through the wheels on both sides.

I use a 3/4" pipe now with a T bar welded on one end, and a pad lock on the other to lock up my trailers when I'm not around. While they could unbolt and change the wheels, I doubt my dogs would give them that much time to work on it.

 

[avenger79]

Re: Here's a new one (long)

glad there wasn't much damage. i bet we've all been in those situations when you just gotta hear/try/do or see it.

mine was unloading a trailer loaded up with atv's. didn't realize we had moved the chocks farther back on the trailer to make room for a third wheeler. the third had decided not to come along so we just loaded up two and away we went. got home late and had to unload. no problem we'll leave the wheelers on the trailer for tonight. unhooked the trailer as i was leaning over the hitch to get the safety chain. up she came right into my ribs.
should never unhook a trailer that is loaded heavy in the rear. LOL

 

[eastont]

Re: Here's a new one (long)

So? How's the boat running?

 

[airdvr1227]

Re: Here's a new one (long)

Runs great! My knee is still pretty banged up from the jump off the swim platform. Might have to see a doc for that one if it doesn't start feeling better soon.

 

[road kill]

Re: Here's a new one (long)

glad there wasn't much damage. i bet we've all been in those situations when you just gotta hear/try/do or see it.

mine was unloading a trailer loaded up with atv's. didn't realize we had moved the chocks farther back on the trailer to make room for a third wheeler. the third had decided not to come along so we just loaded up two and away we went. got home late and had to unload. no problem we'll leave the wheelers on the trailer for tonight. unhooked the trailer as i was leaning over the hitch to get the safety chain. up she came right into my ribs.
should never unhook a trailer that is loaded heavy in the rear. LOL

I was at work one day unhooking an equipment trailer from the truck, the driver had been sent out to pickup three crates, each about 8' square. I stepped up to the hitch, cranked down the landing gear a bit, and went to flip up the hitch release. It was stuck, so I took a piece of pipe in the cargo bin on the trailer and tapped it free. When I did the trailer popped up in the air about 4', almost smacking me in the face and tearing a huge gouge in the tailgate. Turns out the rear crate weighed in at 8,200lbs, the other two were only about 800 each. The idiot that loaded it put the heaviest crate behind the wheels. It must have been some drive home with it loaded like that. I was just glad I didn't send some kid out to unhook it. If anyone was standing over that thing they'd have been tossed like a rag doll when it came off the hitch. The trailer was sprung so heavy that it didn't show or react much to the added weight in the rear either.