High winds pull new boat off trailer on highway

[Natesms]

Re: High winds pull new boat off trailer on highway

Always heard (much like rumors) if the boat stays attached it's covered.

I found out that wasn't actually the case, had a camper blow a tired and rip the side out. Fortunately for me the insurance company had recorded the phone call and they covered it because I asked the question "does my truck insurance cover damages while towing" and they said "yes", even though the policy didn't actually cover.

Real bummer about the boat. I was at that boat show, and it was a very windy that weekend. I'm guessing he got blown hard to the side, trailer over the edge and there you go.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: High winds pull new boat off trailer on highway

BTW HC, you may be at or over the legal limit for Blood/Seawater levels :lol:

I try to thin it out with good Scotch. But I find myself gravitating toward the Islays and other island brands, which are filtered though peat and have the boquet of wet hip boots and low tide.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: High winds pull new boat off trailer on highway

while it may not have happened in the original topic, it would not surprise me at all to find that the ball hithc attachment fails in wrecks with speed or high weight. That's a lot of crazy twisting forces against that little cip up under a skippery ball.

 

[redneck joe]

Re: High winds pull new boat off trailer on highway

I try to thin it out with good Scotch. But I find myself gravitating toward the Islays and other island brands, which are filtered though peat and have the bouquet of wet hip boots and low tide.

thats the best kind

 

[Fun Times]

Re: High winds pull new boat off trailer on highway

Real bummer about the boat. I was at that boat show, and it was a very windy that weekend. I'm guessing he got blown hard to the side, trailer over the edge and there you go.

Hum, Maybe they do it a bit differently there in Kansas but the boat dealer I worked at would of never delivered the boat to a new customer from a "boat show" that same day/night it was sold even if the boat was 100% ready to be delivered which most of them were not plus the fact that they were on display for the week inside a showroom type setup. The customer would have had to met us at the dealer some other day to do all the paper work, do a walk through of how the new equipment worked whether or not they knew the system or not and they were always "offered" a boat demo of how to use it on the water.

So now I am curious, has anyone or know anyone that bought a boat of that caliber at a show and brought it home that same day from the show?

 

[Thalasso]

Re: High winds pull new boat off trailer on highway

A friend told me he is moving from Virginia to OK Cityl sad to leave the coastal fishing here and in SC. I asked him to send me his lake catch and I'll put it in my live well for striper and flounder bait.

JSATAIFAM means "just stop and think about it for a minute." Internet posters, yours truly included, often type before thinking, so the phrase comes in handy.

I will accept your comment with grace. As happened with most boys here, as a child I fell overboard and cut my foot on a barnacle climbing out; instead of blood coming out, salt water came in. Still tastes like it.

Just had to put this out there

York town Va

 

[81_chapparel194]

Re: High winds pull new boat off trailer on highway

maybe he was transporting it to or from the boat show for the dealer??

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: High winds pull new boat off trailer on highway

or maybe said "boat show" was in the parking lot of the dealer

 

[tazrig]

Re: High winds pull new boat off trailer on highway

maybe he was transporting it to or from the boat show for the dealer??

The news story said he had just purchased it at the boat show and was taking it home. That's what makes it so painful to hear about it.

 

[Fun Times]

Re: High winds pull new boat off trailer on highway

maybe he was transporting it to or from the boat show for the dealer??

That was my first thought. Maybe after the boat show ended? Anyone know the timing (last day/hour) of the show ending and the night of the incident?

The news story said he had just purchased it at the boat show and was taking it home. That's what makes it so painful to hear about it.

This is true! But now we're questioning the accuracy of the story as it would be kind of hard to believe that the news crew would report inaccurate information.

 

[Natesms]

Re: High winds pull new boat off trailer on highway

There were actually 2 boat shows here in KC at the same time. Both ended around 5 or 6 on Sunday of that weekend (yes I hit both of them).

Good points about just towing it home directly from the boat show. I remember as a kid my Dad putting down a deposit at the show, and we had to get it the next week. Whatever the full story, not good for the owner.

 

[Maclin]

Re: High winds pull new boat off trailer on highway

...as it would be kind of hard to believe that the news crew would report inaccurate information.

EXactly...

I had a monologue all typed in right after I posted the topic about the state of web journalism but did not want to get too rant-y. No follow thru, inaccurate terminology, all that.

 

[jbetzelb]

Re: High winds pull new boat off trailer on highway

I have seen the wind take a small blazer and boat into the ditch. That was a case of more boat than tow vehicle and the wind started the boat over the side the vehicle was going over also. Bottom line is the coupler stayed together. I would vote for the theory above with the 2 inch ball and a 2 5/16 coupler. Then there was a sales man saying buy it now and you can get home no problem with the undersized ball.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Re: High winds pull new boat off trailer on highway

We need some Kansas City iBoater to investigate this and find out what the deal was. This is too interesting...

 

[mikebertin]

Re: High winds pull new boat off trailer on highway

I've been researching trailer accidents for years & this happens a lot more than reported. This is a genuine concern all over North America. In this case, at :35 in the video, the coupler looks intact however I can see no safety chains on this trailer. These are generally installed by the dealer, not the manufacturer as they are not required in all states. Regardless, chains are not the be-all & end-all solution that most people think. Had there been chains attached, the trailers own momentum could have easily damaged the towing vehicle as well (if they remained attached) & could have caused massive injuries, perhaps even some fatalities. The key is to have the coupler remain on the ball to permit full vehicle control at all times.
edit: plugging own company can be considered spam

(BTW, area seems to be a protected on both sides, making it hard to believe the wind theory. Seems like an insurance story to me.)

 

[bruceb58]

Re: High winds pull new boat off trailer on highway

Hey Mike,

Nice how you put a plug in for your own company.

 

[Maclin]

Re: High winds pull new boat off trailer on highway

I checked in with a chat buddy from the KC area, he had posted this story on another site. Same results with updates when he looked deeper, found none, and no one has owned up to it yet either. Evidently the event has outlived that 15 minutes of fame/infamy.

 

[mikebertin]

Re: High winds pull new boat off trailer on highway

Hey Mike,

Nice how you put a plug in for your own company.

Sorry Bruce -- Not meant as a plug, merely data. Simply relaying info from Ron Melancon's site. The numbers don't lie & if we can keep our highways safe is that such a bad thing? All of those victims were loved ones of somebody.

 

[gtochris]

Re: High winds pull new boat off trailer on highway

In my 20+ years around boats and RV's, I've NEVER seen a trailer new come without chains or cables.

 

[inthedirtagain]

Re: High winds pull new boat off trailer on highway

Well, all I can add to this story is that I had a very similar experience about 1.5yrs ago. Proper trailer and tongue setups CAN and DO come unhitched!

We bought our Larson in April of 2012. Used it all summer long on local lakes, but were really looking forward to taking it to our cabin in August. We never got there. About 30mi short of the cabin (after driving for 7hrs), something gave out on the trailer's single axle. My best guess is that the hub exploded on the pass side. While driving on a single lane highway, I felt the trailer jerk and saw in the mirror that the trailer was dragging on one side. As I pulled over to the median and that's when all hell broke loose. Judging by the marks left on the road, you could see that path that the axle took as it scraped its way over to the median. Once there, the broken axle stub caught a turtle and flipped the boat and trailer together. I watched in horror and counted 3 full revolutions before the lashing straps broke and tossed the boat into a farmer's hay field. The trailer continued to roll until I got the truck stopped.

The tongue was designed for a 2in ball and my drawbar had a 2in ball on it. Everything was still locked into its closed position and my tongue lock was still in place. I always thought my safety chains were a too big for the size of the trailer and boat, but not anymore. Those chains were the only thing that kept us from injuring other vehicles. Of course, the fire consumed all of our gear (boat, toys, clothes, groceries, electronics) that was riding in the boat at the time. Police came out, fire department saved the farm house (but not the road sign or farmer's fence and field), and I was not cited for any negligence.

I had thought that the truck's full coverage insurance would also cover the boat and trailer. Nope. They wouldn't touch anything not specifically mentioned in the policy. At best, my tailgate would have been replaced because it was damaged by the rolling trailer. That was an expensive lesson to learn, my friends. All of my toys now carry separate policies. This mistake will NEVER happen again!