How to stop a trailer rolling downhill...

[oldjeep]

Re: How to stop a trailer rolling downhill...

Ok here is one. Not a boat trailer but a trailer none the less. I was pulling a mini excavator with my 89 ford ranger one day up to the mountains to work on a project I had started. The house I was working on had a parking place across from it I used all the time. it was on the top of a hill that would drop off a steep angle and at the bottom of the hill about 200 feet down slope was the back door of a local pro golfers house. I pulled into this space truck first, went to unload the mini ex , unstrapped it got it started and started backing off the tip trailer. Yup I forgot to pull the tip pin, I got all the way back and the front of the trailer lifted off the ground complete with my trailer hitch and rear end of the truck. Rear wheels, parking brake and transmission were up in the air and all of us were heading to the edge of the hill ready to start rolling down to the neighbors back door. I had the sense to jamb the controls forward and get the mini ex back towards the front of the trailer and attach the rear wheels to the ground again coming to a halt just before we went over the edge . Needless to say I was counting blessing that morning

Funny how often you see that with light duty car trailers too. If the trailer ramps don't have a leg on them and the trailer doesn't have rear jacks then you need to always have someone in the tow vehicle with their foot on the brakes when loading or unloading.

 

[Georooney]

Re: How to stop a trailer rolling downhill...

Ya know, there's a reason they put safety chains on trailers.............

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: How to stop a trailer rolling downhill...

Ya know, there's a reason they put safety chains on trailers.............

....and there is a reason they put a date on posts....:facepalm:

 

[slag]

Re: How to stop a trailer rolling downhill...

Doesn't make this any less funny or enlightening. Good information for everyone to know.

 

[Splat]

Re: How to stop a trailer rolling downhill...

I to have one to contribute.

Years ago I was probably 14 or so, I know I wasn't driving yet, we had our 24ft camper parked in the driveway preparing to go out camping that weekend. Driveway has a slight slope to it. Dad asked me to service the brakes cause we hadn't done it in a while. First side went off without a hitch, got the brakes serviced, out the wheels back on, forgot to replace the chocks.

Jack up the other side, pull the wheel off and it must have been just precarious enough cause all I remember is watching the jack stands start to tip as the trailer began to roll forward, down the drive, grinding the jack post the whole way.

I was smart enough to not be under it so I was pretty much in the clear, but remember thinking it was going to fall on its side as the equalizers strained to make up for the noon existent titre on the rear axle. So I just started rolling away as fast as I could.

That trailer rolled all the way down the drive, and ended up coming to rest in the street infront of the house. At this point my dad sees me rolling away, and hears the jack post grinding so he comes running out of the garage. After making sure I want hurt, he laughed like hell and asked me 2 questions, did I need to change my shorts, and did I learn my lesson.

He tossed me the keys to the truck, told me not to tell mom, and yell if I needed a hand getting the camper back in its spot.

That's one of those experiences I'll never forget, but is funny to look back on now and laugh about.

 

[RangerJ]

Re: How to stop a trailer rolling downhill...

Oh, wow. I would have just packed up and found my shaky way home.

I saw much the same thing on a smaller scale.

I was at the local marina when a guy showed up pulling his small jon boat behind a lawn tractor. (He lived just a couple hundred yards away). It looked like it made sense until he started to back down the ramp and that's when we all found out that pulling is one thing, and braking is another. He started rolling, tractor still hooked to the trailer but doing no good whatsoever.

From out of nowhere appeared a young man who grabbed the tractor and stopped the whole procession. The thing was, the fellow had only one hand and grabbed it with his prosthetic hook, and dragged it right up the ramp!

 

[DXN]

Re: How to stop a trailer rolling downhill...

Damn that's scary. I'm glad you got it stopped without getting hurt!

I once helped a guy in a similar situation. He had parked his boat at the bait shop I worked at to sell it. When he came to pick it up and deliver it things got bad. I was sitting behind the register and see this 20ft inboard dragging him accros the lot. He is headed towards the street and if it made it across a 15 ft drop down to a wooded slop. Me and a friend I was working with ran out and the 3 of us tried to stop it with little result. Then the I had an idea lift the tung we 3 raised the toung high enough the dropped part of the trailer (the part that's made to clear the prop and rudder) started plowing the gravel and caught the pavement and stopped us. His wife backed the truck up and we hooked it and just about fell over exhausted. You can expend allot of energy in 10 seconds lol
He was selling the boat to help pay for a surgery for his daughter. His wife was balling and ran over an hugged us. Still makes me feel good today