Lost my Trailer (kind of long)

[Bartine]

I know this has happened to people, but this is the first time its happened to me. I was driving the family to a small lake this evening just for a couple of hours of boating. Loaded up, hooked up the trailer (safety chains and all) and headed off.

About 20 miles from home and less then 10 miles to the lake we crossed some train tracks. I look in the mirror and can clearly see that the tongue of the trailer is no longer on the ball. The safety chains caught the boat, and I started to slow down, but not too fast as I didn't want the boat and trailer to rear-end my Suburban. Then the trailer/boat started to fish tail. After about 10 times swaying back and forth one chain broke, after about 12 the other broke. The boat/trailer then proceeded to the ditch. I looked back and the boat was siting in front of the trailer when it was all over. Amazingly no real damage to the boat, just a couple of scratches in the gel coat. The tongue of the trailer got buried into the ditch, the winch post broke off the trailer and stayed with the boat. The ditch was full of tall wet grass, no rocks or anything.

A nice guy stopped and let me borrow some chains to pulled the trailer out of the ditch. I told him thanks and sent him on his way. He suggested I call up a crane company close buy. NO WAY am I renting a crane, those things are pricey.

I got dug all of the mud out of the coupler. The latch for the coupler was bent and the pin that holds it in place was bent as well. I straightened it out the best I could and got it reattached to the truck. Backed the trailer into the ditch in front of the boat. By that time my uncle who lived close, and one of his friends were there with a come-along and a four wheeler with a winch. The boat went back on the trailer amazingly smoothly. This is a Four Winns Freedom 170 boat on a bunk trailer. Got the boat and trailer out of the ditch and strapped it down. My uncles friend lives only about four miles away and insisted I take it to his shop, (he is a farmer and has a welder, I also think he use to work as a welder) and he welded the winch post back onto the trailer. He would take anything for the help either. My wife and I wrote down his address so we can send him and his wife something nice.

Damage done, about 4 scratches and dings in the gel coat. Trolling motor batteries came loose and tipped on the carpet (acid will probably eat a hole through the carpet there), winch post broke (already fixed, just needs paint), coupler was bent back to were it still works but will be rebuilt or replaced, safety chains broke, trailer wiring broke (already fixed), cowl for the outboard hit the boat and caused a slight crack about 2 inches long, and the roller on the back of the trailer is bent.

What an evening. I'm still trying to figure out how the coupler came loose. I'm sure I'll find out when I tear it apart. The latch was bent, and the pin was still in it. I'm glad I took the back roads to the lake instead of the Interstate.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Lost my Trailer (kind of long)

Quite the adventure, for sure.

I'd bet a cheeseburger that the coupler wasn't adjusted tight enough to the ball.

Tighten it so that it won't fit down onto the ball, then loosen it just enough so it waill fall on.

 

[Bob's Garage]

Re: Lost my Trailer (kind of long)

We are all very glad that no one was injured. Results could have been so much worse.

There are, of course, several possibilities.

I once traveled, almost 5 miles, thru 5 traffic light changes, before my coupler came off the truck. Discovered the lock still on the coupler latch. I had failed to make sure the coupler had properly engaged the ball, was sitting on top of it, and it had held that position until I had jerked a start from stopped position. (And this towing a 6600 pound load.)

Some observations, however, of trailering errors you had made;

• Tow chains were under sized for the load, or they were in poor condition, or both
• No safety chain from the bow eye to the trailer frame of sufficient size for the boat's weight. Use a turnbuckle to keep the chain tight as it is easier to control static weight than moving weight.
• No transom straps to control the boat's stern - sized to contol the boat's weight. Either across the stern in such a way as to not slip off, or from the stern eyes to the trailer frame, or both.

Please do not take this information as criticism. These are safety concepts taught in our Power Squadron Boating Safety Classes, and were learned the hard way by myself and others over the years.

I myself, had already determined the value of these concepts, even before the classes, from unfortunate adverse experience.

We all make mistakes, the best we can do is try to anticipate them, then learn from them.

When trailering, no matter how short a distance, we must always plan for the worst, and hope form the best.

One other thing: Even tho you have probably made this same trip numerous times before, check to make sure you are using the right size ball. A trailer carrying a 17' boat probably uses a 2" ball/coupler.

 

[jfadool]

Re: Lost my Trailer (kind of long)

glad everyone is ok. It sounds like the coupler is not set up properly for the ball or the wrong size ball was used.

Do you by any chance have one of those 3 ball hitches? I don't like them because the 1 7/8" ball looks so much like the 2". But as it has been said you need to upgrade your safety chains.

Once again glad no one what hurt, that is the most important thing.

 

[Bartine]

Re: Lost my Trailer (kind of long)

We are all very glad that no one was injured. Results could have been so much worse.


Some observations, however, of trailering errors you had made;

• Tow chains were under sized for the load, or they were in poor condition, or both
• No safety chain from the bow eye to the trailer frame of sufficient size for the boat's weight. Use a turnbuckle to keep the chain tight as it is easier to control static weight than moving weight.
• No transom straps to control the boat's stern - sized to contol the boat's weight. Either across the stern in such a way as to not slip off, or from the stern eyes to the trailer frame, or both.

No offence taken, but the safety chains were in good repair and sized right for the trailer, there were 2 transom straps, and there was a bow eye strap to the frame. All the straps broke and they were all 1 1/2 inch wide rated for 5000lbs each. Having a trailer come to a sudden stop from what ever speed it was going when it stopped exerted a lot of force. Additionally, once the trailer started to fish tail there was no stopping it. I really thought the trailer was going to flip over during the fish tails because they were getting violent at the end. Maybe if I had logging chains they would have held, but I bet I would have had an upside down boat sliding sideways down the road.