Stuck at boat dock

[DavenLC]

The wife and I were on "Date Night" Friday evening and came back to the dock at dark after we noticed the tide was going out. By the time we arrived at the dock, the water was lower than we care for and dark too! She backed the trailer down the ramp and into a hole and got our double-axle trailer stuck. If it weren't for a friendly boater person at the dock we wouldn't have got out of that hole by ourselves.

After we un-stuck it I stayed at the edge of the ramp while she backed it down and stopped where I told her to. Then hooked on the boat and wenched her in.

If I were to run into this again (by accident of course) what are some ways to get a "stuck at the boat ramp" trailer unstuck?

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Stuck at boat dock

Trailer was stuck empty?

 

[AZSenza]

Re: Stuck at boat dock

Were the truck tires spinning? You can try putting sand or small rocks under the drive wheel(s) Also, IF you can jack the trailer up enough to "fill the hole" you'll be golden.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Stuck at boat dock

After we un-stuck it I stayed at the edge of the ramp while she backed it down and stopped where I told her to. Then hooked on the boat and wenched her in.

Haha, not sure if you meant it that way, but... since your wife was helping, it might be accurate!

 

[DavenLC]

Re: Stuck at boat dock

LMAO! Yea. trailer was empty.. fixing to load up the boat. She does pretty damn good on backing, loading and unloading the boat. driving down the road is my duty...

Yup that politeboaterprson came stocked with a wedge looking rock to prevent back slipping (?) while the truck tires spun and created some nice smelling smoke.

I had thought about installing a electric wench somewhere to try lifting the trailer like a crane would. jeeze. those things are expensive.

 

[skargo]

Re: Stuck at boat dock

A winch would work better.

 

[cr295]

Re: Stuck at boat dock

A hole in the ramp? I'm guessing she probably backed the trailer tires off the end of the ramp. Not her fault...certain ramps were just poured wrong or way too short for bigger trailer/boats, especially at low tide.

The solution is to get a jack or prying apparatus under the trailer frame and to lift while gently pulling. If both sides are stuck that makes the recovery all the more difficult. This happens frequently at tidal ramps especially those poured at the wrong angle or too short.

Folks "power-loading" their boats exacerbates the problem. Props over time will scallop out all the sand/mud at the end of the ramp and tires on longer trailers will fall off the edge and the frame will bottom out. If not recognized you can do a lot of damage trying to force the rig out. I'd be looking for a different ramp. Better ramps indicate the end of the ramp with a sign.

 

[whiting-5]

Re: Stuck at boat dock

could have been worse when i was a kid my mom backed our new 78 ford f-150 and trailer into the lake up to the hood on the truck.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Stuck at boat dock

I have run into this problem, and have seen many others suffer through it too.

Had an idea to modify the trailer.

Take a look at the photo. Imagine the red triangle as a piece of 1/2" steel.
Mounted to the frame, 1/2" in front of the tire, extending down to about 4" above the roadway.
Really only needs to extend down past the center of the tire.

If your tire falls in a hole at the launch site, the wedge acts as a ramp to slide the trailer up out of the hole.

Not gonna look real kosher, but should work.
Shouldn't hurt anything, should get you out, may save damage to tire and spring mounts.






What do you all think?

 

[Jetwash]

Re: Stuck at boat dock

Wish I had something like that. The holes often develop between the concrete boards. I had a light weight aluminum trailer and bent the tongue so back another visitor had to drive his van over it to straighten it enough to reload the boat. It was an extruded frame and bolted together.

 

[DavenLC]

Re: Stuck at boat dock

Hole. END of boat ramp. that night, it was the same thing..
That idea about the wedge or indicator for the trailer is a good idea..

someone else suggested getting your anchor caught on the trailer and try to back up a little bit with your boat seeing if the boat would act like a crane since its floating.

ideas. ideas. ideas....

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Stuck at boat dock

What do you all think?

I think I'd build one out of plastic first and see how many marks you get on it from speed bumps and backing out of the driveway first. Or better yet, make it removable so that when you get a flat it isn't skidding on the road.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Stuck at boat dock

I used to see this often at a ramp I worked at. We had strong river currents that would wash the end of the ramp out. We used a backhoe to reach out, and pick up the end of the trailer. I always thought about adding a tube back behind the rear axel. If the tires dropped off the end of the ramp, the tube could be pressurized, forcing the water out and creating a float. Depending on the weight of the trailer, it might not take much to float it. Never did try it, but I still think it would work.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Stuck at boat dock

If the tires dropped off the end of the ramp, the tube could be pressurized, forcing the water out and creating a float. Depending on the weight of the trailer, it might not take much to float it. Never did try it, but I still think it would work.

You could do it much simpler than that even. Take a truck tire innertube, draw it into a straight line and secure two ends with some rope. Use some very light grade plastic zip ties to hold the middle portion of the tube up. Now run a permanent airline to the front of your trailer. In a stuck situation, just find a small 12v compressor and inflate until it floats! The two piece of rope will secure the tube to the trailer, and the light plastic ties will easily break to allow the tube to expand.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Stuck at boat dock

I think I'd build one out of plastic first and see how many marks you get on it from speed bumps and backing out of the driveway first. Or better yet, make it removable so that when you get a flat it isn't skidding on the road.

I actually made one out of plywood last year, left it on for 6 outings, about 700 miles.
It didn't hit or scrape on anything.

I made it so it extended down about 2" below the hub.

If I had a flat, the wheel would hit the ground and there would still be 3" of clearance.

Only real problem is cutting it out to fit abound the spring mounts and fender mounts.

Would be hard to mass produce, given all the different trailer dimensions.

 

[DavenLC]

Re: Stuck at boat dock

I like that idea of the wedge. and the idea of the inner tube. What if we combined the 2?
Make "Ski's" with hinge in the towards the front and add an air driven RAM towards the back.
So when you're stuck, hook up the air compressor and drive the RAM down to lift and drag out the trailer from the hole. It could also double as a jack to change a tire...

 

[JBEB57]

Re: Stuck at boat dock

I have never seen this or had it happen to me.......I'll bet it does now!! LOL Some pretty good ideas!

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Stuck at boat dock

I have never seen this or had it happen to me.......I'll bet it does now!! LOL Some pretty good ideas!

I've had mine drop off the end of the ramp quite a few times, but never deep enough that the truck couldn't pull it out even with the boat on the trailer. Couple times I've had to back up another couple inches and take a run at it The launch we used at Balsam Lake required us to take the trailer past the concrete.

 

[toy4x4]

Re: Stuck at boat dock

Hole. END of boat ramp. that night, it was the same thing..
That idea about the wedge or indicator for the trailer is a good idea..

someone else suggested getting your anchor caught on the trailer and try to back up a little bit with your boat seeing if the boat would act like a crane since its floating.

ideas. ideas. ideas....

yes tie off to the back of the trailer or catch the anchor on it then pull out away from the dock. The less rope you let out the better lift you will have but give yourself some slack to keep the boat and prop clear of the trailer then have the truck pull forward at the same time. This would definable lift the trailer enough to get it up onto the ramp again. I vote for this in a pinch. But first I would try prying a log or board up under the side frame just in front of the tire you will get wet but trailers aren't that heavy not under water any ways. A small trailer you could lift by hand in the water or rope from the dock perhaps.

 

[toy4x4]

Re: Stuck at boat dock

I've had mine drop off the end of the ramp quite a few times, but never deep enough that the truck couldn't pull it out even with the boat on the trailer. Couple times I've had to back up another couple inches and take a run at it The launch we used at Balsam Lake required us to take the trailer past the concrete.

I wouldn't recommend this with the boat loaded. I seen a guy snatch one out with the boat on it and when he came out he had bent his axle on both ends. Both the tires where splayed out and he had to leave it sit.