never let buddy back trailer in while loading boat

[BIGcarpy50]

Last weekend i went out with my buddy and had him back the trailer in so i could load..the lauch was busy...well he went a little far and fell off the slab that was supposed to be the launch.....didn't think much of it untill i went through 2 spare tires on the way home...I look around for about 10 min then realize that when he backed the trailer off the slab he must have bent the axle.....lets just say that i learned my lesson, and as a joke he just showed up with 3 junk spare tires hahaha

 

[Splat]

Re: never let buddy back trailer in while loading boat

How the heck did he manage to waste two tired and a axle by backing off the end of a ramp!?!?!?!? How fast was he going. This just doesn sound right to me.

Bill

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: never let buddy back trailer in while loading boat

I wonder if it wasn't a matter of speed, but rather how big the drop off was from the concrete to the lake bed. If there's a lot of power loading going on at that ramp, the sediment could have been easily flushed out in favor of a large hole.

Then the question becomes if they got the trailer back onto the concrete ramp before loading the boat, or if the weight of the boat was on the trailer as they tried to muscle it out of the hole.

It's a good lesson for all of us, though. My boating mentor (brother-in-law) taught me to have a launch/load routine and never vary from it. I was tempted once, but as he said, "Just learn to say 'No!'"). Thanks for the post.

 

[bowman316]

Re: never let buddy back trailer in while loading boat

My truck is in the shop right now, So i had my buddy pull my boat to the ramp with his truck. He drove to the ramp, but he let me back the boat down the ramp. He just was not comfortable doing that.

The thing I hate is that there are so many different trailer lighting configurations on different trucks, he had the round plug, and i had the flat. so we could not hook up the lights.

 

[Blue Crabber]

Re: never let buddy back trailer in while loading boat

The thing I hate is that there are so many different trailer lighting configurations on different trucks, he had the round plug, and i had the flat. so we could not hook up the lights.

Hey bowman,

Just about every auto parts store and most walmarts carry adapters for just such a situation. They will plug into the 7 blade (RV style) or 6 pin (round) and adapt to a four pin (flat connector). I think they cost less than $10 bucks. Pretty cheap compared to the safety risk of towing without lights IMO.

 

[kyle f]

Re: never let buddy back trailer in while loading boat

Hey bowman,

Just about every auto parts store and most walmarts carry adapters for just such a situation. They will plug into the 7 blade (RV style) or 6 pin (round) and adapt to a four pin (flat connector). I think they cost less than $10 bucks. Pretty cheap compared to the safety risk of towing without lights IMO.

Or a 5 Flat if you have brakes and an electrical lock out.

I have a 4 Flat and a 7 Round on my F250. I have to use an adapter to go to a 5 Flat.

 

[skargo]

Re: never let buddy back trailer in while loading boat

Hey bowman,

Just about every auto parts store and most walmarts carry adapters for just such a situation. They will plug into the 7 blade (RV style) or 6 pin (round) and adapt to a four pin (flat connector). I think they cost less than $10 bucks. Pretty cheap compared to the safety risk of towing without lights IMO.

Yep, I carry a 7 to 4 adapter in my glove box as I use both.

 

[David Greer]

Re: never let buddy back trailer in while loading boat

back to the ramp: if you go over the lip and pull thetrailer forward, you may be against a wall your tires can't roll up. this is especially devasting if the trailer is loaded. The flats? Probably from rebar or mesh sticking out of the end of the ramp.
Check and see if the axle was pulled off center--one side pulled back on the frame.

 

[bowman316]

Re: never let buddy back trailer in while loading boat

My tires went off the end of the ramp once, I had to get that low to load the boat with a really low tide. It was a 4 inch drop off, down to river stones. So when i loaded the boat up, my explorer tried to pull it up slowly, and i just reved the engine, and it did not move, no wheel slip, just nothing but a reving engine.

I think there was too much weight for the wheels to spin.

So i backed up a few inches, and got momentum to get over the lip.

My trailer suffered no damage.

 

[freddyray21]

Re: never let buddy back trailer in while loading boat

My tires went off the end of the ramp once, I had to get that low to load the boat with a really low tide. It was a 4 inch drop off, down to river stones. So when i loaded the boat up, my explorer tried to pull it up slowly, and i just reved the engine, and it did not move, no wheel slip, just nothing but a reving engine.

I think there was too much weight for the wheels to spin.

So i backed up a few inches, and got momentum to get over the lip.

My trailer suffered no damage.

you are lucky. happened to me and it broke the axle mount on one side. no damage to the axle though. Never a good idea.

 

[woosterken]

Re: never let buddy back trailer in while loading boat

use the boat like a tow truck,ease up to the back of the trailer and try and hook it with your anchor or have someone tie a line to the rear center cross member,pull up on it and tie it off,have someone pull the trailer SLOWLY out
the boat will hold it up long enough to get it back on the concrete.

woosterken

 

[BIGcarpy50]

Re: never let buddy back trailer in while loading boat

pic is worth 1000 words to clarify

 

[David Greer]

Re: never let buddy back trailer in while loading boat

one method to use your boat as a hoist (works for stuck anchors) is to have everyone go to the bow; tie off your line tight and straight down; send everyone to the stern. Obviously this trick, like all of them, has it limitations but sometimes a few inches is all you need.