light Q and what gear??

[kdgncop]

i am prepared to be crucified if these are dumb questions, but....<br /><br />how big of a deal is it to NOT unhook trailer lights before dunking them in when unloading?? <br /><br />also, I have been reading alot about guys leaving their trucks in 1st and shutting off on the ramp. i am assuming that this is on a manual only-correct?? you can't restart an auto unless in park or neutral right?? <br /><br />just making sure that I am doing everything as close to correct as possible. thanx in advance

 

[Silvertip]

Re: light Q and what gear??

If your trailer lights are not sealed, you are backing in the water with the brake on so the brake lights are on. When the hit the cold water, poof!!! As for parking on a ramp, if you have an automatic transmission, with your foot on the brake, first set the parking brake, slowly release the normal brake to see if the parking brake is holding. If it is, then put the transmission in Park. If not, you have no choice. Putting an auto tranny in park and letting the load roll back against the parking pawl causes a very loud bank when taking the tranny out of park. In some severe cases, you may not even be able to get it out of park and will need a slight forward tow to release tension. That bang is doing damage to the parking pawl and eventually it will cause slippage rendering the park position useless. I've seen broken transmission cases, parking pawls that resemble meat cleavers (no teeth), broken shift linkages, and have had to rescure folks who can't get the vehicle out of park.

 

[brine]

Re: light Q and what gear??

if you dont want ot disconnect your lights every time , or probably you just forget like i do all of the time, spend your money on LED tail lights instead of bulbs. since brake lights are usually the only thing on when loading or unloading you shouldn't have to do your marking lights at this time.<br /> as for the first gear trick that is for manual tranny only. parking brake is a must with both tranny types. parking pawl is for flat ground and can cause a crappy boat ramp experience.<br /> enjoy your boat.<br />