terrifying first experience! first time boat owner!

[JaseBosto]

Re: terrifying first experience! first time boat owner!

Had the same thing happen once.
I was camping in the mountains of Washington state years ago back when I was in the Navy. A bunch of us were out there. One guy rented a camper from the rental place on base(yes its a government owned camper). Well, we decided to change camp sites to another place down the street. The guy who rented the camper wasn't there, so one of the other guys was like, "yea I'll tow it over there". So.....I guided the guy backing up to the trailer and dropped the hitch on....and thats it. I didnt hook up anything else, thinking nothing of it...I wasn't the guy towing it, I figured he would take care of all that.
So, we went down the road, in a convoy of about 5 trucks, with one of them having the camper. Sure enough, about a mile down the road, he hit a bump and off goes the camper. It bounced around for a second on the road, then went through the only gap in the guard rail(for miles in each direction...no gap...), down a rocky hill, tumbling and came to rest in a river. The camper was completely destroyed, the only thing left was a trailer frame, upside down in the river....it looked like new....

since part of this camping experience was shooting guns, and riding ATV's he had a couple thousand dollars worth of tools in there, along with a $900 rifle, cloths,.....everything in there....

Lesson learned,...check your own hookups...then check again.

 

[capt sam]

Re: terrifying first experience! first time boat owner!

If I am at a car dearship and have a mechanic work on my car, then I leave their lot and get into an accident because their mechanic failed to perform....I would think there is some liability. I mean where's the line?

A. I have brakes done, or tires replaced, then one falls off when I leave the lot?

B. I let U-haul install a trailer hitch and it falls off going down the road?

C. A representative of a dealership fails to properly inspect or perform due diligence and something bad happens?

Who's liable?

I used to laugh about " Brake Light " warranties, but I would never throw someone under the bus like that.

exactly, the sales guy hooked it up wrong, they're liable, don't let anyone lead you to believe otherwise.

 

[ajgraz]

Re: terrifying first experience! first time boat owner!

exactly, the sales guy hooked it up wrong, they're liable, don't let anyone lead you to believe otherwise.

I think many of us on here agree with you (or are inclined to agree). I just would like to see the OP elaborate on what evidence he has of this (e.g., salesman hooked 2" coupler to 1-7/8" ball). It is evidence that wins cases.

 

[solar7647]

Re: terrifying first experience! first time boat owner!

Always always, always double check.....dont ever take someones word...if you dont know any better ask every question you can think of.

with that said.
Unless the dearler is a nice guy they arnt going to do crap about it...they are going to say he put it on right cause it made it 2 miles with out an issue.

As for towing, your operators manual for both the boat and the truck should have plenty of reading on things to do and not do so I suggest you give it a read....make sure you have the right size ball and a lock, so that when its hitched and latched on you can lock it in place.

And welcome to the forum and good luck on your next attempt!

 

[HHIBouy]

Re: terrifying first experience! first time boat owner!

I am no legal expert by any means, but there is a term that applies to this.

VICARIOUS LIABILITY,

When one person is liable for the negligent actions of another person, even though the first person was not directly responsible for the injury. For instance, a parent sometimes can be vicariously liable for the harmful acts of a child and an employer sometimes can be vicariously liable for the acts of a worker.

I was a sales manager for a large Ford dealership for several years, one day I saw one of my salesmen installing a child seat in a new vehicle for the customer. I freaked out, and stopped him in his tracks. If that customer had have had a wreck on the way home and the child had been injuried, I know who would have been held responsible for the injury.

Now I think we sue way to much, but I do believe that the store should cover your expenses, If everything you have stated is true. The saleman took the responsibility when he hooked you trailer up. and it would not matter if the ball size is wrong on not.

I would talk to the owner or manager and they will most likley take care of your bills.

 

[e-coast mike]

Re: terrifying first experience! first time boat owner!

JP10 is right on about the SAFE BOATING course, they covered that in detail when I went, the trailering chapter was really boring, everybody hated it, so toward the end of the course the teacher asked if there was any particular chapter someone wants to go over again. You know I had to do it, yea I said, "I'm not clear on trailering", it was funny everybody hated me....LOL
But I bet they have no cut fingers.

 

[sailors hornpipe]

terrifying 1st exp update!

terrifying 1st exp update!

4/21/2010 - i dont know how to reply to all so i will post a new thread to update all who replied. i truly am not the suing type so i went to the dealership and asked to speak to the manager- we sat down in private office one on one and i calmly explained what happened - i was expecting a fight or for him to say sorry not our problem-however he sat and listened attentively with his eyes as big as saucers! ( i am totally not a confrontational person and avoid it as much as possible!) he said he was sorry and looked at my damaged truck and agreed to fix everything damaged in the incident and also agreed to fix some things that should have been fixed before delivery of the boat/ like a prop lock with no key/ batteries charged/aft light replaced which snapped in the incident/ boat washed and detailed as is supposed to be done on every boat leaving the lot/ and tounge ajusted as this was determined to be the problem as the ball and hitch were both 2 inch. all of the these things were promised by the salesman but one by one were made excuses for or backed off of once paper work was finalized- he sent me to a collision repair shop and they will provide a rental car. so as long as it all happens- this one has a happy ending and yes i did learn a valuable lesson ! thanks to all will keep you updated! and yes i plan to take a boaters safety course asap! ps: the manager i thought i was speaking to turned out to be the owner!

 

[Mark42]

Re: terrifying first experience! first time boat owner!

As someone else said earlier, please post the size of the ball hitch (should be stamped right on the flat of the top) and the coupler on the trailer (should also be stamped on it). If you can't read them due to rust, a little sand paper lightly rubbed should bring the numbers into view.

If its a mis-match, I would be sure the dealership knows about it.

Also, find a qualified person to inspect your hitch and coupler and ensure they are the proper grade/size and condition for use.

 

[JimS123]

Re: terrifying 1st exp update!

Re: terrifying 1st exp update!

The moral here is how you handled the problem. Ranting, raving and threatening to get a lawyer usually provokes more problems.

You did the right thing and you obviously bought from a responmsible dealer.

If it had not gone that way, THEN was the time to have the lawyer write a letter!

 

[seaboo]

Re: terrifying 1st exp update!

Re: terrifying 1st exp update!

Sounds like he really cares about his business (and he knows his store was responsible). I bet the salesman got an EARFULL. I hate it happened to you, but I'm glad it was resolved like it was (and they made it right and showed you they actually care).

 

[Mark42]

Re: terrifying 1st exp update!

Re: terrifying 1st exp update!

Great to hear the dealer is taking responsibility for the situation.

BTW, you should post responses like this to the original thread. There is a button "Post Reply" to add a post at the end of the thread. Its good to keep all the info together.

 

[upted]

Re: terrifying first experience! first time boat owner!

Well first off I would hope if you talk to the dealership they would want to keep you happy,that said in this world they may not give a ****. So on the hitch issue the easiest way to tell if you are coupled good to the trailer is to put the coupler down on the ball of the correct size as marked on the coupler and lock it down, look under the coupler and see the dog under the rear edge of the ball and also with the coupler locked down try to jack the trailer back up in the air and if it is lock down good it will start to raise the rear of the tow vehicle up, you then can be pretty sure it is coupled properly.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: terrifying first experience! first time boat owner!

The threads are now merged.

 

[HappierWet]

Re: terrifying first experience! first time boat owner!

Glad to hear it worked out well for you.
Maintain course on getting the safe boating course under your belt.
Welcome Aboard
Fair Seas

 

[ifallsguy]

Re: terrifying first experience! first time boat owner!

This is a dealer members should be aware of as a stand up type of guy. Since you didn't list your home area, could you please do that and maybe name the dealer. Sounds like someone we might want to do business with.

 

[mike64]

Re: terrifying first experience! first time boat owner!

This is a dealer members should be aware of as a stand up type of guy. Since you didn't list your home area, could you please do that and maybe name the dealer. Sounds like someone we might want to do business with.

Maybe after the owner hires better salespeople...

... all of the these things were promised by the salesman but one by one were made excuses for or backed off of once paper work was finalized...

 

[Mr. Ross]

Re: terrifying first experience! first time boat owner!

I commend the dealer and hope the thread starter lists his name and location. We need more like him. As far as the salesman is concerned, I put about as much credence in them as I do car salesmen. A few really know their stuff, the rest are all fluff.

Once your equipment is properly adjusted that does not leave you free to not check the coupling and based upon your questions I doubt that you intend to be negligent in that respect, good for you. The one thing that will screw you every time is rushing. Make a check list and follow it, just like you would do preparing an aircraft for flight.

For instance, I have a four step count for hooking up. 1 latch down and locked 2 safety chains hooked 3 lights plugged in 4 breakaway cable attached. I always do a visual of the latch under the hitch, several tons is nothing to toy with.

You will need to set up a similar sequence for launch and retrieval. Not to beat things to death but it might go something like this. 1 insert plug 2 remove motor supports 3 remove straps 4 unplug lights 5 etc.....

 

[LoweRider]

Re: terrifying first experience! first time boat owner!

Happy for you that this problem was resolved the way that it was. My compliments to you for the way that you dealt with the dealership! Now you can look at the bright side, you already have your first bad mishap under your belt, and, learned a very valuable lesson, it will get better from here on!

 

[Silver Eagle]

Re: terrifying first experience! first time boat owner!

My personal thought is that you could go back to the manager of the dealership, tell him what happened in detail, and hope they will cough up some money for damages but it probably isn't worth suing.

As for towing, I have been towing various things my whole life (many decades) and only had a hitch come apart once - it happens! - that's what the safety chains are for. Take care in hitching up, make sure your coupler is adjusted properly and chains aren't any longer then they need to be. When done, climb on the back of the trailer to make sure you can't pop the coupler off the ball.

Take your time, do things right, double check, and you will likely never have a problem again.

It not hard to put a trailer hitch on the ball improperly,Especially if you haven't done it before. and never trust anyone to put it on, you should be the only one who does that. always make sure that the catch under your hitch is around the neck of the ball not on top of it. The sales man probly didn't look to see if it was on. and make sure the locking lever in pushed all the way down. I have a pad lock that I use to make sure it's on properly and I try to lift the hitch to make sure that it is hooked up. Half of the problem was your fault for not knowing what to do.

 

[sailors hornpipe]

Re: terrifying first experience! first time boat owner!

update from sailors hornpipe - its monday now and the incident happened last wed eve and i talked to the owner thur eve - as you know the owner agreed to pay for damages to my truck and pay my med bill and fix damage to boat- i called him back friday and was polite in asking if he had a chance to call his ins company - he said he did and that i would get a call from an adjuster - im a little nervous because i havent heard from the adjuster yet and the owner said to call him back on wed to arrange for his buisness to pick up my boat and repair any damage from the incident as he has most of his staff working a boat show and none will be available till wed- im just nervous that he might be giving me polite lip service and hoping ill go away- my cousin is a paralegal and says i should give it a 3 to 4 buisness days to hear from the adjuster which would put me at this wed when im supposed to call the owner back anyway- i will keep you all posted as to what happens