top this dumb thing

[delsol]

i put a ball on my van for my boat and it seemed fine,no safty chains.....i got a ad on my windshied of my van bimini top 129.95 so i called the guy , drove over to his house with boat. he made me top bow cover like $275 everything, i was happy fla sun killer plus i never had to tow more than a mile, so on the way home i got about 2 miles from home, i went over the railroad tracks and i throught the truck had more power, so i looked in my mirror and boat was detached and moving at a rate on 15mph. i sped up slammed on the brakes and ran to the boat and tryed to slow it down by hand running along side it....2 way traffic well i got it to stop after it did damage to a manhole of the citys ans broke tounge crank off the ball bolt came off. dont know how but maybe the guy who did my top borrowed it when it was in the top shop because being a mecanic i always tighten things up...still no safty chains, if i have safty chains...luckey no one got hurt no major damaGE to boat...but I WILL NEVER FORGET THIS, CANT BE TOO MUCH DUMBER, BUT I WAS 21YRS OLD .<br />P/S I WILL NEVER FORGET PLUG FOR BOAT NEVER

 

[Formula1974]

Re: top this dumb thing

first couple times I hauled my utility trailer with my blazer I threw a ball on and tightened that crap out of it. About the third time I pulled the trailer I noticed a loud clanking when I stopped or started it sounded like u joints going out. I pulled over and checked and the nut came almost all the way off of the ball. I know it was tight. I guess thats why your supposed to use chains. I use them now on it.

 

[ndemge]

Re: top this dumb thing

Last year, I parked my 21' bow rider, 4k lbs at my aunts house at mark twain lake, 10 minues from the lake.<br /><br />Drove up there in my blazer, pulled from her house to the lake, and back to store at her house at the end of the weekend.<br /><br />I get home and realize I had the 1 7/8 receiver, not the 2" !! <br /><br />SOOO thankfull for toung weight and the absense of large bumps on that trip, could have been bad. (Did have safety chains though)

 

[parrotthead04]

Re: top this dumb thing

I pulled a motorcycle trailer with 2 bikes on it for 250 miles. Got home and backed it up the driveway. Walked to the back of the trailer and stood on the back of it. The front of it came right up til the chains stopped it. Popped right off the ball. I forgot to push down the lock lever on the coupler!! Talk about lucky???

 

[PDS]

Re: top this dumb thing

FYI, if the hitch has a 1" hole in it for the ball's stud, use a ball with 1" thread. About 10 years ago I had a 3/4" mounted on my hitch. I took the boat up north for vacation and back home. No problems. Than a week later, walking out to my truck I notice that the ball is gone. Just the ball(Drawtite type) and I'm thinking to myself"why would some just take the ball when it would be easier and faster to pull the pins and take the hitch?" Then I figured that the ball hitch was probably loosend up by towing the boat and I never noticed. I was very lucky it didn't decide to fall off when my boat was on it. Since I put the right one on it, it has never loosened up.

 

[steve n carol]

Re: top this dumb thing

I do alot of towing and have seen trailers of all types leave the tow vehicle, past or present. whenever I assist another in attaching a trailer, I have them PUT IT ON. Likewise, I insist on attaching and hooking the trailer up on my own rig. This relieves the other person, wife, son, daughter or guest, of the chance of doing it incorrectly.<br /><br />do it yourself, maybe you'll do it right!

 

[MichaelMullis]

Re: top this dumb thing

About 20 years ago a friend and I were going fishing at a lake about 60 miles from the house. I had backed up to the boat while he lowered tongue onto ball and hooked lights and chain. Got to the lake and when I unhooked lights I saw that tongue was sitting on top of ball. He did not raise latch when lowering tongue. I could not believe how lucky I was that it did not come off on ride. Now I always hook up myself, and put padlock on after trailer is latched.

 

[TwoBallScrewBall]

Re: top this dumb thing

A few months ago when the daylight was shorter I got home from work and was in a big hurry to get the boat in the water. Got all hooked up, pulled out of the driveway and on to the street and I heard a strange thumping I never heard before. Decided to check it (good thing) and saw that I didn't lower the latch lever on the trailer tongue, so the trailer was just bouncing up off the ball.

 

[Northern Eclipse]

Re: top this dumb thing

I was vacation last week up at the cottage, I was waiting to pull out of our laneway onto the road with boat in tow, waited for a oncoming minivan towing a 17ft Bayliner to pass, as he passed by he hit a dip in the road, his trailer jumped the ball hit the pavement, driver then hammer's the brakes, trailer still moving until the bow of the Bayliner was stopped by the rear window of van, window lost the battle.

 

[ritchn]

Re: top this dumb thing

I do heating repairs so im out on service calls at all times as called.One morning i was stopped at a light and noticed across from me was an early 80s ford ltd with a big green rental trailer attached full of household belongings.They had got up early and where on the road for the big moving day.The light turned green and off i go,but i hear a big clanking noise to my left and see the people in the ford with eyes like deer in the headlights for still at the light was the big green rental trailer full of household belongings with the bumper still attached i had to turn away i was laughing so hard

 

[Peter J Fraser]

Re: top this dumb thing

Steve & Carol,<br />Ditto on that, only ever do up your own coupling ETC.<br />I had a trailer come off the towball a few years back, when the trailer tried to pass me the chains gently pulled it back and under the drawbar. The locking pin on the coupling vanished and the load was balanced on the centre of the trailer, the coupling just lifted enough on a bump to pull off the ball.<br />No damage but scary few moments.<br /><br />Peter

 

[AK_Chappy]

Re: top this dumb thing

I pulled up next to a Tow Truck at a stoplight today. It was one of those HUGE ones, that they use to haul Semi trucks and the like. They had on a large aircraft tow tractor being towed. I thought it was kind of funny that it looked like one of the guys, the driver of the tow truck, got out the driver's door of the aircraft tug.<br />Oh Well, I says to myself, no big deal. <br />The light turns green, I take off and hear a very loud bang. I look back and the aircraft tow tractor was hanging from the safety chains. They had evidently lost it once, tried to hook it back up and forgot to release the parking brake. Or, the parking brakes are usually pnuematic (air operated) on the ones we use and require air pressure to release. This one could have been the same, it was a different model (much, much smaller than ours).<br /><br />AK Chappy

 

[jtexas]

Re: top this dumb thing

ok, if you promise not to tell anybody, I'll share my own run-away trailer story:<br /><br /> http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=23;t=000498

 

[HarryHydro]

Re: top this dumb thing

Hi Folks:<br /> I towed the boat to the local ramp to find trucks and boats parked in the road leading to the place. My brother was with me, so we pulled over (gave up) and walked to the dock to watch the 'show'. There was one of those small 'low rider' trucks, with the flat-looking tires, riding all but 3 inches from the ground, trying to pull some big-massive boat up the ramp. It looks like he didn't have the torque to pull a cork out of a jug. It must have been his first launch. He had to launch again and ask the driver of a 'regular' truck to hitch and pull the boat out.<br />Harry

 

[myotherjob2]

Re: top this dumb thing

One must put the little linch pin in the receiver too as the trailer may pop off and sail away as mine did years ago.Now I put a lock instead of linch pin in every time.No ones perfect.

 

[deputydawg]

Re: top this dumb thing

My uncle did this one at the ranch. Not hauling a boat though but a stock trailer. <br />He came home from checking wells and dropping off salt and mineral for the cows. When he pulled into the driveway I observed....no trailer. Now this is a home made horse trailer that has very stiff suspension so it bounces a lot and is very noisy on the road. When he got inside I asked him where he unhooked the trailer. he said he left it on the truck for use later. I asked what truck, he said the old one. I then asked why he didn't have it hooked on now. He looked and said "I don't know, must have come unhooked". I decided it was time to go look for the trailer. Found it 10 miles from home just outside of the pasture gate. Luckily it fell off on the driveway, and the road home was all dirt road not traveled. He said "I thought it pulled awful easy today, but never thought to look back". He even pulled up to his mailbox, got the mail and backed away. <br />Now I have forgot that I did not have a trailer hooked up and turned wide or started in low gear, but I have never lost one to this extreme.

 

[OBJ]

Re: top this dumb thing

I got a front mount hitch on my truck for moving boats around the yard. Lot quicker to park them by pushing than backing. The drive beside the shop is a little grade. I never used the chains on the front hitch before until the hitch on a 21 footer flipped open and the trailer bounced off the front hitch. Away she went. Stopped about one foot short of a parked boat. Now I use the chains on both the rear and front hitch.

 

[tomatolord]

Re: top this dumb thing

This is my red neck neighbors (too long to go into here) trailer story.<br /><br />19foot grady white, 150 hp johnson - single axle<br />1500 series chevy pickup 2wd<br /><br />It all started with the innocent question - Why is the boat on crooked?<br /><br />He trailers his boat 300? miles from raleigh to va beach - actually across the bay bridge.<br /><br />NO spare tire.<br /><br />Drives at 65 and up with trailer<br /><br />He notices that the boat is BOUNCING off of the trailer. He pulls over. Notices that the tread is seperating from the tire, no spare did I say that? <br /><br />Its late sunday evening as well, so most places are closed.<br /><br />Gets back in truck and notices that if he drives 75 instead of 65 the trailer does NOT bounce.<br /><br />finds a cheap motel near a tire dealer and spends the night to get a tire the next morning<br /><br />NO - he still does not have a spare tire <br /><br />No - I do not go fishing with him <br /><br />Besides he burned out the motor and now the boat sits in Va.<br /><br />tomatolord