Hello guys, <br /><br />I thought I'd share something I saw not that long ago and see if anyone else has seen similiar.<br /><br />Coming back from a vacation up north we pulled over to the side of the road so I could take a leak... <br /><br />in that time a little car towing a tinny loaded with stuff zoomed past.. they had the tinny loaded with all their camping great and it was piled high and covered with a tarp. they were doing around 60mph when they passed us.. I didn't think anything of it...<br /><br />Got back in the car and continued on our way.. About 40 minutes later, we came across the tinny again, this time it was sideways on the road and stuff was everywhere..<br /><br />Turns out that the right leaf spring gave out (probably due to all the stuff loaded in the boat) The result was that the right side of the axle suddenly had nothing holding it under the boat, so it swung around backwards till it was in line with the trailer.. and then it skidded like crazy and bounced all over the place till they stopped.. they got off very lucky.<br /><br />We managed to bend it back roughly straight and in line and used a 4x2 I found and alot of rope to get it back in a towable configuration, and they towed it to a garage at 5mph.. (only a mile or two up the street) they were lucky it was only a tinny, and that the trailer was the type with the poles up each side at the back or the boat would have wandered off on its on. they were also lucky that there was no traffic that day.. coulda done alot of damage. I imagined that happening to my rig, a fiberglass boat, 5 times the weight.. and a trailer that wouldn't hold the boat on in that situation.. I'd have left a trail of fiberglass pieces 500 meters up the street. freeky stuff.<br /><br />Thats why I am always nervous towing, you can't forsee some of the stuff that can happen.. say your bearing overheats, siezes and you snap you stub axle shaft off? (that happend with my father and a 24foot caravan) a garage also changed his tires once and on the trip home the back wheel on the landcruizer came off at 90kph, I was in the car at the time and it was quiet scary to have the wheel go zooming past the car and up the street.<br />Thank god it wasn't a front wheel that came off.<br /><br />So thats my three adventures with tow vehicles and towing.. anyone else got any?<br /><br />rgds<br /><br />franki
<br />i've had a small 'tinnie' trailer blowout, but nothing major. i did flip the same john boat off the trailer once, when trying to get to a river access point i shouldn't have. didn't hurt much but the battery and my pride. i got on a too steep embankment, hit a bump and away it went.
