RedAllison
Well-Known Member
:furious
Don'tcha just feel like a IDIOT when ya do something totally preventable yet it all turns out fairly well considerin... :cuss
Goin prefishin inda mornin so I stopped and got the boat out of storage tonight after supper. The building/foundation is level but the ramp up too it is sloped probably falls 2ft over about 40ft, a purty good slope.
The ball on my hitch is a 6k # heavy duty SOB but the base of it forms a big 5 or 6 sided shape (for tightening I reckon?) that sometimes prevents the tab under the back of the coupler from locking down unless the whole rig is on level ground. I usually just hook up the wires, cables and brake breakaway cable and lower the tongue onto the ball and then pull forward until it's all level. Then I can latch the coupler down. I've done it for nearly a year now this way and many times before over the years I've moved boats around with just the tongue laid on the ball without being latched down. Especially with a tandem trailer there's usually enough weight to press it all down tight.
Well tonight I'm easin out of the bay and KAWHAM!!! :gasp The boat ROCKS into my truck. I freak out, jump out and run back to see the trailer tongue is up under my truck (the whole rig is still very much on the slope) and my heart nearly goes into my throat before I realize the trailer stopped before the nose of the boat could crash into my bumper or tailgate on my Avalanche.
Luckily everything stayed PERFECTLY straight and when the trailer came off the ball it ran forward up under the truck and the ball crashed into my trailer winch. You can see from the pic it broke the plastic housing and bent the crap out of the lock mechanism but other than that nothing else was touched. The boat slid forward about 3/4 of an inch but all it did was compress the boweye into the big nylon bowstop.
I tow with a 2" drop that is flipped up to lift the ball about 1 inch. Otherwise it would've nailed the trailer painted winch stand and torn through the diamond plate as well. Probably would've glanced off at that point and THEN the bow would've crashed into the bumper and it would've been a glass repair job more than likely.
I won't say I must be livin right, just chitblind lucky I reckon!!! :help
RA
Don'tcha just feel like a IDIOT when ya do something totally preventable yet it all turns out fairly well considerin... :cuss
Goin prefishin inda mornin so I stopped and got the boat out of storage tonight after supper. The building/foundation is level but the ramp up too it is sloped probably falls 2ft over about 40ft, a purty good slope.
The ball on my hitch is a 6k # heavy duty SOB but the base of it forms a big 5 or 6 sided shape (for tightening I reckon?) that sometimes prevents the tab under the back of the coupler from locking down unless the whole rig is on level ground. I usually just hook up the wires, cables and brake breakaway cable and lower the tongue onto the ball and then pull forward until it's all level. Then I can latch the coupler down. I've done it for nearly a year now this way and many times before over the years I've moved boats around with just the tongue laid on the ball without being latched down. Especially with a tandem trailer there's usually enough weight to press it all down tight.
Well tonight I'm easin out of the bay and KAWHAM!!! :gasp The boat ROCKS into my truck. I freak out, jump out and run back to see the trailer tongue is up under my truck (the whole rig is still very much on the slope) and my heart nearly goes into my throat before I realize the trailer stopped before the nose of the boat could crash into my bumper or tailgate on my Avalanche.
Luckily everything stayed PERFECTLY straight and when the trailer came off the ball it ran forward up under the truck and the ball crashed into my trailer winch. You can see from the pic it broke the plastic housing and bent the crap out of the lock mechanism but other than that nothing else was touched. The boat slid forward about 3/4 of an inch but all it did was compress the boweye into the big nylon bowstop.
I tow with a 2" drop that is flipped up to lift the ball about 1 inch. Otherwise it would've nailed the trailer painted winch stand and torn through the diamond plate as well. Probably would've glanced off at that point and THEN the bow would've crashed into the bumper and it would've been a glass repair job more than likely.
I won't say I must be livin right, just chitblind lucky I reckon!!! :help
RA
