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Trailering horror stories???


sconceptor

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What are some of your trailering horror stories?

 

I've only had a bearing bust leaving the storage barn about 2km down the sideroad. My coworker lost a trailer and sleds when it hit the shoulder on his way home from Elk Lake one winter(just under 10grand in damages). I would imagine that'd be dam scary! Friend's bow mount unlocked and dropped the prop to the highway for a few kilometers. Lost a 70L cooler lid once too, don't know where along the trip, but nobody passed us, wanting to tear us a new one!

 

I need new safety chains, as the Princecraft trailer's are not long enough to comfortably reach my F150's receiver.

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Not a horror story but it could have been; it also showed us the importance of the proper length of safety chains.

We towed over to Port Colborne to launch out of Sugarloaf, for a day of rigging. We got back to the marina late that night (after dark) quickly loaded the boat and set off for home. Every time I would accelerate from a stop or apply the brake, I could hear and feel a bump/thud coming from the trailer. After two or three times, I pull over to check it out; sure enough the draw bar pin was missing. The only thing holding the bar in the receiver was the safety chains. I had a spare pin in the tool box, put it in, turned around and headed back to Sugarloaf’s parking lot. Didn’t find the pin but could see all kinds of foot prints in the gravel where the truck was parked; at approximately where the trailer and truck connection would have been. Somebody must have tried stealing the trailer; my buddy had the trailer ball padlocked to the bar but I didn’t have a locking pin on the receiver (my truck, his boat); but I do now. If the safety chains were another 2 or 3 inches longer the draw bar would have popped out of the receiver and who knows what would have happened? Best case scenario would be having an imprint of the winch in the tailgate of the truck; the Avalanche was all but brand new then.

 

Dan.

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My dad was towing his brand new aluminum trailer along a rough road when he hit a monster bump. Next thing he was dragging the trailer lip on the asphalt as it swayed back and forth. He managed to slow down and pull over... Only to find that the nut holding the ball was loose and slipped off! This is what happens when u set up quickly and don't double check things. Luckily, no damage at all.

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I went and purchased a boat from a friend with no trailer, a 21' wakeboard boat.. so i borrowed a trailer from my father, his boat is 17' ski boat. well we get the boat on the trailer and realize the boats to big. so we decide to tow it anways. i make it 2km down the hwy and the boat starts swaying behind the truck. just as i feel like the truck and boat are going to roll over the boat pops off the trailer and starts sliding down the hwy right into my jeep. so now my new boat is sittin on the hwy with the bow in the side of my truck. to make things worse its a friday night on a long weekend and i have every cottager is slowing down to take pics. there were some good samaratins who stopped and helped out.

to make a long story short the cop who came felt sorry for me and only charged me unsafe load. so make sure you have the right size trailer.

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When trailering my ATV into the rough road where we unload to go to our hunt camp the trailer tongue broke in half.

It had rusted internally and didn't see it.

Went into the bush, found a small tree about the right size. Shaved it with an axe and pounded it into the tongue. Slipped the other half in and forced it into it by backing up the truck. Then tied the two halves together. Not likely it would come apart anyway, it was in the tube pretty tight.

We used it for a yard trailer for several years afterwards.

 

Also had a a trailer pop off a ball with my first brand new boat. Yep, those safety chains did the trick!

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No incidents for me so far touch wood but I would not trailer anything that wasn`t 100 road worth.

Once saw a doofuss try to load a 20 foot pontoon boat on to a homemade trailer contraption made of wood and screws thank the baby jesus he could not get it loaded because that contraption would have killed somebody!

The next time you wonder why we have so many laws,rules and regulations just remember the stupid things dummies try and get away with and it`s usually to save a buck.

One particular post in this thread is a prime example why we have so many regulations!!!

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I did something really stupid just the other day! I got up real early to go out fishing alone for the morning. I start up my truck and back it up to the boat that is in a garage, I start to get close to where i think i need to stop to hook up the trailer to the truck. Well I get out without putting the truck into park. The truck jumps back and hits the trailer driving it back into the wall behind it. It took out the drywall the studs and the brick on the outside wall. wallbash.gif The boat actually faired pretty well. I bent the scag and broke the plane fin and bent the prop a bit. it was one of those things where, when you are in a rush and not thinking thats when you make stupid mistakes.

 

 

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Lost a bearing once on a trip North, but it died just before my destination and I was able to replace it at the camp I was staying at. Another time my trailer popped off the ball while driving down the 401 :w00t: :w00t: :w00t: The safety chains did their job but it was a wild ride for a few seconds while the trailer whipped back and forth at 100 kmh!!!

 

My dads buddy was driving home from Florida with his travel trailer when he was side swiped by a tractor trailer. He ended up rolling the whole rig and the truck driver fled the scene. :glare:

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A guy got stuck in a launch one time in his astro van pulling out a 20 foot tin full console boat on a gravel ramp, so I offered to pull his boat out of the water as I was driving a durango. I pulled back hooked up to the trailer and went to pull out of the water. The engine boggedout, and I thought wow what a heavy ass boat. I dropped into 4 low and gave her some gas and bang. The guy had put the park brake and I didn't tell me. I spun the outer hub of rear axle on my durango and snapp an axle shaft, and tore off the rear brake lines.

 

I blew a trailer bearing once 3 or 4 years ago on scugog island, blew a tire on the 401 on my way to the walleye opener on BoQ, and got a flat coming from peterborough after the crappie opener. Other than that I have been pretty luck I guess...Cross fingers, knocks on wood, throws salt over my should, spins in three circlers counter clockwise and spits twice on the floor.

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After reading these posts, I spent the last hour checking bearings(jacked up and tested by pushing side to side), tighten the coupler the longer bolt through the trailer went a few more turns, checked chain bolts, checked the swing tounge bolts(8 bolts total), checked tire pressure and added air, slightly greased the coupler(where the ball goes).

 

Did I miss anything?

 

Going on a 1000km trip tomorrow.

 

Thanks

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I was pulling a scout canoe trailer, with 8 canoes (4 to a side; about 10' tall in total). Hit massive storm on the highway; trailer rolled in the wind and pulled the car into the ditch. If it wasn't for the damned safety chains the trailer would have simply popped off the ball and rolled into the field. Plastic (cheap) canoes were all fine, trailer was a write-off, and there was ~$5K damage to my car...

 

Bryan

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Many many years ago my friends mini died north of Ottawa and had to leave in nice guys driveway till we could come and get it.So I borrowed my dad's DATSUN pickup and he borrowed a trailer that could carry a small car(it was for a mg midget race car) and we set out from Kingston to go get the mini.I was over the speed limit by a bit :whistling: when I felt a jerk on the truck,when I looked in the mirror all I could see was the trailer doing cartwheels down the middle of the road and the Transport truck going the other way doing his best to miss it,which he did :worthy: :worthy:.The trailer was already a little beat up and you couldn't tell that it had gone for a wild tumble.This time when we hooked it up we made SURE everything was correctly done and had no more problems.We got the car and the drive home was really interesting with the trailer and car weighing almost as much as the truck :( :( When we took the trailer back the guy says I forgot to tell you when you picked it up that the hitch was REALLY difficult to get locked on to the ball and the safety chains are useless :asshat::wallbash:

 

 

vance

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Seeing all this a scared the jeepers out of meblink.gif

Whats is the correct pressure in trailer tires anyway??dunno.gif

 

 

Check the pressure rating on the tires.

It will be stamped onto the sidewall of the tires.

Fill the tires to this rating.

 

Depending on the weight rating of the tires it can be as much as 90psi.

The load rating C of the tires on my snowmobile trailer require 60 or 65 psi.

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Been pulling trailers regularily since I was 17 years old... 32 years now. I have/had boat trailers, enclosed trailers, a triple axle 9 ton x 34 foot float that's been almost coast to coast that I've been pulling to haul cars and airplane recovery since 1989. I have NEVER blown a tire.. NEVER blown a bearing. All 6 tires on the big float are still original even. It's called preventative maintenance guys... go buy a digital tire pressure gauge and be faithful with it! :jerry:

 

(now I've jinxed myself.... :w00t: )

Edited by irishfield
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After reading these posts, I spent the last hour checking bearings(jacked up and tested by pushing side to side), tighten the coupler the longer bolt through the trailer went a few more turns, checked chain bolts, checked the swing tounge bolts(8 bolts total), checked tire pressure and added air, slightly greased the coupler(where the ball goes).

 

Did I miss anything?

 

Going on a 1000km trip tomorrow.

 

Thanks

Make sure the lights are working so someone doesn't rearend ya and it doesn't hurt to carry spares especially for a boat trailer.

Kerry

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If you want to avoid trailer horror stories you can always try the technique in this video if you have a smaller boat...

 

Just make sure you don't get Forward/Reverse confused... like these guys did at the Gatineau boat launch. rofl2.gifclapping.gif

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Had 1 flat.Lost a bearing cover.Pulled that trailer for 3 years with a coke can and a gear clamp

for a cover.

 

Also had a 21' glass boat come off the ball.Good thing I face my hooks up.The tongue went under the truck.

The hooks staid hook.Preventing the boat from going threw the back of the truck. ;) ;)

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No personal horror stories, the only incident? Going to Lake Chautauqua in New York for a bass tournament, my boat, my friends pickup. I let him hook it up, error. We drove 164 miles or so, going down a hill along side the lake? The trailer came off the ball and bumped the back of the bumper, he didn`t have it connected right. I usually crank it down on the ball, lock it and crank it up to put some pressure on the lock,to make sure it is locked down, he didn`t. Lucky, just a scratch on the bumper though.

 

A buddy had his nitro come off the trailer on I-90 coming home from Findlay lake in New York. Another had two flats coming home from the French River.

 

Another had his trailer hit a guard rail when a wheel bearing froze.

 

Went to a lake here in Ohio, a friends boat and truck, once he got the boat (Glass bass boat) off the trailer? The back two cross members on the trailer had broken welds. He had to hurry to get repairs done before his trip to the French River the next weekend.

 

A couple of dad`s friends back in the day, smoking and throwing the butts out the window on their way to Ontario. They made it to New York before the boat caught fire. Luckily they got the trailer unhooked from the car in time, a wood boat, burnt!

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