Formula Outlaw

So I put Outlaw in the water Friday July 4th and took a slip for 3 nights to help out with the Suncoast Offshore Grand Prix. After tying the boat up for the night, we pick up the truck/trailer and go mile and a half home. I get out of the truck and my trailer only has 4 wheels and tires, instead of 6. On the rear only two pieces of broken spring, the whole axle assembly, wheel, tires, springs, everything gone. Paniced I retrace back to the ramp expecting to see the whole thing sticking out of someone's windshield. No blue lights, no ambulances, no panic, nothing seemed amiss. However, no sign whatsoever of the axle assembly. It blew out the right tail light lens, couldn't even find the broken red plastic. (Are aliens responsible??????) Have to get trailer fixed. 4 more days on slip. Trailer gets fixed but I come down with a bad case of the flu. 5 more days on slip. Finally get boat out and WHAT A FRIGGIN MESS!!!!!! Moral of the story, no matter what DO NOT leave your boat in the water in the summer in Florida for more than a couple of days unless you want the worst boat clean up you can possibly imagine. IT SUCKED.....I'm still cleaning and I've still got a long way to go. IT SUCKS..................

Audiofn

Wonder if the axle fell off at the ramp.

Jon

Formula Outlaw

Jon, that was everyone's first thought, understandably why. In the past, I've had my Dodge factory trailer light coupling stolen and the license tag bolts stolen (at the same ramp), so now I make sure I put the light coupler and the license tag/bolts in the map pocket of my door of the truck. So when I get back to the trailer, I have to hook everything back up, plus I always do a "walk-around" just to check everything, safety chains, etc. There's no way I could have rebolted the license tag back up ten inches away from the back tire and not noticed it wasn't there. The ramp was extremely busy at that time, (multiple launch ramp), probably 20/25 people standing around, somebody would've heard something. Like I said though, I had to put the tag back on and no way I could've missed a whole damn rear axle/both wheels/tires assembly. I mean under that triple axle trailer fender, there was one hell of a space wide open, know what I mean. We ended up making at least 15 trips back and forth, neighbors helped, never found anything. Maybe a couple of guys saw it happen and threw it in a truck or something, I have no idea. We all thought we'd find some remains of the red tail light lens though, at least that would have given us a place to start looking. Never found a shred of anything. Wierd........

ThirdBird

Hey Outlaw,
No offense or anything but, how in the world could a whole axle assemble fall off your trailer while you're driving and you not notice a thing?

Did you leave out part of the story like "I was totally chit-faced at the time"?

I can't believe I wouldn't feel one of my axles puking its way out the back while I'm driving. Again, no offense here pal but, something just doesn't add up.

Dave

groove

No way. I was in my buddies F-350 while he was towing a 4 place jetski trailer with a 4 skis on it. I looked back in the side mirror to see an axle and tire assembly skidding off the side of the road. Never felt a thing and unless I saw that, we would have kept going until the other dropped off or until we got home to notice. They can come off so easy when they break at the springs. No need to explain to me.

Torsion bar trailers may be the way to go. (Did I spell it right??)

Formula Outlaw

Thirdbird, no offense taken. First, it was raining pretty good so I had the windows up and the stereo on. Second, I gave up alcohol back in 96, tired of the costs, you know like court costs, fines, insurance hikes, license reinstatement fee, and my favorite one of all, mandatory rehabilitation at $110.00 per hour. After 25 years I'd had enough of that chit. So, no I was not chit-faced. Everyone I've talked to about this (basically anyone who would listen), the concensus of opinion is that they were not surprised I didn't notice it. A couple of cops I was talking to at the Driver/Sponsor Party for the Suncoast Offshore Grand Prix had heard about a similar circumstance, the driver never heard/felt a thing. Michael Erturk of OPBA said the same thing. Damned if I know where it went, I mean we made 15 trips back and forth (ramp is 1.5 miles from home) and we never even found a trace of the busted out tail light lens. I mean we didn't find a damn single trace of anything. No place where the weeds got knocked over, bushes knocked down, not a damn thing. I don't know what happened to it. When I got out of my truck and noticed the driver's side wheel gone, it took me 20 seconds to realize the whole assembly was gone. I didn't believe it either, but it happened.