Crazy things that happened while trailering your boat
02-06-2014, 10:37 PM
#31
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Was towing my Larsen 226 from just outside New Orleans for a 15 hr 1000 mile trip to trade in at Shogren in Chicago. (Waukegan) 3 hours in to it @9pm fir night, I noticed a weird shadow on the rear tandem drivers side tire. Passing thru north Jackson ms, had no lights on interstate then shadow went away. Cool! We'll country boy and hot gf pulled along side and he said with a thick accent, hey, ya tire done flew off!
We pulled over and hub broke and tire was in woods.. They offered to go get tire, but I had 4 spares and was too busy checking out his GF to worry about it!, lol
After they left, bro n law and I tied up axle and drove another 15 hrs to Chicago limping at 60mph and stopping every 50-75 miles to re-grease and check the hubs.
Hour outside of Chicago, tire blew, so I put another on and we made it to Shogren for my new to me 25 outlaw and did seatrial in marina entrance with Greg in 6ft swells coming in from Lake Michigan and LOVED it!! Launched a few times and landed so soft, I knew I was going to love my new boat!
Trip to Va for my 33ol was uneventful where I learned my lesson from the first trip and had shop put all new bearings on all 6 wheels, then put all new tires and added 2 spares!!
We pulled over and hub broke and tire was in woods.. They offered to go get tire, but I had 4 spares and was too busy checking out his GF to worry about it!, lol
After they left, bro n law and I tied up axle and drove another 15 hrs to Chicago limping at 60mph and stopping every 50-75 miles to re-grease and check the hubs.
Hour outside of Chicago, tire blew, so I put another on and we made it to Shogren for my new to me 25 outlaw and did seatrial in marina entrance with Greg in 6ft swells coming in from Lake Michigan and LOVED it!! Launched a few times and landed so soft, I knew I was going to love my new boat!
Trip to Va for my 33ol was uneventful where I learned my lesson from the first trip and had shop put all new bearings on all 6 wheels, then put all new tires and added 2 spares!!
02-06-2014, 10:42 PM
#32
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OK... Not exactly a trailer story, but a trail ING story.
Was a Sunday morning. went with a buddy on 7 hour trip to pick up my new to me boat in Wakefield, MA from Rochester, NY. Left at 8:00 Am and got there about 2:00 in afternoon. Hooked up boat, did deal, and we were on our way. Truck craps out 10 minutes on the road. Pull off into a Holiday Inn that was under construction. No shops were open to fix truck and boat and me and my buddy had to get home that day!
Called towing company. First tow truck would have been a comfy ride with a sleeper cab and all. Hooked the sucker up and the damn thing had broken hydraulics and wouldn't make the journey. NOW TWO TRUCKS DOWN!!! Had to wait several hours for their other truck. No cab on this one!
Rode back on my buddy's lap in the small cab all the way home being kept awake by quite the entertaining tow truck driver. Made it back at 4:00 Am.!!!!!!!!!
LONG DAY!!!!!!!
Was a Sunday morning. went with a buddy on 7 hour trip to pick up my new to me boat in Wakefield, MA from Rochester, NY. Left at 8:00 Am and got there about 2:00 in afternoon. Hooked up boat, did deal, and we were on our way. Truck craps out 10 minutes on the road. Pull off into a Holiday Inn that was under construction. No shops were open to fix truck and boat and me and my buddy had to get home that day!
Called towing company. First tow truck would have been a comfy ride with a sleeper cab and all. Hooked the sucker up and the damn thing had broken hydraulics and wouldn't make the journey. NOW TWO TRUCKS DOWN!!! Had to wait several hours for their other truck. No cab on this one!
Rode back on my buddy's lap in the small cab all the way home being kept awake by quite the entertaining tow truck driver. Made it back at 4:00 Am.!!!!!!!!!
LONG DAY!!!!!!!
02-07-2014, 06:38 AM
#33
VIP Member
Pulled my 2950 proline out for the season at Bolles Harbor boat ramp in Monroe Michigan. I have used the ramp for years with no issues till that day. Previous wind caused the power lines to sag down and I caught my hard top on the phone and cable lines without knowing. After a 20 foot fire ball happened next to the truck on the side I **** my pants and hammered the old 7.3 powerstroke to get away. I looked in the drivers side mirror and saw a telephone pole coming after me behind the truck. I hit the brakes after seeing that and two poles started coming at me from in front. What a mess three poles snapped off with power lines laying everywhere. Poor people caught inside the boat ramp for hours. No damage to my boat and dot measured the boat with no ticket fire cheif was pissed off.
02-07-2014, 09:10 AM
#34
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Deer and trailer stories now, ok. We were taking this picture of the Grooms model T and my Cobra when we heard the sound of screeching tires within 100ft of us. As we turn we see a deer go flying in the air from running into a side of a flat bed trailer from a passing pickup truck. Now, the deer laying in the ditch, and my daughter (maybe 8 at the time) crying witnessing the whole event now hiding in my car. The bride decides (half sister-and-law) to calmly asks for a knife and finishes the job. Gets blood on her dress. My immediate family, now stunned of what we witnessed, wondering why of all the guys around she had to be the one to get-ur-done. The worst part is watching her all night with blood on the dress. One crazy night.
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02-07-2014, 11:16 AM
#35
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Pulled my 2950 proline out for the season at Bolles Harbor boat ramp in Monroe Michigan. I have used the ramp for years with no issues till that day. Previous wind caused the power lines to sag down and I caught my hard top on the phone and cable lines without knowing. After a 20 foot fire ball happened next to the truck on the side I **** my pants and hammered the old 7.3 powerstroke to get away. I looked in the drivers side mirror and saw a telephone pole coming after me behind the truck. I hit the brakes after seeing that and two poles started coming at me from in front. What a mess three poles snapped off with power lines laying everywhere. Poor people caught inside the boat ramp for hours. No damage to my boat and dot measured the boat with no ticket fire cheif was pissed off.
02-08-2014, 09:42 AM
#36
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I got one more and its kind of a towing story. It was christmas day in 92 or 93 and we ended up getting a bunch of snow making it a white xmas. I was 15 or 16 at the time. We had friends over and after dinner my dad asks if we want him to tow us around on our sleds behind the car. By this time the street was only plowed once and I would say there was at least 4 to 6 inches of fresh on the street. Were having a good old time being towed on sleds, skis and snowboards. We were about to wrap it up and I was on sled slaloming back and forth when I went a little too far towards the curb and made contact with a very large chunk of snow from the plow directly in-between my legs which brought me to a almost dead stop. I would say he was doing anywhere between 15 to 25 mph. It knocked the wind out of me and hurt bad. At first I just layer in the fetal position for about 10 minutes and then they took me home. I was laying on the floor for about an hour when the pain was getting worse so I looked at my nuts and one of them was black and blue and swelling. By this time my nut was the size of a lime. My parents decided to take me to the ER. When we got to the ER they made me drop trout and put me into one of those tables that has the stirrups for pregnant women. After about an hour my nut was now the size of an orange and the nurse and doctor come back in with a needle that was about as thick as a toothpick. They decided to insert the needle into my gonad so they could drain it. It was drained twice and then I was sent home. The next morning the whole area around my buddies was black and blue. The worse part about this is it happened to me again a second time but I hit a tree dead center of a jump. I felt like one the cartoons where the character hits the tree and slides down real slow.
02-08-2014, 01:12 PM
#37
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I got one more and its kind of a towing story. It was christmas day in 92 or 93 and we ended up getting a bunch of snow making it a white xmas. I was 15 or 16 at the time. We had friends over and after dinner my dad asks if we want him to tow us around on our sleds behind the car. By this time the street was only plowed once and I would say there was at least 4 to 6 inches of fresh on the street. Were having a good old time being towed on sleds, skis and snowboards. We were about to wrap it up and I was on sled slaloming back and forth when I went a little too far towards the curb and made contact with a very large chunk of snow from the plow directly in-between my legs which brought me to a almost dead stop. I would say he was doing anywhere between 15 to 25 mph. It knocked the wind out of me and hurt bad. At first I just layer in the fetal position for about 10 minutes and then they took me home. I was laying on the floor for about an hour when the pain was getting worse so I looked at my nuts and one of them was black and blue and swelling. By this time my nut was the size of a lime. My parents decided to take me to the ER. When we got to the ER they made me drop trout and put me into one of those tables that has the stirrups for pregnant women. After about an hour my nut was now the size of an orange and the nurse and doctor come back in with a needle that was about as thick as a toothpick. They decided to insert the needle into my gonad so they could drain it. It was drained twice and then I was sent home. The next morning the whole area around my buddies was black and blue. The worse part about this is it happened to me again a second time but I hit a tree dead center of a jump. I felt like one the cartoons where the character hits the tree and slides down real slow.
http://youtu.be/AEciKnfhr3Y
02-08-2014, 04:47 PM
#38
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Stop? I check mine twice from the house to the gas station to the ramp (a combined 3 mile trip) and I have a 2012 trailer lol.
02-10-2014, 05:33 PM
#39
Platinum Member
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After picking up my new spectre in 98, I was driving it back from florida on i75 Jelico mtn in tennesee. (Alot of hills going up and down with harrowing bends and turns). I'm sure most of us have had the occasion where people passing by Will look back and wave or give us the thumbs up when you're towing a performance boat. This time however a man in a mini van pulled alongside me in the fast lane and kept pointing back towards my boat. I realized that he wasn't complimenting me because as I glanced in my side view mirror, my jaw dropped as as saw the smoke pouring from my right rear trailer axle. I pulled over and removed the wheel and hub, revealing and awful mess scorched and half melted bearings. The man in the van was nice enough to pull over too and assisted me with tying up the axle as well as following me to and off of the next exit. I had my family with me and it was on a Sunday, there wasn't much open but the guy in the van was from the area
And guided me to a place that he knew of that might be able to help. I was thinking about Clark Griswold in summer vacation movie at this place. As it turned out, they were able to do the repairs, but I was afraid to ask "how much"?. I was surprised when the bill was only $60.00.
This all could have been a lot worse. We were fortunate that this happened in daylight and within close proximity to an exit where I could get help. A torch was needed to remove some of the melted parts from the spindle. Thats not something that I'd typically carry with me in the truck.
I found out later that the axle itself was defective in that it wouldn't allow the grease that is pumped in to make it to the insides. The trailer builder reimbursed me the 60 dollars and sent me a new axle and new bearings. To this day when I'm towing, I still remember that experience vividly, and notice myself checking those side view mirrors quite often looking at those trailer wheels, and at rest areas, touching each wheel with my hand checking for excess heat
And guided me to a place that he knew of that might be able to help. I was thinking about Clark Griswold in summer vacation movie at this place. As it turned out, they were able to do the repairs, but I was afraid to ask "how much"?. I was surprised when the bill was only $60.00.
This all could have been a lot worse. We were fortunate that this happened in daylight and within close proximity to an exit where I could get help. A torch was needed to remove some of the melted parts from the spindle. Thats not something that I'd typically carry with me in the truck.
I found out later that the axle itself was defective in that it wouldn't allow the grease that is pumped in to make it to the insides. The trailer builder reimbursed me the 60 dollars and sent me a new axle and new bearings. To this day when I'm towing, I still remember that experience vividly, and notice myself checking those side view mirrors quite often looking at those trailer wheels, and at rest areas, touching each wheel with my hand checking for excess heat
02-12-2014, 06:22 PM
#40
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I first picked up my Formula in Swansea,ma I couldn`t wait paid the guy hooked up trailer checked on everything. All seemed to be good until I got on the highway and tested my brakes because I saw traffic ahead wanted to be safe light traffic they seemed soft. Made it thru the center of the city and this smell got worse I realize I missed my exit and my emergency brake was on yes that smell, went to release it pulled the wrong lever at 55mph and what came up but my hood. I was lucky, I was in the right lane and moved over to the brake down lane. I was able to get the hood to close with the use of a hammer, should have been a 2 hour trip but was 3.
All of these are great stories, and am glad everyone got home safe, but my son now 17 can`t understand why I get a little tense when we are on the road towing it`s go to be young.
All of these are great stories, and am glad everyone got home safe, but my son now 17 can`t understand why I get a little tense when we are on the road towing it`s go to be young.
