WakeWorld - TELL US YOUR BOAT TOWING STORIES !!!!

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- Archive through November 30, 2004 (http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=202321)

- - TELL US YOUR BOAT TOWING STORIES !!!! (http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=198920)

Ok everyone our other thread about the ramp stories was pretty interesting.... Now I'm sure we all have a towing story to share and I'm sure at the time it wasn't to funny, but when we look back at it now it might have been pretty funny or pretty dumb to do... Has anyone pull the trailer forward and forget to remove the chocks? Or how about the time when you had a flat and when you get the spare it was flat also? Let's hear some of the funny and not so funny times while we tow a trailer.....

Mike, does a weekend warrior story count?

last year we were on the way to our lake house on kerr lake (its about a 4 hour drive) as we were going down the interstate about an hour or so away from my house the left side tire blows out on our malibu trailor and we were doing about 65mph at the time. and as luck would have it, it was about 6:00 pm and most of the tire shops were closed. it took nearly 2 hours to find a place that has a tire that could hold the weight. we were lucky enough that no one go hurt and the only thing that suffered damage was the fender.

This one was my cousin about 10 years ago. He was towing his 16 foot ski boat with his brother's sedan. Just got off the general road and onto the freeway. The details are sketchy here, but he said that he put his foot down a bit and felt the trailor pulling the car slightly from side to side. He looked in his rear vision mirror and the boat seems to floating off the trailor. This is when put his foot on the brakes. The trailor pulled the car around into a slide and whipped them both across two lanes of traffic, over the median strip and across the 2 lanes of oncoming traffic (luckily there was nothing on that side of the road at the time). The trailor at this stage popped off the tow ball and swung around to hit the car side on. As it swung around the boat broke it's safety strap and skidded onto the road. All in all the damage was all the panels down one side of the car stuffed. The trailor was a write off and the boat (with the least damage) needed some fibreglass repairs. Lucky it was an outboard and not an inboard otherwise they would have had a lot more damage.

Driving back from MN after the last weekend of boating this fall, I was doing about 75 on I-94 when the right trailer tire tread came off. It fractured the fiberglass fender and ripped out the wires for the running lights, which made some nice sparks as I was pulling over. It was 10:00PM and pitch black out and had no flashlight. The tire was still holding air, so I drove it two miles to the next exit which was luckly a town my girlfriends grandparents live and left the boat there. Luckly the tire had held air because when I dropped it off, I realized that jack I had with wouldn't have fit under the trailer axle. Long story short Goodyear paid for a new tire and to get the fender replaced.

Check it: So, I hooked up my boat and towed it to the lake. When I got there, I dropped the boat in the water and wakeboarded. When it got choppy, I kicked it with my homies. When it got dark, I pulled my boat out of the water and drove home.

Towing my buddies boat behind a motorhome on our way to a tournament about an hour away. Some guy pulls up next to us and starts pointing back towards the boat. Thats when we realized that the tires was venting white smoke everywhere. Cause = Blown to hell wheel bearing. Pulled over in a church parking lot and drank beer while we called my other buddy (who's a mechanic) who went and picked up the right bearings. He then came out and changed both bearings, regreased, and we hit the road 3 hours later... Lesson learned, always check the grease in your bearings, and bring tools when towing a boat!

Kstate ~ and dont forget how long that wait would have been without a few beers.

Towing my boat back from Lake Mead after a event filled weekend (one of those weekends you realize that you'd have rather stayed home), I pull over to let my Girlfriend Drive (I Know! I know! But, I was tired from driving). Anyways, as soon as we got underway and I close my eyes for a second, I hear bang...scrape...and rattle. I look in the rearview mirror and see Sparks flying everywhere on the passenger side of the trailer. Luckily, my girlfriend kept relatively calm and quickly pulled over. as we got to the side of the freeway, I see our trailer tire roll about 150 yards off the road out into the desert! I go back and look at the trailer and see that all the lug bolts snapped off the hub. So after I hiked out to get the perfectly good tire and loaded all the valuables into the car and unhitched the trailer on the side of the road, we drove 45 minutes to Barstow, where all the tire shops were closed! Then I went to an autoparts place to see if they sold just the bolts for my hub (although I didn't know how I was going to get the remnants of the old ones out). They gave me ones that "Appeared" to be the same size, but they weren't. We tried to get the old bolts out and eventually did. Getting the new ones in wasnt working though. I decided to call a machine shop to see if they could help me. The guy was grumpy and mad that I had the guts to bother him on a Sunday. He threw a hammer at me and said go for it. As I was wacking awwy I nailed my thumb a few times and managed to break the hub. I then asked the guy if he had any hubs since mine was toasted. He took me into a room where he had 100s of them. After arguing which size I needed (I was right mind you) he sold me a rusty old one for $75.00 or $80.00 (I guess it was after-hours Price!) When we got back to the Boat 3 Hours later! I repacked the bearings and put the hub on and mounted the tire. As I was walking back to the DRIVER'S seat (No Nap mind you!) I noticed someone had Broke my Drivers side tail light on the trailer as it was sitting on the side of the freeway! Luckily, I had a spare tail light kit in the boat from the last time I had a blowout and broke a tailight and fender. Ahh...just reliving it...makes me mad. Thanks Mike!

Hey More Betterness all the stories count so tell us the weekend warrior story.....

thanks. So we just got our new chevy 3500 and we decided to pull our trailer out to havasu, did not realize how fast we were going across desert center and when we went through some dips the trailer came off the ground and then landed and start sway back and forth it cause the truck to do the same. Well it became violent and the next thing I know we are stopped in a V shape across the road and we are facing back to the I-10. It is not the coolest story but it scared the crap out of me cause a couple times I thought we were going to flip. Mike thanks for letting me share.

How 'bout ALMOST getting around the corner in the Taco Bell drive-thru?

We were driving on a road, about to turn off onto the on-ramp for the freeway. It had been raining, so the road was a bit wet. We were going slow, but apparently not slow enough! Slowed down to take the turn, but the brakes locked, and we went over the diamond shaped curb that separated our right hand turning lane from the people who would turn left from the other direction and eventually merge into the same on-ramp lane (if that makes sense). Anyhow, the truck goes up and over the diamond, then the boat trailer scrapes over it as well, and we finally stop at the edge of a small cliff on the edge of the highway overpass! We hit a 4x4 signpost with the truck bumper, sheared it right off and sent it about 150 ft down the road. My husband went out to look, no damage on the truck, some scrapes on the underside of the trailer only. And the sign post, well it apparently said "Danger"!

Derek - Are you serious? Taco Bell is where my old crew insisted on stopping after the lake.

I'm ashamed but, A friend was coming home after a bass fishing tournament. He hooked the winch strap to the bow eye but didn't strap the rear down. Took off from a stop sign, the trailer had rollers instead of runners. the strap broke and friends boat was sitting in the intersection minus the trailer. It gets better! While everyone is standing around the boat wondering how we will get it back on the trailer, up drives some 80 year old man-serious look on his face-"catchin' anythin'" he asks. After stunned silence and no reply, spits tobacco juice out and drives off. Thought I would bust a gut! Almost chewed my lip off to keep from laughing in front of my friend. 4-5 guys grabbed the boat and rolled it on the trailer and to the house we went.

Yep, really really thought I could make it through. In fact, after I got the people behind me to get out the way, my instincts were to try again. Talk about stupid instincts ;-) Luckily, I just pulled around with a bruised ego and got my crappy food.

More Betterness - FYI apply trailer brakes only (thumb switch) Being in a hurry, I pull in to pick up our water flea rides, pulled a Nascar hook up, 2 minutes later, I'm on the freeway doing 80mph, drive thru a swell/dip on the freeway (Cali, Newport-55 fwy) the trailor & ski's jump about 2' off ground, the trailer comes off, sliding back & forth 3'. I kissed the tow chain once I stopped.......... No more Nascar trailer hook up for this guy.....

Seriously thanks for the info it happened when I was 17 so I was not quite sure what was going on. When we got to havasu we had the trailer brakes reset or something the guy told us that the setting was to high or set for a heavier weight, I do not remember exactly what was said. I will keep your advice handy if that happens again, hopefully not...knock on wood.

Dan, The following story might make you feel a little better about your ordeal. <a href="http://forums.thedieselstop.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB16&Number=18208 50&Forum=f16&Words=&Searchpage=0&L imit=25&Main=1820645&Search=true&where =bodysub&Name=28638&daterange=1&newerv al=1&newertype=y&olderval=&oldertype=& amp;bodyprev=#Post1820850" target="_blank">http://forums.thedieselstop.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB16&Number=18208 50&Forum=f16&Words=&Searchpage=0&L imit=25&Main=1820645&Search=true&where =bodysub&Name=28638&daterange=1&newerv al=1&newertype=y&olderval=&oldertype=& amp;bodyprev=#Post1820850</a>

Swass....LOL Mine is just like that one, except when the water got choppy I let my wife ride.<img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/proud.gif" border=0>