We do allot of boat trailering and have a couple of boats that we use depending on the mission.. Today I was in or smallest boat and we were done for the day and trailering the boat. Typically we have three people a truck driver a boat driver(thats me) and a third to hook up the boat winch and safety chains. We are very careful about the whole evolution. Well today it was me in the boat and one other guy that had to both back the truck down the ramp and then get out and hook up the winch and there were a few people standing on the pier. We got the boat on the trailer and were hooking up the safety chains and I was securing the engines when the truck started to slide down the ramp like it was on a sheet of ice. (Its a 4 dr chevy 3500 dually 4x4) one of the guys standing on the pier ran and hopped in the truck and put it in gear to keep it from going under, the water did make it up to the rear doors before the truck started moving forward. Myself and the other guy cut the boat free from the winch and I backed the boat away. The trailer was totally underwater and had hung up on the lip of the boat ramp it took us 3 hours to get it freed up. We ended up having to remove one of the tires under water and drag the trailer up on its hub. The only damage we got was a bent trailer fender. I am sure if we would have had our bigger boat I would be posting picture of our dually underwater. As we were pulling out the people that manage the ramp came out with a pressure washer to get the slick build up off the ramp. It sure was a fun filled afternoon.

Yikes! That's always on my mind - visions of our Excursion sliding into the water. Almost had it happen once with one of our boats and our old 3/4 ton sub. Big long steep ramp on the Mississippi. We were backing in, and I hit the brakes, and the wheels locked up on the sandy ramp. Didn't think that thing was ever going to stop.

Ed,
Glad it turned out good. I once almost launched my old truck with the boat several years ago as my master cylinder went out on me while on the boat ramp. What a bad feeling when the pedal is to the floor and you are still rolling. I used the emergency brake to get it stopped and get the truck back out. Once again, glad everything turned out OK.
Frank

I'll bet they came out and cleaned up the ramp seeing as how this happened to a Coast Guard rig! By the way, thanks for serving in the Guard!

Glad there was little damage and no injuries.

Sounds like a few may have had to clean out thier pants after that one. Can dock people or whomever it may concern be held liable for a boat ramp thats wasnt maintained?

..Had to remove the wheel underwater? Sounds like fun:eek:

One day Id like to have a boat, too many regulations out here to enjoy them though.

I pulled out a truck that was under water once, about 20 years ago. Guy came over, asked me to help, since I had a Dodge 3/4 ton 4x4 handy. Drove over to the ramp, no truck, and a boat floating out about 50' off the ramp. Looked close, could see the front edge of the guy's hood and front edge of the roof . :clonk: :D Got it up, it was an old Ford 1/2 ton overloaded with construction tools, a lot of them electric. :eek:

The funny thing is that after we trailered we were going to another ramp and I was expecting to get stuck in the sand at that one :clonk: But after the close call we decided to just call it a day

:eek: Scary stuff for sure... I think you were wise to call it a day :D

Ed thank goodness no one was hurt....your talking safety chain not chains right? We use a single chain for attaching the winch stand to bow eye in case of winch failure as your trailer safety chains should have already been attached to the truck prior to backing down. I also work for the FED and deal with boats daily....at full moon times of the year and with the unusual low tides we deal with the slimy ramps as well and we use the boat's engine in gear to protect against a vehicle launch until its wheels are back on good footing then shut down the boats engine...I can sometimes push the truck up the ramp....just make sure your attached to the trailer as to avoid over shooting the trailer winch stand...works great for us...in fact I'm going in today to do just that...Make sure you have the rear brakes serviced real soon and washed out if this was a salt water environment.

Ed thank goodness no one was hurt....your talking safety chain not chains right? We use a single chain for attaching the winch stand to bow eye in case of winch failure as your trailer safety chains should have already been attached to the truck prior to backing down. I also work for the FED and deal with boats daily....at full moon times of the year and with the unusual low tides we deal with the slimy ramps as well and we use the boat's engine in gear to protect against a vehicle launch until its wheels are back on good footing then shut down the boats engine...I can sometimes push the truck up the ramp....just make sure your attached to the trailer as to avoid over shooting the trailer winch stand...works great for us...in fact I'm going in today to do just that...Make sure you have the rear brakes serviced real soon and washed out if this was a salt water environment.

good thinking. We launch a lot in tidal areas, so the ramps are sometimes slimey. I always make sure the truck is in 4WD, and we power load the boat until it's winched and the safety chain is on. It's never been a problem with our 20' Wellcraft but I can see it getting a little hairy with the 25' Parker.

I was backing a 35' woooden Cris down a ramp and the shear weight of the boat pulled me back. Don't worry it was on a busy lake with all the people watching on the docks and the bar overlook. I know it gets real slippery with the alge and such and getting the big boats out is real bad.

Ed thank goodness no one was hurt....your talking safety chain not chains right? We use a single chain for attaching the winch stand to bow eye in case of winch failure as your trailer safety chains should have already been attached to the truck prior to backing down. I also work for the FED and deal with boats daily....at full moon times of the year and with the unusual low tides we deal with the slimy ramps as well and we use the boat's engine in gear to protect against a vehicle launch until its wheels are back on good footing then shut down the boats engine...I can sometimes push the truck up the ramp....just make sure your attached to the trailer as to avoid over shooting the trailer winch stand...works great for us...in fact I'm going in today to do just that...Make sure you have the rear brakes serviced real soon and washed out if this was a salt water environment.

the safety chains from the trailer to truck were connected properly and the safety chain from the winch mount was attached to the trailer eyebolt. I couldnt put power on to help the truck because the drop off on the ramp was deep enough that when the trailer axle dropped of it it pulled the bow of the boat down and took the props out of the water. If the truck wouldnt have stopped I am sure we would have swamped the bow and possibley sunk the boat along with the truck and trailer. We were lucky enough to have the right people in the right places when it happened. I am making a policy change at work that the truck will have a person in the cab with the truck in gear and the windows down and 4wd engaged when trailering at low water. I am also going to have quick release hooks installed on the safety chain for quick disconnect. After the trailer was out of the water we could see what was hanging up on the ramp and I am going to have the DC weld some pieces there so the trailer will be able to ride up and over the edge.

the safety chains from the trailer to truck were connected properly and the safety chain from the winch mount was attached to the trailer eyebolt. I couldnt put power on to help the truck because the drop off on the ramp was deep enough that when the trailer axle dropped of it it pulled the bow of the boat down and took the props out of the water. If the truck wouldnt have stopped I am sure we would have swamped the bow and possibley sunk the boat along with the truck and trailer. We were lucky enough to have the right people in the right places when it happened. I am making a policy change at work that the truck will have a person in the cab with the truck in gear and the windows down and 4wd engaged when trailering at low water. I am also going to have quick release hooks installed on the safety chain for quick disconnect. After the trailer was out of the water we could see what was hanging up on the ramp and I am going to have the DC weld some pieces there so the trailer will be able to ride up and over the edge.

Ed can you post some pictures of the trailer modifications after? Are you thinking some kind of skidplate? I'm always afraid of dropping off the dropoff myself.

Andy

Ed can you post some pictures of the trailer modifications after? Are you thinking some kind of skidplate? I'm always afraid of dropping off the dropoff myself.

Andy


I will take some pics for you but it may take a while for the guy to get here and weld it. Basically its like you said its a skid plate. the trailer is 2x4 hollow steel tube and then there is another 2x4 tube under the trailer frame that the axle suspension is bolted to. That lower 2x4 just has a staright edge on it. thats what got hung up. So I am going to have the guy weld a piece that is cut on an angle so that it will slide up and over the edge and get back on the wheels.

It's not quite the same thing but I remember launching a boat out on Rice Lake and having the wheels of the trailer drop off the end of the ramp. The ramp just ended and dropped vertically into the mucky bottom. After dad had a few goes and did little but abuse the clutch, the guy taking boat launch fees came out with a giant pole (looked like a cabre toss) and just levered the frame so the wheels stepped back onto the ramp.


I remember an amusing scene another time where a guy was attemping to get his just-loaded tri hull outboard up the ramp. His tow vehicle was a V8 Maverick, probably not rated for towing such a large boat. I don't remember him getting up the ramp, but I do remember clouds of blue smoke and lots of skid marks up the ramp.

I remember an amusing scene another time where a guy was attemping to get his just-loaded tri hull outboard up the ramp. His tow vehicle was a V8 Maverick, probably not rated for towing such a large boat. I don't remember him getting up the ramp, but I do remember clouds of blue smoke and lots of skid marks up the ramp.

that's funny. We have a pontoon boat that we use as a dive barge sometimes. No motor or steering, just a floating platform. We normally tow it with the Excursion but once we had our other boat as well so we had to tow it with what we like to call the "sh**** van". Basically, it's an old Dodge van that can barely get out of it's own way let alone tow anything. The boat doesnt way much more than 800 lbs with the trailer, but I couldn't get that thing over 55 to save my life, and then when I tried to pull it out at the Vicksburg puplic launch, well, lets just say I need some people to help push lol