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How not to load a boat at the ramp


the_dude

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So me and the friends and fam had a great weekend. However, on Sunday as we were loading we witnessed a guy loose his new looking full size Nissan Titan. These are the stories we all talk about and get a good laugh out of but to see it in person made me sick to my stomach.

The Driver got out to hook up the bow of the boat to the trailer, which he did but the truck began to roll back. By the time he got in the truck and mashed the gas the boat floated the rear tires off the ramp. Seconds later as he was panicked and revving his engine, it hydrolocked with a sickening pop. The driver safely swam away from the vehicle and watched his truck sinking in shock. They unhooked the bow strap and the truck sank out of sight. You can see him standing on it in one of the pics.

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when this type of thing happens wouldnt puttinhg the boat in gear and at least slow the truck down? if not stop it all together?

I've always wondered about that too, but it would have to be hooked up and the boat driver would have to be very fast on the draw.

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so how did the truck roll back... was it not in park? And I always have my tahoe in 4x4 when loading and unloading.... just a safety measure when letting friends back my rig in and pull me out.... maybe could have saved him.

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I overheard the guy telling someone in the boat that he had set the parking brake. I speculate that he may have left it in reverse.

The whole boat in gear thing is exactly what I thought of when watching it happen. It's hard to say what a person would do in a situation like that. My first thought was somehow using my trailer winch strap to help get the guys truck though that was before these pics got taken and the front truck tires were probably still grounded. I thought of the whole boat in gear thing a few seconds after seeing it and maybe that wouldn't of been soon enough? The point of no return was reached very quickly.

Edited by the_dude
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I was at Lake Don Pedro early August and watched a guy do the same thing while getting his jetski. The trucks rear tires where floating, and the front were barley holding on... He jumped on the jetski and started pushing the truck back up...Kinda... After about 5 min, he got it out...

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so if the boat was holding the rig up why not steer the boat in that direction and hope to get some footing or wait for help why disconnect the bow line and let the thing sink to the bottom. A tow hook on the bumper of the truck would of got it out easier with the truck partially out of the water then at the very bottom of the lake. Dontknow.gif

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Didn't some post pics or video of the jetski pushing the truck back onto the ramp?

when this type of thing happens wouldnt puttinhg the boat in gear and at least slow the truck down? if not stop it all together?

I've always wondered about that too, but it would have to be hooked up and the boat driver would have to be very fast on the draw.

This is why most of use have a driver put the boat on the trailer. I'm thinking they walked the boat onto the trailer and hooked it up with out some one in the boat. Dontknow.gif That or the trailer was to low and when cranking the boat onto the trailer, the boat lifted the trailer witch inturn lifted the rear tires of the truck. :unsure:

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Didn't some post pics or video of the jetski pushing the truck back onto the ramp?
when this type of thing happens wouldnt puttinhg the boat in gear and at least slow the truck down? if not stop it all together?

I've always wondered about that too, but it would have to be hooked up and the boat driver would have to be very fast on the draw.

This is why most of use have a driver put the boat on the trailer. I'm thinking they walked the boat onto the trailer and hooked it up with out some one in the boat. Dontknow.gif That or the trailer was to low and when cranking the boat onto the trailer, the boat lifted the trailer witch inturn lifted the rear tires of the truck. :unsure:

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Thats a horrible thing to happen. I always launch with two people and never leave the truck unattended

I agree, but that's not always practical. This is one reason why I NEVER launch or recover the boat with the kids in the car. It would be very difficult to get them out (especially if they are in car seats) before the truck went under.

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Thats a horrible thing to happen. I always launch with two people and never leave the truck unattended

I agree, but that's not always practical. This is one reason why I NEVER launch or recover the boat with the kids in the car. It would be very difficult to get them out (especially if they are in car seats) before the truck went under.

Wow now that's scary.

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I overheard the guy telling someone in the boat that he had set the parking brake. I speculate that he may have left it in reverse.

The whole boat in gear thing is exactly what I thought of when watching it happen. It's hard to say what a person would do in a situation like that. My first thought was somehow using my trailer winch strap to help get the guys truck though that was before these pics got taken and the front truck tires were probably still grounded. I thought of the whole boat in gear thing a few seconds after seeing it and maybe that wouldn't of been soon enough? The point of no return was reached very quickly.

I had a guy tell me on a ramp one time you should never put your truck in park with the engine running as this was bad for the transmission. :unsure:

I was always worried with my 2500 diesel 6 speed, I figured the parking brake and engine running was a better combo than engine off and parking brake in gear. Of course, the parking brake on a 2500 can hold a whole lot more.

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I overheard the guy telling someone in the boat that he had set the parking brake. I speculate that he may have left it in reverse.

The whole boat in gear thing is exactly what I thought of when watching it happen. It's hard to say what a person would do in a situation like that. My first thought was somehow using my trailer winch strap to help get the guys truck though that was before these pics got taken and the front truck tires were probably still grounded. I thought of the whole boat in gear thing a few seconds after seeing it and maybe that wouldn't of been soon enough? The point of no return was reached very quickly.

I had a guy tell me on a ramp one time you should never put your truck in park with the engine running as this was bad for the transmission. :unsure:

I was always worried with my 2500 diesel 6 speed, I figured the parking brake and engine running was a better combo than engine off and parking brake in gear. Of course, the parking brake on a 2500 can hold a whole lot more.

Do you start your truck with it in gear? Park is fine, though you don't want to put too much pressure on the mechinism that holds it in "park"... so set the parking brake before putting it in Park.

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I overheard the guy telling someone in the boat that he had set the parking brake. I speculate that he may have left it in reverse.

The whole boat in gear thing is exactly what I thought of when watching it happen. It's hard to say what a person would do in a situation like that. My first thought was somehow using my trailer winch strap to help get the guys truck though that was before these pics got taken and the front truck tires were probably still grounded. I thought of the whole boat in gear thing a few seconds after seeing it and maybe that wouldn't of been soon enough? The point of no return was reached very quickly.

I had a guy tell me on a ramp one time you should never put your truck in park with the engine running as this was bad for the transmission. :unsure:

I was always worried with my 2500 diesel 6 speed, I figured the parking brake and engine running was a better combo than engine off and parking brake in gear. Of course, the parking brake on a 2500 can hold a whole lot more.

Do you start your truck with it in gear? Park is fine, though you don't want to put too much pressure on the mechinism that holds it in "park"... so set the parking brake before putting it in Park.

We all know the sound of a tranny when you have pressure on the drivetrain and put it in gear, but I also know people that never put the E-brake on and have over 100K miles on their trucks too.

I always put the E-brake on, I don't release the foot brake until it's on even on flat surface. Just something I've done for years :)

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I overheard the guy telling someone in the boat that he had set the parking brake. I speculate that he may have left it in reverse.

The whole boat in gear thing is exactly what I thought of when watching it happen. It's hard to say what a person would do in a situation like that. My first thought was somehow using my trailer winch strap to help get the guys truck though that was before these pics got taken and the front truck tires were probably still grounded. I thought of the whole boat in gear thing a few seconds after seeing it and maybe that wouldn't of been soon enough? The point of no return was reached very quickly.

I had a guy tell me on a ramp one time you should never put your truck in park with the engine running as this was bad for the transmission. :unsure:

I was always worried with my 2500 diesel 6 speed, I figured the parking brake and engine running was a better combo than engine off and parking brake in gear. Of course, the parking brake on a 2500 can hold a whole lot more.

Do you start your truck with it in gear? Park is fine, though you don't want to put too much pressure on the mechinism that holds it in "park"... so set the parking brake before putting it in Park.

We all know the sound of a tranny when you have pressure on the drivetrain and put it in gear, but I also know people that never put the E-brake on and have over 100K miles on their trucks too.

I always put the E-brake on, I don't release the foot brake until it's on even on flat surface. Just something I've done for years :)

I have that e-brake habbit as well. I always set it, it's just second nature. Just don't set it while you are at a the Mt's. Whistling.gif

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first, that truck is too small for that boat...

A guy I used to ski with didn't have a tow vehicle, so he would rent little s-10 sized trucks to pull his mari-star when he couldn't get someone else to pull him to the ramp. one time the truck was a stick, and the e-brake let go on him. his GF was driving the boat and had the sense to throttle it a bit, which easily kept the truck from rolling backward. good thinking on her part, and part of the reason we always power load our boat.

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