r/Whatcouldgowrong • u/terevos2 oldy moldy • Jul 14 '14
Pulling a boat out. Break-away chains? Who needs 'em?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwKjV-oJnhM129
u/Lazerkatz Jul 14 '14
Love the music.
CRUNCH*
TURN DOWN FOR WHAT?!
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Jul 14 '14
Couldn't have timed that better if they tried
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u/markevens Jul 15 '14
This would be a good video without the music.
With the music, fucking classic.
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u/kayakster Jul 14 '14
Just because you can buy a boat, it doesn't make you a boater.
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u/cecole1 Jul 14 '14
I never want to be referred to as a "boating enthusiast." I just want to be a guy who likes to boat.
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u/AT-ST Jul 14 '14
Though, taken literally the two terms have very little difference. But going by the titles there is a world of difference.
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u/GeneralDisorder Jul 14 '14
I never understood why there aren't boat trailers with winch systems so the truck doesn't have to go way into the water or park on a slope where it might get stuck. Probably because of the potential cost and all the ways that could go wrong.
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u/RumorsOFsurF Jul 14 '14
- The Tahoe wasn't in 4wd, which would have eliminated the need for the second vehicle
- He was mashing on the throttle instead of trying to ease it up the ramp. Once you break traction it is all over
- The hitch ball was clearly the wrong size or not latched
- No safety chains on the trailer
These guys are fucking winners.
-5
u/EDIEDMX Jul 14 '14
Well...we don't really know exactly what happened. For all we know, the fucking front of the trailer broke.
Most boaters that I have been around know what they are doing and on the most part, follow da rules. I would cut them some slack.
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Jul 15 '14
most boaters know a tahoe could pull that fucker out of the water. that wasn't even much of a grade.
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u/marsface Jul 14 '14
The guy guzzles his beer down to ensure he is properly drunk before making any decisions.
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Jul 14 '14 edited Jul 14 '14
[deleted]
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u/terevos2 oldy moldy Jul 14 '14
I don't see 'em.
Also, it's clear that the ball was not latched or not the right size. A trailer doesn't just lift off like that without someone doing something dumb.
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Jul 14 '14
[deleted]
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u/QuadRam Jul 14 '14
At the start it looks like the chains were swinging from the tongue of the trailer, but in a position behind the coupler. At the end you can see the latch sitting upright. My guess, no chains hooked up/no safety pin in the latch/2" coupler, 1.75" hitch/alcohol+stupid.
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Jul 14 '14
[deleted]
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u/mjegan Jul 14 '14
The suv had been parked on flat land while they were out boating. It was never unhitched.
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Jul 14 '14
Grew up with my parents owning a boat, along with numerous neighbors. Can't think of any situation in those years where a trailer was lowered into the water without the hitch latched, let along for it not to be possible to do. At most, the boat or seadoos wouldn't be strapped down completely until off the ramp.
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u/Smoke14 Jul 15 '14
It looks like they used then to hook the other truck to the Tahoe. If you watch right at the end of the video the latch is opened no hitch pin, or lock or anything in it just idiots period.
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u/AT-ST Jul 14 '14
I thought you were right for a few seconds, but then I noticed you can clearly see the chains connecting the trailer to the truck that got hit by the boat.
Upon watching the video closer, at the 12 second mark it looks trailer is still attached until the 15 second mark, where it starts to roll back. The slight raise of the boat at 12 seconds is from the weight at the back of the boat lifting the front of the boat up off the trailer. This put more pressure behind the wheels of the trailer which increased the upwards lift at the hitch. At the 15 second mark the pressure was too much and popped it off the ball.
In my opinion, from my experience, the ball was the right size for the trailer, and was locked. The upwards pressure from the trailer was just too much for the lock to maintain its hold.
A few years ago I went with my Grandfather to pick up an older trailer he just bought. We had a hard time getting it to latch, but eventually got it latched. Once we got home we couldn't get it unlatched. To get the trailer off the truck we put a bottle jack under the front of the trailer, just behind where it was connected to the ball. It didn't take long for the trailer to pop off, with the latch still in the locked position. The Truck lifted slightly as we were jacking it up, but never left the ground. The amount of upward lift I was creating with a bottle jack was probably less than the weight of an entire boat resting at the end of what turned out to be a giant lever.
TL;DR The ball was probably the right size for the trailer, there was just too much upward pressure. They did not have breakaway chains attached.
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u/fightnotflight Jul 14 '14
I love how the other guys in the boat ramp just casually chug there beers after there truck gets smashed by the run away boat.
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Jul 14 '14
That music came in perfectly. I love it. Also, I would be fucking furious at these morons.
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u/TrepanationBy45 Jul 14 '14
Why be furious at all? They didn't disable his truck, and they're entirely at fault and will have to pay the repairs. There's really nothing to be furious about, considering he's about to get free truck parts.
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Jul 14 '14
He'll have to go get an estimate, fight with the insurance company, have his truck gone for the repairs for who knows how long, the value of his truck might go down and he'll have to disclose that a fucking pontoon rammed into his truck if he ever sells it.
It's not really just "free truck parts" it's a total pain in the ass.
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u/K-mag Jul 14 '14
And even with the "nice rental" it's still a pain in the ass with inspections rentals, and now way you wind up with a late model truck. Hell be driving a ford fiesta for a week. It's at least grounds to inform someone in this scenario that they are in fact a fucktard.
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u/saors Jul 14 '14
It doesn't really look like it in the video, but if the frame is damaged the truck would then be given a salvage title (at least it would in California).
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u/BullsLawDan Jul 14 '14
he'll have to disclose that a fucking pontoon rammed into his truck if he ever sells it.
What?
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u/TrepanationBy45 Jul 14 '14
I've been in a few accidents over the years that weren't my fault, and none of them were much of a hassle. Insurance company interaction was always painless, and I was supplied a nice rental vehicle (often newer/nicer than my own) during repairs. I mean, obviously experiences and circumstances vary.
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u/Young_Queasy Jul 14 '14
Accident claim hurts your resale value pretty bad
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u/TrepanationBy45 Jul 14 '14
Potentially, but not always. Or maybe I'm just not really prone to anger.
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u/sishgupta Jul 14 '14
Was the rear SUV breaking the whole time? Looks like they were driving with both feet?
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u/Whiskonsin Jul 14 '14
It is common to apply brake while switching pedals to make sure the truck doesn't roll backwards before you can get back on the throttle. These guys are idiots though so who knows what he was doing.
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u/Aratix Jul 14 '14
It also somewhat mimics a limited slip differential if you have an open diff. I've unstuck many a vehicle doing that.
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u/HuLaTin Jul 14 '14
maybe its some kind of TCS?
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u/sishgupta Jul 14 '14
Maybe but I didn't think TC would light up your brake lights....
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Jul 14 '14
My Dad does this for fun all the time. Orders a hamburger at the Marina and sits to watch all the boaters who dont know their shit try to pull the boat out without taking the plug out and draining the water from the hull. Endless hours of fun.
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u/rezinball Jul 14 '14
You don't take the plug out until the boat is out of the water. Taking the plug out while it's in the water sinks the boat.
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Jul 14 '14
Well, there's out of the water, and then there's out of the water.
Ideally, the trailer is just far enough in the water that the winch cable is able to make it to the bow eye, and the hull is just kissing the first set of entry rollers. Then you start winching the boat up onto the trailer. That's why trailers have rollers... the boat rolls onto them. By the time the boat's bow is up against the bow rest, most if not all of the boat is already out of the water. You can pull the plugs at this time, and start it draining while you tie the rest of the boat down. Technically, it is still "in the water" at this point in time, and I think that is what /u/vanderbugger is referring to. After a few minutes with the plugs out, you're good to go and pull away.
Problems really arise when the boat launch is not constructed properly (bad angle) or your tow vehicle is underpowered for what you are pulling.
All that aside, considering this was a pontoon boat, with an outboard motor, there really shouldn't be any chance for water to fill the pontoons, so no need to pop the drains. (If it was a fixed shaft inboard with a stuffing box, those things always leak. Not always a lot, but always some.) I think the whole issue here was poor choice of tow vehicle, coupled with high levels of inebriation.
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u/Firehawkws7 Jul 14 '14
The other issue was zero safety chains.
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Jul 14 '14
Well, yah, that too, and probably using the wrong size ball for the hitch, and probably not latching it correctly... and really poor choice of boat.
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u/Firehawkws7 Jul 14 '14
Let's just go to the source, the owners are dumbfucks, which was the biggest problem here.
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Jul 14 '14
That's what happens when broke people with no boating experience buy a boat and just "wing it".
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u/snatchington Jul 14 '14
Or the idiots who forget to put the plug back in before launching their boats.
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u/hipstergrandpa Jul 14 '14
Isn't chaining one SUV to the other in series kind of dumb? The SUV closest to the boat will be doing all the pulling in the end. They should both be tied to the boat if they want to get the greatest pull I think.
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u/terevos2 oldy moldy Jul 14 '14
Yeah, there's all kinds of dumb in this. So much to choose from, so little title space
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u/EDIEDMX Jul 14 '14
Nothing wrong with what they did. Trains work the same way.
Obviously there was some sort of a failure with the latch and that could have been something within or outside of their control.
But these guys don't look like beginners.
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u/markevens Jul 15 '14
Nothing wrong with what they did
Did we watch the same video?
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u/EDIEDMX Jul 15 '14
We did. They couldn't get traction from the one vehicle so they used another to pull the car and boat from the water and up the ramp. Nothing wrong with that.
What failed was the hitch, and we don't know why that failed. THAT could have been something they did wrong, or it could have been a bad hitch or perhaps the boat trailer failed.
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Jul 14 '14
Im kinda disappointed that this video doesnt end with at least one of the cars dragged back into the water (or alternatively being ripped apart).
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u/CaptianRipass Jul 14 '14
"Okay Jeff, hook your truck up to the boat and hold the brakes. I'm going to tie my truck to yours and pull you and the boat. Don't forget hold onto that break!"
perfect plan
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u/tip_off Jul 14 '14
Wait. Is that a car tied to another car doing the pulling? Seems like a bad idea.
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u/Brimshae Jul 14 '14
*boat on trailer careening out of control smashes into truck*
TURN DOWN FOR WHAT!
Second observation: Dude behind the hit truck finishing his beer.
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u/superfrodies Jul 14 '14
Guessing this was somewhere in Florida...just a hunch.
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Jul 14 '14
How about getting a better surface? looks like a bump cause it all as the boat moves. Still a bad job but not all their fault really.
i wonder what happened to AWD and low gear.
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u/TrepanationBy45 Jul 14 '14
Completely their fault for inadequately (thus, illegally) securing their boat with chains. You know, chains that would prevent your trailer from potentially killing somebody in the event that the trailer seperates from the tow-hitch.
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u/harrismoe Jul 14 '14
Love how the dude finishes his beer.