proper tow vehicle rebuttle

Joined
Mar 4, 2008
Messages
69
well here goes my tail of the proper tow vehicle with me being the dumb @ss at the end of it all. i have a 22 foot cruiser bout 5,000k add the trailer bout another 1,000k add another 300 for big block i installed, also add gear, food, coolers, and water weight from being out all day and half tank of gas so your pushing 7,000k. well i did have the great tow vehicle. Fully restored 79 chevy with mint rebuilt 350 with edelbrock everything "torquer parts". with the fully rebuilt trans with granny low "stick" trans cooler and all the bells and whistles for the perfect high torque needed, and i mean torque. waiting and i mean waiting to dock the boat and get out of the water, realized hey nobody using that ramp looked and it seemed great "ignoring the do not use this ramp sign in low water" :(. docked got the trailer in and loaded the boat. "now i have fully locking rears and air locking front" well hmmm spun all for tires "in a 6,000# + built truck". everyone watching you like your a complete moron, and not moving any where, then all of a sudden hearing that sudden crunch and metal bending noise and metal scraping on concrete was just great :( .... looking out and realizing that they removed the metal ramp from under the water and your trailer tires were hung up on the 8 inch concrete lip where the ramp is supposed to be mounted and knowing you felt the "not so little dip when backing the trailer in the water and thinking nothing of it" was great to. but the best part is when you realize your perfect tow vehicle was a little to perfect and a little to strong and maybe you chould not have needed to gun the heck out of it while on dry pavement in 4 low with all four tires locked up and it probably was not a great idea to back up further to get a running start cuz you may just bust the axle mounts "leaf spring mounts" and end up dragging your boat and trailer out while leaving your nice tandem axles upside down and your once rear axle is now your front axle. yup that was priceless for me. front mounts broke and the front axle went down while the rear axle came over the top like it was pole vaulting over the other one. point is tow vehicle is only as good as the idiot behind the wheel.
 

Windykid

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Apr 17, 2007
Messages
1,177
Re: proper tow vehicle rebuttle

Oh sh!t, yea need pictures.:eek:
 
Joined
Mar 15, 2008
Messages
28
Re: proper tow vehicle rebuttle

Did ya know Edelbrock doesn't recommend the use of their torquer parts on heavy vehicles and trucks? Most Edelbrock torquer parts are efficient in the 3-7 grand rpm range - not 'supposed to be' good for towing.

How did you recover the truck and its axles after this ordeal?
 
Joined
Mar 4, 2008
Messages
69
Re: proper tow vehicle rebuttle

no pics guys.... long story took pics wit camera phone but never had the download cable to get them onto computer and about 3 months later dropped the phone in a puddle and had to replace it so i lost all the pics i had on the phone. after it happened i continued to pull the trailer on the concrete "after i raised the outdrive, which was damaged already from initial impact" until i was clear of the landing. then it was 2 bottle jacks to raise the trailer, my flux core wire welder "which sucks to weld anything" my two friends to help "right" the axle, and chicken scrath welding to temporarily weld the 2 leaf springs back into place. "actually used chains and welded them to leaf springs and then to frame to Help hold it into place. drove it accross town to the marina to have them lift it. they fixed outdrive damage and hull damage "minor" and i bought a used EZ loader trailer. all is well now and boat be back in water this year in good ole lake winnebago. still being towed by same truck.
 

Maclin

Admiral
Joined
May 27, 2007
Messages
6,761
Re: proper tow vehicle rebuttle

Just an observation that may help someone else in that situation.... Back the boat off the trailer and dock it before you try to muscle out the trailer.
 

eli_lilly

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Dec 22, 2005
Messages
435
Re: proper tow vehicle rebuttle

Just an observation that may help someone else in that situation.... Back the boat off the trailer and dock it before you try to muscle out the trailer.

I read a really good suggestion on here once about this situation. Take the boat off the trailer, tie a rope from the trailer's rear crossmember to the front of the boat, and put the boat in reverse. This will lift (or at least extert some lifting force) the rear of the trailer. The tow vehicle then allegedly has an easy time pulling the trailer out.

-E
 

Maclin

Admiral
Joined
May 27, 2007
Messages
6,761
Re: proper tow vehicle rebuttle

I remember that! It was a neat idea, use everything at your disposal to help, I think I even posted a comment about it. Good stuff....
 

Maclin

Admiral
Joined
May 27, 2007
Messages
6,761
Re: proper tow vehicle rebuttle

Hey eli,

Are you associated with the Eli Lilly Pharma Corp? My wife did some contract admin type work for Eli Lilly at the Hospira facility in McPherson Kansas, small world at times.
 

jtexas

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Oct 13, 2003
Messages
8,646
Re: proper tow vehicle rebuttle

wow, that can't have been easy. sharing the story, I mean. Thanks, it's a good one.
 

TBarCYa

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 13, 2005
Messages
781
Re: proper tow vehicle rebuttle

Just so you know you're not alone, I did something similar last year. While launching I dropped the trailer off the ramp and had to have two other guys help me lift it while the 4th drove the tow vehicle. Not a fun experience. Fortunately in my case, all I did was move one side of the axle back so loosening the u-bolts, a couple whacks with a BFH and retighten the u-bolts was all that was required.
 

Silverado6x6

Cadet
Joined
Mar 24, 2008
Messages
26
Re: proper tow vehicle rebuttle

I would think some egghead would have some sort of compact inflatable bag mounted under the tail end of the trailer like in a vacuum sealed pack so its folded up nice and small, have it connected by an air line to the front of the trailer so if by some chance a situation like this happens you just inflate the bag, it lifts rear of trailer high enough because its mostly underwater for at least the front axle to ride up over the ramp lip. 12 volt compressors are not too expensive or mattress inflater's.

Me being a redneck duct-taper would have a couple of airmatresses avilable and a two way high speed inflater cause when you are done you need to deflate them.
 

kyle f

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 5, 2007
Messages
408
Re: proper tow vehicle rebuttle

Yea, those eldelbrock parts are nto good for down low grunt, but if you have a matched torque converter that allows you to get to that RPM Range, or a Stick with unlimited stall and granny gear you should be OK.

I think what happened here is that you had too much confidence with your truck. As I would now with my Diesel.
 

Hanr3

Seaman
Joined
Apr 20, 2008
Messages
71
Re: proper tow vehicle rebuttle

nah, his truck was built right. It ripped the axle out of the trailer with the boat on it, then proceded to drag it across the parking lot. Cheap *** trailer. :D
 

Hunky Dory

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 20, 2003
Messages
102
Re: proper tow vehicle rebuttle

What a truck -- no tuning required!

Someone once speculated on adding an angled plate ahead of the shackle hangers on the trailer so that (given enough power) the trailer can be cam-lifted then slid until the tire reaches the perpendicular barrier presented by that cement edge. Sounded good at the time and even better now! The hangup seems to happen more often than might be expected.
 

JCF350

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Oct 21, 2007
Messages
1,149
Re: proper tow vehicle rebuttle

What a truck -- no tuning required!

Someone once speculated on adding an angled plate ahead of the shackle hangers on the trailer so that (given enough power) the trailer can be cam-lifted then slid until the tire reaches the perpendicular barrier presented by that cement edge. Sounded good at the time and even better now! The hangup seems to happen more often than might be expected.

My neighbor does something similar with a 4x4 or 6x6 piece of wood with an angle cut on the front for his 2 "float on" trailers. I made a pair with 1/4 inch channel welded to the frame at the front and supported towards the rear with another piece, the angle mounted piece ends just in front of the tire and 1 inch below the center of the hub. Works real well for ramps that drop off at the end of the slab.
 

dave11

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Dec 2, 2007
Messages
1,195
Re: proper tow vehicle rebuttle

Eli Lilly

Great suggestion. I haven't had that problem yet, but I will keep that in mind.
 

i386

Captain
Joined
Aug 24, 2004
Messages
3,548
Re: proper tow vehicle rebuttle

Eli Lilly

Great suggestion. I haven't had that problem yet, but I will keep that in mind.

Just don't be so happy you got the trailer out that you drag your boat up the ramp.:D
 

dave11

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Dec 2, 2007
Messages
1,195
Re: proper tow vehicle rebuttle

Hopefully I won't pull a "Stupid human trick" like that.
 
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