oops

[Bibbs]

Not sure if this pic has been posted before but this has got to be a bad day for this guy.

boatcrash.jpg

[Carter13]

I haven't seen this one before. That looks like a Tundra under the boat. Ouch

[da.bell]

Looks like he had the back tie downs on also.

[Carter13]

If you look at the front of the Tundra you will notice heavy front end damage.
The picture of the Dodge with the Bayliner showed it hit head on with the pole. Moral of the story, use the 3+ second rule and don't hit anything head on.

[jwanck11]

Wow that is scary. Makes me even more concerned given those are trucks and the boat apparently will slide up the bed... what is gonna happen to an SUV???

[skyski_tige]

Atleast he had a place to sit after the accident

[chpthril]

I only see one transom strap, so I'll bet that it was only held down up front with the winch strap, not what's supposed to do by the way The simple addition of an Oh-$h!t chain would have prevented that end result.

[MoneyPity]

I only see one transom strap, so I'll bet that it was only held down up front with the winch strap, not what's supposed to do by the way The simple addition of an Oh-$h!t chain would have prevented that end result.

I wonder how many Oh-$hit chains would snap with the force the boat had to have to slide off the trailer onto the pickup. Looking at the one on my trailer and seeing results between this one, the truck who hit a pole and a third one I am definetly changing my Oh-$hit chain to a one that can hold at least 10k pounds. The stock one will either snap a link or the hook that attaches to bow eye with any significant force against it.

My aft straps are rated for 2500lbs each so I would not doubt in a head on at any significant speed those will let go too.

The SUV question is concerning. If it happened when towing with my Jeep I would probably land up sharing the front seat.

The Tahoe sits higher and has a stonger box frame in the rear but who knows if it could hold back a 3800lb missle. The two key accidents where the boats launched is an effective message for me to slow down when trailing around town and on Interstates and two lane highways.

[mtnsmith]

I only see one transom strap, so I'll bet that it was only held down up front with the winch strap, not what's supposed to do by the way The simple addition of an Oh-$h!t chain would have prevented that end result.

I beg to differ, there was a boat that broke loose on the highway here a little while ago, only a 20-foot center console, and it had both transom tie downs and the bow safety chain still attached as we went by on the shoulder. The guy was interviewed on local news, he got cut off and started fish tailing and the guy said as the trailer brakes locked up he could feel the truck whip straight but then he was already correcting so the whole rig whipped a 180 and launched the boat right off the trailer. I know a guy that is a DOT cop here in Florida and he said tie downs seem to help keep the boat centered when bouncing down the road, but in a wreck will rarely keep the boat on the trailer.

[RDeLacy]

Is this the Boat and a Pole you are talking about???

Original Email:

How to Load a Boat onto a Pickup

1. Load up beer, 2-3 ice chests full
2. Relax, have beer.
3. Hook boat trailer up to truck
4. Drink lots of beer
5. Drive real fast
6. Hit light pole (needs to be a solid one)
7. Boat will load it self onto truck.
8. Relax, have another beer.

[MoneyPity]

Yes that would be the boat and the formula for success.

[mtnsmith]

Here's another shot of the truck in the starting post. Apparently that was just north of me back in august 2007. I found it on a local news blog.

[zad0030]

I dont care how many straps you have and what they are rated for. The forces at play here are tremendous.

Even If your boat does not come off the tailer then the trailer is still coming with even more mass with it.

[Timmy!]

I don't think it matters what straps you have in an accident, they aren't there to hold the boat to the trailer if you are coming to a complete stop instantly from 40+ mph.

[MoneyPity]

I dont care how many straps you have and what they are rated for. The forces at play here are tremendous.

Even If your boat does not come off the tailer then the trailer is still coming with even more mass with it.

I don't think it matters what straps you have in an accident, they aren't there to hold the boat to the trailer if you are coming to a complete stop instantly from 40+ mph.

Good Points. Even with a high strength Oh-$hit chain there I would also suspect the bow stop itself would collapse and you would still have a similar situation.