re: Ever had boat/trailer come off while driving?

I was moving an old trailer for my grandfather... damp thing popped off when full locked it was so worn. It was not a trailer worth fixing, I wanted to scrap it but my dumbass uncles "fixed" it. It popped off one of their trucks at highway speeds loaded up. They STILL welded it back together, but they can't weld, so the welds were just sitting on top of the metal. I pissed on off by pulling the welds apart with my hands, My uncle claimed I broke it. Well run on thoughts, don't cheap out on trailers or tires.

My Dad was wasted about 30 years ago. Kinda went off the side of the road in the curve on highland road. The old curve before they tamed it down.
Allison craft came off the trailer into the ditch.
We still laugh at that .

Yup. Headed to the west end boat launch and stupidly forgot to double check that the receiver was latched well onto the ball. Learned a valuable lesson about double checking when your friends hook up a boat for you. Enroute to the ramp and a Nissan Altima swerves in front of me and slams on the brakes. I swerve to the right and lock up my brakes and the trailer falls off the truck. Pretty embarrassing but I was more pissed about the reckless driving. Honestly it probably would’ve stayed on if not for that dang Altima. Either way I had it back on and hooked up within 5-7 minutes. Good times

Happened with a work trailer. Someone hooked up a 2 5/16” hitch to a 2" ball. It was already hooked up before I got there. Came across the basin bridge and hit the first small bridge and it came unhooked. Snapped chains off, caught up with me, crossed the median and into a a tree on the other side of the interstate.

4 wheeler trailer one night....and NO damage....lucky

The chit nightmares are made of! Go tigers.

I was pulling a boat when I was 15 from Marietta Ga. to Rome Ga. on I-75 in a pretty intense thunderstorm about 5 am. Kept noticing lights behind me disappearing...not flashing but a black void in the rear view mirror. Finally someone pulled beside me and was hollering out their window so I pulled over and my boat, a 12' fiberglass Sears Gamefisher, was sitting almost parallel to the trailer. The winch rope had broken and the boat had turned about 70 degrees across the trailer...only thing that kept it from coming off completely was the strap across the back....if it had been stern straps like everyone uses now it would have probably come off completely. Luckily it had turned toward the passenger side so the transom and motor was not quite in the other lane of traffic. I didn't even have a license yet LOL...it was a different era. Wore the crappie out on the Coosa river that day.

About 5 years after this I bought a brand spanking new Monark 15 foot bass boat...first and only new boat I have ever owned. I was headed to West Point with it one morning, again around 5 AM. The only other time I had ever pulled it was from the dealership. Had it on a step bumper hitch. I went across the Chattahoochee river at Fulton and Douglas counties and I saw the bow of my band new boat bounce up above the tailgate of my truck....just knew it was gone. Pulled over and the nut had come off the ball and the ball was still in the trailer. Safety chains work! Had to leave my brand new not even registered yet boat on the side of the road and get another ball. Don't remember catching a lot on that trip but I had a brand new boat so I most likely spent most of the day running it like a madman LOL.


About 10 years ago a buddy and I were going duck hunting in New Mexico and I was pulling my Gheenoe on a small 8 inch tired trailer. He was following me. We were on US 285 and if anyone is familiar with the area between Carlsbad and Orla when the oil field is booming US 285 is a solid line of oil trucks....one after another. Turning anywhere is a logistical nightmare. Hitting your breaks is chancing death. Its bad. SO we are tooling along and my phone rings and he says "you lost the boat"!. I pulled over and sure as hell boat and trailer both gone. I asked him if he had any idea how far back it was and he said about 5 miles LOL. We manage to turn around, leaving his truck on the side of the road, and backtrack until he is pretty certain we are further, turn and around and sure as hell about half a mile the boat is sitting on the trailer out in the middle of the damned desert. Perfectly fine. Do not know how it came off....trailer latch was closed, hitch on truck was fine. Did not have chains on that trailer like an idiot. Drove down to the boat, hooked it up, pulled back into that steady line of oil field trucks and went about our business like it had never happened. Shot the shite out of good ducks that morning also....

How are all of these free running trailers accelerating? Seems like a lot of stories about trailers coming off and the driver not noticing until the trailer is passing them.....

Lost a 20' boat in the bottom of the Houma tunnel.

Chains held and was able to drag it all the way out.

Bolt that connects the latch to the catch broke.

Ended up with a whole new trailer the next week.