Trailers that have other plans... (Why NOT to leave the wheel under your jack)

[Greywolf]

It makes sense if you have a light trailer that you want to move around on level ground to have a roller wheel under the jack, because you and a few friends can turn it around without a truck or a forklift, move it back and forth, and so on. Boat trailers, light utility trailers, and pop-ups are the chief users of this arrangement. BUT OH BROTHER! Can it ever cause trouble when you don't need it! Scenario: You want to pull a trailer up a slight incline and back it into a new spot, your buds are not around, family not home, so you put it on the ball and don't bother locking it because you are not going far. BUMP!!! (It doesn't have to be a bump either - a slight rise in the hitch height such as a gradual change can make it quietly disconnect) (Snick... "What was that?") And you look in the mirror to see the trailer swerving and dancing, twisting and eventually colliding with something because it hopped off of the ball and the roller under the jack allowed it to become a swivel castered missile. It will now seek the lowest, most vulnerable, and most expensive point in your driveway or parking lot, and then some... (This is kind of pricey, especially with a loaded boat trailer) I suggest highly that unless you are going to move a trailer around on a level patch that you take the roller wheel OFF the jack. STOW it in a compartment. You don't need it most of the time DO YOU? If hell comes to breakfast you can look forward to replacing the jack, after the post digs into the ground and maybe gets bent. But at least there is a chance that the trailer itself will dig in and STOP!!! Believe me, it happens. Another thing you can do is to make it a habit to lock the hitchball, no matter what you are doing with a trailer. But whatever you do - PUT THE ROLLER AWAY when you don't absolutely need it. ~Wolfie

[rebocardo]

Better yet, if you always do your safety chains, even if you just quickly loop them around the bumper, it prevents the trailer from getting away in the yard.

What I have done before is forget to put the swivel jack up after hooking up the ball because I lifted the trailer onto the ball. Then find out going over a speed bump and mangle the swivel jack and wheel. I hate when that happens. Why I don't weld them into place anymore.

[Greywolf]

That's true. There is a reason there is a pin holding them.
It's so they can go by-by when not needed, or something else needs to be there.

I hope this ends up being a funny thread that nobody forgets and helps people, instead of a painful reminder of personal disaster.

[grafekie]

Ya know, I've only known one trailer that had a removable wheel.

[MARTYSTOWRIG]

O.K. Picture a well known boat retailer in WA state, you know the one... with blue and white logo and are always calling you a "NUT". Anyhow, I used to work for such an outfit and did some rigging for them. A customer had traded in his 197* Bayleaker on a newre model. They sent the new guy to bring the boat on the trailer into the service yard from the sales yard so it could be cleaned up and detailed for resale. As the FNG hooks the forklift to he trailer he slides the fork to the center of the mast for some reason. Then double checked that the coupler was locked. Then backed up to the street and attempted to drive the Boat down the hill to the service yard.

So lets recap: Forklift pushing boat downhill while coupled to a ball on the fork. A fork that is in the center of the mast and the boat was a HEAVY teak filled boat. twin stern drive.

O.K. now as he is going down the hill the center of gravity switches to the stern, thus lifting the bow... thus lifting the fork right off of the mast! as the boat traveled down the short hill it did not hit anything until the service bay got in the way. It whacked the corner of the service bay with the swim platform and mangeled the SP and service bay wall. I would assume 10K tot he building and at least a few to the boat which probably made it worthless.

Moral of the story... trailers like to move without engines, it never works out for anyone.

[Franken-Truck]

Originally Posted by MARTYSTOWRIG

As the FNG hooks the forklift to he trailer he slides the fork to the center of the mast for some reason. Then double checked that the coupler was locked. Then backed up to the street and attempted to drive the Boat down the hill to the service yard.

Didn't need to read any farther than that before I figured out what was going to happen Thats pricless

[mongo75]

Bring up an old post--- Once I was going to move my 22' boat on the lemon lot on base (resale lot) only a FEW feet, so it could be seen better. I drop the hitch on the ball, lift the jack a few extra inches to clear the horribly cracked ancient parking lot asphalt, and jumped in the truck. Figured on a couple of feet right? Well, I hit a bump doing around 3 mph, and flet a jerk. I look in the side mirror, and my damn boat is going backwards down a decent slope. Headed right toward eithe a big ditch, or a big palm tree- either way wasn't looking good. So I slam it in park, jump out, and commence to run after it. I catch it after abotu 100 feet, whereas I got about another 100 to go befor impact. I grabbed the jack in both hands and put my legs out (like I've seen them do in cartoons) and thank God, it hit sand and dug the jack in and stopped about 10 feet from the ditch, and it woulda ate the whole damn trailer up.... I definitely learned my lesson that day- to this day, almost 9 years later, I never move anything without locking the ball down with lock inserted, and safety chains holding firmly. Thank fully one leason I didn't have to learn to hard....