….as a safety reminder to my fellow FSers.

So, picked up a 6x12 a few weeks back and in the somewhat hasty, distracted moment (had my wife with me) during hook up, I mistakenly put the wrong sleeve in my hitch.  I thought for sure I grabbed the 2 5/16 but nope, 2 incher.  Anyway, I pulled the trailer on it and locked and chained it down and hit the road.  75 fucking miles and hour down the loaded freeway and I went over a bridge and that mother fucker jumped off and started bouncing around all over the damn place!  HOLY SHIT!  Thank god the chains did their job and held on to it.  It jammed up my bumper something fierce but I was able to pull it over and fix my own idiocy as I cussed and berated myself loudly. If it had been a single axle or, those chains would have let loose on that freeway…….whew!!!!!  I’d be in a heap of shit right now 

So, check your shit.  It’s the stuff you just assume you won’t screw up out of years of experience that will clobber you over your melon!!!

Yikes - you proved why chains are a requirement!  So you got that goin for ya....

Haha! I just rolled the dice moving our jetski trailer this weekend when the hitch wouldnt lock onto the ball. Luckily it made it without incident but I was thinking about Murphy's law the entire time. 

A friend of mine made that mistake years ago with his stacker race car trailer, safety chains didn't hold and the trailer ended up laying on its side in the ditch, bent up. The straps holding just finished car broke and made a mess of that also.

I suggested that he should paint that 2" receiver red as a visual warning. 

Been there and done that with a loaded sled trailer..not fun!

Change every hitch on every trailer you own to 2 5/16th.

I currently have three trailers.  Each one has their own receiver with the proper sized ball that stays with the trailer.  If I fuck that up, I'll take the Fuckhead title as well!

7 minutes ago, BOHICA said:

Change every hitch on every trailer you own to 2 5/16th.

I suppose everyone's story and what they haul can be different, but for me, personally, I only have one hitch and one size ball for all my trailers. (Boat, sled, utility) 

My father, years ago, on our way to a friends cottage, lost our sled trailer loaded with 2 sleds and a bit gear/gas. I was in the back seat and happened to notice it had come off. Luckily, at the time, he was driving slow when it came off as it just slowly coasted to a halt in his lane, but just moments before we had come off a much busier road. I can't recall if he had chains or not back then, but if I had to guess, I'd say no? 

33 minutes ago, Mag6240 said:

Yikes - you proved why chains are a requirement!  So you got that goin for ya....

Yep.  I also twist them up good and snug (with enough slack for maneuvering of course). Letting them dangle long and loose would have let the receiver dig into the pavement.  Sheesh!!!!

18 minutes ago, MnDean said:

A friend of mine made that mistake years ago with his stacker race car trailer, safety chains didn't hold and the trailer ended up laying on its side in the ditch, bent up. The straps holding just finished car broke and made a mess of that also.

I suggested that he should paint that 2" receiver red as a visual warning. 

Actually, color coding isn’t a bad idea just as a quick visual if you have multiple sleeves.  

9 minutes ago, Mag6240 said:

I currently have three trailers.  Each one has their own receiver with the proper sized ball that stays with the trailer.  If I fuck that up, I'll take the Fuckhead title as well!

A candidate for a quick color code!

I'm already in the "Fuckhead" group but thanks for the extra advice.

1 hour ago, Zambroski said:

….as a safety reminder to my fellow FSers.

So, picked up a 6x12 a few weeks back and in the somewhat hasty, distracted moment (had my wife with me) during hook up, I mistakenly put the wrong sleeve in my hitch.  I thought for sure I grabbed the 2 5/16 but nope, 2 incher.  Anyway, I pulled the trailer on it and locked and chained it down and hit the road.  75 fucking miles and hour down the loaded freeway and I went over a bridge and that mother fucker jumped off and started bouncing around all over the damn place!  HOLY SHIT!  Thank god the chains did their job and held on to it.  It jammed up my bumper something fierce but I was able to pull it over and fix my own idiocy as I cussed and berated myself loudly. If it had been a single axle or, those chains would have let loose on that freeway…….whew!!!!!  I’d be in a heap of shit right now 

So, check your shit.  It’s the stuff you just assume you won’t screw up out of years of experience that will clobber you over your melon!!!

Few years back I had my trailer disconnect from my 4 wheeler running down the county road.  Of course it came off right into the oncoming lane!  Thankfully there was no one else on the road. 

I can't remember if it was a 1-7/8" ball and 2" hitch or if the ball came off the 4 wheeler.  No safety chains of course, I took those off years ago!

Nowadays, everything I have is 2".  I got one of those fancy B&W hitches with the adjustable height and three different ball sizes.  Never really had to adjust it since I only have a jet ski trailer that is used "on-road".

First step is admitting you have a problem! 

Ask me how I know   

27 minutes ago, Skidooski said:

First step is admitting you have a problem! 

Ask me how I know   

I’ll listen to your answer after I’m don’t listening to @Kivalostory.

 

2 hours ago, Zambroski said:

….as a safety reminder to my fellow FSers.

So, picked up a 6x12 a few weeks back and in the somewhat hasty, distracted moment (had my wife with me) during hook up, I mistakenly put the wrong sleeve in my hitch.  I thought for sure I grabbed the 2 5/16 but nope, 2 incher.  Anyway, I pulled the trailer on it and locked and chained it down and hit the road.  75 fucking miles and hour down the loaded freeway and I went over a bridge and that mother fucker jumped off and started bouncing around all over the damn place!  HOLY SHIT!  Thank god the chains did their job and held on to it.  It jammed up my bumper something fierce but I was able to pull it over and fix my own idiocy as I cussed and berated myself loudly. If it had been a single axle or, those chains would have let loose on that freeway…….whew!!!!!  I’d be in a heap of shit right now 

So, check your shit.  It’s the stuff you just assume you won’t screw up out of years of experience that will clobber you over your melon!!!

We all do it.   2 times in the last 5 years I forgot to latch the trailer.   One time loading the trailer hitch came up and in my panic I started backing off the trailer which of course pushed the trailer hitch right into my tailgate.   Fuck!   Couple years later did the same thing but this time I was smart enough to stay put and get off and move the truck forward first.     Always happens when in a rush. 

Lucky no major schit happened !

 

Does NorthstarRick know about this mishap yet ? Lololllololol

7 minutes ago, CFM said:

Lucky no major schit happened !

 

Does NorthstarRick know about this mishap yet ? Lololllololol

Ricky will come out with well tested kit to prevent this from happening. 

2 hours ago, Zambroski said:

I’ll listen to your answer after I’m don’t listening to @Kivalostory.

 

No more boat dropping comments from you!! 

 

Glad everything worked out tho, bumpers can be replaced and trailers fixed. 

1 hour ago, CFM said:

Lucky no major schit happened !

 

Does NorthstarRick know about this mishap yet ? Lololllololol

He offered me some type of clutch kit that fixes it.  Says all the race teams use it.  Sounds fishy.  

Ever have the straps that were supposedly holding down your atv break off? Mind did. I checked the trailer after 30 min on highway only to find out only my park brake kept it on trailer. Said fuck this noise , no more 1 inch rachet straps and been using the 2 inch ever since lol

The first trailer I races sleds out of was one of those cheap brands from Georgia.  I wish that thing would have ate a ditch, what a POS.

I have a great story. Moving 2 sleds in an enclosed trailer. I forgot to raise the front jack. Just started the trip and went over a bridge that spanned over a highway. As soon as I hit the bridge the trailer popped off the ball. The trailer crossed the road and stopped just short of a car that contained 1 woman driver and 2 children in the back seat. 1 sled broke the tie downs and went right though the front of the trailer, ran up the ladies hood and the front ski bounced off her windshield. God was with me that day. The trailer didn't roll off the bridge onto the expressway, the sled didn't crash through the ladies window.  I had safety cables on the taller that were old and rotted out, they spanned immediately. To top that off, we were hosting an end of season party for my daughter's soccer team. Lots of inquisitive looks from parents picking up their kids. Thankfully, my wife new the lady and I just had to pay to repair her car.

7 hours ago, snatchslayer said:

Ever have the straps that were supposedly holding down your atv break off? Mind did. I checked the trailer after 30 min on highway only to find out only my park brake kept it on trailer. Said fuck this noise , no more 1 inch rachet straps and been using the 2 inch ever since lol

I’ve only used over the tire straps on an atv.  Are you strapping to some where after the suspension? 

21 minutes ago, BOHICA said:

I’ve only used over the tire straps on an atv.  Are you strapping to some where after the suspension? 

Yeah. I was strapping to the pull hooks on the front and rear , allowing it to bounce.  Learned not to do that again 

15 hours ago, Zambroski said:

….as a safety reminder to my fellow FSers.

So, picked up a 6x12 a few weeks back and in the somewhat hasty, distracted moment (had my wife with me) during hook up, I mistakenly put the wrong sleeve in my hitch.  I thought for sure I grabbed the 2 5/16 but nope, 2 incher.  Anyway, I pulled the trailer on it and locked and chained it down and hit the road.  75 fucking miles and hour down the loaded freeway and I went over a bridge and that mother fucker jumped off and started bouncing around all over the damn place!  HOLY SHIT!  Thank god the chains did their job and held on to it.  It jammed up my bumper something fierce but I was able to pull it over and fix my own idiocy as I cussed and berated myself loudly. If it had been a single axle or, those chains would have let loose on that freeway…….whew!!!!!  I’d be in a heap of shit right now 

So, check your shit.  It’s the stuff you just assume you won’t screw up out of years of experience that will clobber you over your melon!!!

That was a pucker moment.  

A family in town here just had this happen a couple weeks ago... Damn lucky nobody was in its path 

7 hours ago, ActionfigureJoe said:

That was a pucker moment.  

I literally sucked up a square foot of leather into my ass as I saw it donkeying around back there.  Sweet fucking Moses!

Welcome back!  I’ve missed you!