[sundrop]

Hope this wasn't any of our guys! Gotta make sure your truck is secure before you launch!!! This is the ramp I use pretty much all the time.......

Posted on another forum by someone else........ I did not witness this... darn it!!!!! LOL!!!!


Excitement at Tranters Creek boat ramp Clarks Neck RD Washington NC

*edited for content........... I made my way back to the ramp at about 3:00, and there was all kinds of commotion. Police on the dock, a photographer, a buch of onlookers, and a big offshore center console was putting in (Challenger with twin 200s). At first I thought they were shooting an advertisement or something, but when I motored to the upstream dock, a guy from the Clarks Neck FD said "look out for the truck." "What truck", says I. "Right under where those bubbles are," he says, pointing behind me toward the bridge upstream of the ramp. It turns out some guy was unloading or loading kayaks, and his 2006 Totota Tundra 4WD rolled down the ramp and into the water, floated out about 50 ft., and sank to the bottom. It was completely submerged. The big center console was the towing guy's, and theye were going to use it to try to yank the truck back over to the ramp so they could use the tow truck to recover it. I stuck around to watch the action, which was an amazing process. Through the combined effort of a rescue diver, the big center console, and the tow truck, they weaved the submerged truck around the pilings and up the ramp. Needless to say, the truck was pretty banged up. The guy whose truck it was looked pretty grim. Here are some pictures of the recovery:

 

[Jeffonc]

There but for the grace of God go I (or anybody else). Had to go back and read it again to see why he didn't have a trailer in the bottom pic. aaargh! Kayaks.

Never had anything quite like that happen with the trailered boat or the kayaks - might be more likely with the yaks as you're not dealing with a trailer and you're probably working a little faster to try and get out of the way. for some reason I did forget to lock the trailer onto the hitch many times - always noticed as I hit the first stop sign about 75 yards from the house when the trailer would slide forward on the hitch ball with a delayed thump. Never got out of the neighborhood with it like that though.

 

[sundrop]

I did lose a VW Baha bug on my driveway once. I passed by the window as I walked in the door and saw something flash by the window. It was my bug, picking up speed across the big front lawn of a large park I used to live in and it was headed for a busy 4 lane FAST!!! I didn't know a fat boy in cowboy boots could run so fast!!! I cleared 4 steps on the fly out the door, ran it down and risked being dragged to get in the door... Stopped about 6 ft from the highway to blowing horns and much laughing and smiling from the traffic..LOL!!!!

 

[backlash]

I saw the same thing happen at Mackey's Landing about 5 or 6 years ago only that had a trailer attached to his. I believe that one was a Toyota, as well.

 

[Topsail Angler]

I heard one went in the river at the memorial bridge ramp week before last. That is a fairly steep ramp and has a sharp drop off.

It was an usually low tide so the guy decides rather drop the trailer wheels off the ramp, he will try a different approach. He unlatches the cable holding the boat to the trailer, backs down the ramp with some speed and slams on the brakes intending for the boat to slide off and into the water. But the ramp was slick and his brakes locked up and the truck slide into the river and was submerged. He managed to get out. HARD lesson.

 

[Jeffonc]

I did lose a VW Baha bug on my driveway once.

Hah! There's a hotly-debated mystery in my wife's family over which teenage sibling was the last one in her VW bug moments before it rolled down their drive, across the street and crashed into the neighbor's ditch. Didn't hurt the junker bug but put a big divot in the neighbor's yard and had to be pulled out.

 

[Dave B.]

Few years back I witnessed while coming back in to recover my boat an older pick up launching a boat and the water was down a bit (low tide), and they got the boat off ok, but the guy started spinning his tires to get out,, when he did that, he lost traction and the truck/trailer slid back on the ramp and into the water. He panicked and floor'd it and made it worse... of course everyone was screamin and hollerin, the guy was sitting in the truck with water over his lap,, but the motor was still runnin and hadnt gone under yet (pretty dang close though...)

I ran to my truck and pulled out 2 tie down straps and gave them to the guys at the ramp.. by that time another guy had backed his truck up to assist and we wrap'd the tie downs around the front and the other truck pulled him out.

That dude got really lucky, if the motor had been under,, it'd of been toast.

Just the thought of thoroughly rinsing out all that water too from the carpet, cab, seats, fuel tank (Salt water)..... what a mess.

I've never seen one go all the way in though... bet that'll stop yer heart quick!

 

[fojoloy]

When it comes to dumb boating news, probably every boat owner has a few good ones. My best is about my first boat. It was a 14 foot Bladen boat made of plywood and heavy as lead. I thought of this when reading the thread about using cinder blocks. I had the trailer tongue jack up on a cinder block to level boat(no wheel chocks) while I was working on the steering cables an( adjusting tension) I adjusted and was sitting in driver seat briskly turning the steering wheel back and forth when the jack fell off the block. My driveway was on a steep hill running to one of the main roads in town. Boat was coasting down the driveway on the trailer picking up speed. All the time I was frantically fighting the steering wheel trying to turn the boat. The trailer tongue wheel finally hit a rut in the driveway and boat and trailer veered across front yard and hit the ditch, stopping short of the highway. I didn't see my past before me--but did think of possibly seeing my picture on the front page of the local news.

 

[sundrop]

LOL!! Forrest! I can just see you frantically trying to "steer" the boat...LOL!!!

One thing I worry about since I bought my truck is that it is 2 wheel drive not 4 like my old Explorer. Havent been on a steep ramp yey but if I go to Falls I may be in trouble. Those ramps are steep!!

 

[lefty]

Many years ago I caught a Toyota that was walking backward down a hill near my parents' house. It was rolling backward about half of a wheel rotation at a time -- chunk, chunk, chunk...

I trotted across the road, got in and set the parking brake. The transmission was ALMOST holding it... but not quite.....

I'm glad I carry my kayak to the launch by hand (or by roller-cart) -- don't have to get my car anywhere close to a slick ramp.

 

[straps57]

Heres how trucks are recovered after they break through the ice. Chain saws cut a hole in the ice, divers attach cable and then pull with a wrecker or in this case a skidder. Usualy happens at least once a year.
Watch all the video's

Truck Goes Through Ice at Cedar Pond: Part7 - AOL Video

 

[lefty]

Reminds me of a story I heard many years ago... Probably fictional but funny nonetheless... Gonna butcher the joke, but here goes...

This guy gets a new truck and takes his buddy out ice fishing. The dog enjoys hunting, fishing, and the outdoors in general, so they bring the dog along. They drive out onto the ice and start to cut their holes. The guy decides this is taking too long, so he pulls a stick of dynamite from the back of the truck, lights it, and heaves. Remember the hunting dog? He plays fetch too. He starts trotting on back -- "boy, the people are proud of me, they sure are shouting a lot, It's just a stick... " so the guy pulls his shotgun out of the back of the truck -- the dog tries to take cover, but on the frozen lake, the only place to hide is.... here under this truck...

For all the mishaps of the day, probably the worst is when he gets home and realizes that his insurance policy doesn't cover illegal use of explosives. And only sixty more convenient monthly reminders...

 

[Dave B.]

When it comes to dumb boating news, probably every boat owner has a few good ones. My best is about my first boat. It was a 14 foot Bladen boat made of plywood and heavy as lead. I thought of this when reading the thread about using cinder blocks. I had the trailer tongue jack up on a cinder block to level boat(no wheel chocks) while I was working on the steering cables an( adjusting tension) I adjusted and was sitting in driver seat briskly turning the steering wheel back and forth when the jack fell off the block. My driveway was on a steep hill running to one of the main roads in town. Boat was coasting down the driveway on the trailer picking up speed. All the time I was frantically fighting the steering wheel trying to turn the boat. The trailer tongue wheel finally hit a rut in the driveway and boat and trailer veered across front yard and hit the ditch, stopping short of the highway. I didn't see my past before me--but did think of possibly seeing my picture on the front page of the local news.

ha hah ahahahaha ha ha!!! that's funny! Alot funnier than Bob Gyles lookin for the brake pedal on my boat (why I let him drive it is beyond me...) headin for the weeds at 40+.... Thank God for kill switches!

 

[tcfisherman]

any Body Out There Want To Buy A Wet Totota , Used Only One Time At The Bottom Of Tranters Creek, Four Wheel Drive Will Not Work On Bottom Of Creek, Whats Up With That ?......................chris

 

[Bread Man 1]

I rolled a 1987 Nissan Pickup in one time. I managed to jump in and catch traction just in time. The hood just was under and the truck was still running. It rusted to pieces within about a year though. You could see the road through the floorboards..................... Time to sell it! And yes, someone bought it.