bigkavr
Well-known member
True story,
I've hay my current airboat for almost four years now. When I picked it up at the factory (American Airboat) Faron was pretty adament about using the rear tie downs ALL the time. Well, that worked for a while and then I started getting lazy and thinking to myself, "gee, I only have to haul the boat a few miles, I don't need no stinkin' rear tie downs for that!!" Now fast forward to five months ago. I had just loaded the boat up from a great day of mud playing and started heading home.. (a whole 6 mile drive..) This is the first or second time pulling the airboat with my new truck (dodge diesel 4x4) and all is well with the world.. Right? :roll: Wrong! Out of nowhere, a pickup pulled into my intended path causing me to firmly apply the brake. No panic stop, just a test of how good the four wheel disk brakes on a one ton work. AND THEN THE BASTARD STOPS!! (turns out he was DUI) So, I did what any red blooded northern boy would do, I stomped on the brakes like I was trying to kill a rattler..
And guess what? New Dodges DO stop on a dime!! But airboats on trailers that are NOT tied down in back do NOT...... I hit the brakes and a split second later I heard a loud crack (like a 22 rifle being shot) and felt the airboat slam up and forward. A second or two later I saw sparks and something little bouncing down the road ahead of me. What happened was, when I hit the brakes, the boat slamed forward and upward (it was trying to climb the front stop) and SNAPPED the heavy duty hook on the safety chain. The airboat continued forward until the winch cable stoped it. After everything came to a halt, there was another small rumble as the airboat slid back down off the front stop and settled back where it suppose to be. What I had seen bouncing and sparking ahead of me was the remainder of the safety chain hook..... And this was no WallyWorld hook. It was a forged snap hook.. Needless to say, the trailer doesn't move without the rear straps in place... I learned my lesson and luckily didn't have to learn it the hard and expensive way....
What keeps going through my mind is, what if that hook had hit someone
or another vehicle.. There was some serious forces ar play that would have caused consideriable damage or injury... So, the next time you say to yourself "aww, it's just a few miles, I don't need no stinkin' rear straps" just think about this very lucky, northern boy's story......
And Faron, I'll never doubt you again....................... Er, well, atleast not for awhile any way....
I've hay my current airboat for almost four years now. When I picked it up at the factory (American Airboat) Faron was pretty adament about using the rear tie downs ALL the time. Well, that worked for a while and then I started getting lazy and thinking to myself, "gee, I only have to haul the boat a few miles, I don't need no stinkin' rear tie downs for that!!" Now fast forward to five months ago. I had just loaded the boat up from a great day of mud playing and started heading home.. (a whole 6 mile drive..) This is the first or second time pulling the airboat with my new truck (dodge diesel 4x4) and all is well with the world.. Right? :roll: Wrong! Out of nowhere, a pickup pulled into my intended path causing me to firmly apply the brake. No panic stop, just a test of how good the four wheel disk brakes on a one ton work. AND THEN THE BASTARD STOPS!! (turns out he was DUI) So, I did what any red blooded northern boy would do, I stomped on the brakes like I was trying to kill a rattler..
And guess what? New Dodges DO stop on a dime!! But airboats on trailers that are NOT tied down in back do NOT...... I hit the brakes and a split second later I heard a loud crack (like a 22 rifle being shot) and felt the airboat slam up and forward. A second or two later I saw sparks and something little bouncing down the road ahead of me. What happened was, when I hit the brakes, the boat slamed forward and upward (it was trying to climb the front stop) and SNAPPED the heavy duty hook on the safety chain. The airboat continued forward until the winch cable stoped it. After everything came to a halt, there was another small rumble as the airboat slid back down off the front stop and settled back where it suppose to be. What I had seen bouncing and sparking ahead of me was the remainder of the safety chain hook..... And this was no WallyWorld hook. It was a forged snap hook.. Needless to say, the trailer doesn't move without the rear straps in place... I learned my lesson and luckily didn't have to learn it the hard and expensive way....
What keeps going through my mind is, what if that hook had hit someone
or another vehicle.. There was some serious forces ar play that would have caused consideriable damage or injury... So, the next time you say to yourself "aww, it's just a few miles, I don't need no stinkin' rear straps" just think about this very lucky, northern boy's story......
And Faron, I'll never doubt you again....................... Er, well, atleast not for awhile any way....