Big B's Boatramp Nightmare!!! A Must Read

[PARKER RABE]

This Is A Bizzare Story... But Are Local S&f Member Big B Was Enjoying A Day Of Boating Sunday , On The Chattahochee River , All Was Well , Came Into The Ramp At Dusk To Put The Boat On The Trailer , And The Trouble Began ! Brent Went Up To Get His Truck Backed It Down The Steep Ramp And Put It In Park ,got Out To Pull The Boat On The Trailer , All Of A Sudden He Heard A Noise And Was Struck In The Back By His Door ,and Knocked To The Ground ! The Transmisson Had Broke And The Truck , And She Was Screaming Down The Ramp , Brents Leg Was Run Over By The Truck, The Truck Rushed Into The Water With The Trailer Still Hooked Up , Laying There Helpless , Brent Watched His Truck Float Out Into The River , He Said The Truck Floated For 2 Or 3 Minutes Before It Sunk , The Truck Got Cought Into The Strong Current , And As Floating Down The River Sinking At The Same Time , The Truck Floated 400 Feet From The Ramp, Before It Hit The Bottom , 911 Was Called By An On Looker , And Many Many Rescue Units Showed Up Very Quick , After Searching For Hours The Divers Finally Located Brents Truck Upside Down On The Bottom Of The River In 30+ Feet Of Water ,with The Trailer Still Hooked Up . After Several Hours Of A Massive Recovery The Truck Was Brought To The Surface While Brent Watched ! How Awful To Watch Your Beautiful Z71 Truck Go Under The Water And Get Cought Buy A Current , Get Well Brent , I Hope U Had Good Ins , And U Get Taken Care Of...u Can Borrow My Truck Anytime !
Get Well Soon

Pics To Follow On The Recovery

[Instigator]

This Is A Bizzare Story... But Are Local S&f Member Big B Was Enjoying A Day Of Boating Sunday , On The Chattahochee River , All Was Well , Came Into The Ramp At Dusk To Put The Boat On The Trailer , And The Trouble Began ! Brent Went Up To Get His Truck Backed It Down The Steep Ramp And Put It In Park ,got Out To Pull The Boat On The Trailer , All Of A Sudden He Heard A Noise And Was Struck In The Back By His Door ,and Knocked To The Ground ! The Transmisson Had Broke And The Truck , And She Was Screaming Down The Ramp , Brents Leg Was Run Over By The Truck, The Truck Rushed Into The Water With The Trailer Still Hooked Up , Laying There Helpless , Brent Watched His Truck Float Out Into The River , He Said The Truck Floated For 2 Or 3 Minutes Before It Sunk , The Truck Got Cought Into The Strong Current , And As Floating Down The River Sinking At The Same Time , The Truck Floated 400 Feet From The Ramp, Before It Hit The Bottom , 911 Was Called By An On Looker , And Many Many Rescue Units Showed Up Very Quick , After Searching For Hours The Divers Finally Located Brents Truck Upside Down On The Bottom Of The River In 30+ Feet Of Water ,with The Trailer Still Hooked Up . After Several Hours Of A Massive Recovery The Truck Was Brought To The Surface While Brent Watched ! How Awful To Watch Your Beautiful Z71 Truck Go Under The Water And Get Cought Buy A Current , Get Well Brent , I Hope U Had Good Ins , And U Get Taken Care Of...u Can Borrow My Truck Anytime !
Get Well Soon

Pics To Follow On The Recovery
That sucks!!!

Have had close calls before but nothing like that.

You're a lucky man Brent. Could have been WAY worse!

Gary

[Scott in MN]

Holy cow!!!! Hope his leg is not to seriously hurt. Guess I will use my parking brake from now on...

[LakeRacer99]

BigB sorry to hear the news, that sux dude! At least ur Mirage (or whatever boat) was safe. Ins can get you a new truck.
Lesson learned, set the parkin brake! :eek:

I'll forgo the "buy an F-Series" comment that is on my tongue as they have crappy trannys too.

Good Luck to ya, and i hope ur leg is ok.

[mr.clean]

You can get a new truck but legs are hard to come by. Get well soon.

[PARKER RABE]

Brent May Have Some Shoulder Issues Too , Said It Felt Like A Brick Wall Hitting Him ...

[Raceman]

At least it wasn't a Ford or he'd have been payin' an EPA fine for polutin' the river.:eek:

Seriously, sorry to hear about the bad luck. Hope the injuries are no more than soreness. Obviously could've been a lot worse.

I fuss at the ole' gal all the time about parking on the hill in front of the garage, puttin' the Yukon in park, then takin' her foot off the brake, which makes it surge hard against the Park pin in the transmission. Sooner or later we're gonna have a Yukon in through the garage door and into the back of a Corvette.

[PARKER RABE]

Pics Of Recovery

[PARKER RABE]

More..........

[MODVP22]

Ouch! That had to hurt...in more than one way. This could have been much worse. Glad you're ok Brent
I'm a fan of the parking brake on any incline.

[Maureen M]

that sucks!:eek:
Glad to hear you are ok though!

[Frank Molé]

zhit,that sucks,get better and go back out:eek:

[Jimbob]

Hope your leg OK there.:)

This is why I always use the parking brake.:D

[gotboostedvr6]

i hope hes ok!!

This is a good reason to properly set the park brake and check it in neutral before engaging park.

reminds me of this

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c24/gotboostedvr6/trunksinkuq5.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c24/gotboostedvr6/1000002imgar9.jpg

[Wild Wil]

Hope you get better soon Brent.

[tux974]

WOW, That is terrible:eek: :eek: Brent hoping for a quick physical recovery for you!! TL

[Marko]

Feel 4 u bro---------Aleast u didn't loose the boat!

Feel better!

[Hot Shot Merc]

Brent that sux.I always I meen always use my parking break at the ramp.

[Talon2.5]

damn dude that sucks, sorry to hear/ see that

hope your healing up ok!!

[JustMercMe]

This Is A Bizzare Story... But Are Local S&f Member Big B Was Enjoying A Day Of Boating Sunday , On The Chattahochee River , All Was Well , Came Into The Ramp At Dusk To Put The Boat On The Trailer , And The Trouble Began ! Brent Went Up To Get His Truck Backed It Down The Steep Ramp And Put It In Park ,got Out To Pull The Boat On The Trailer , All Of A Sudden He Heard A Noise And Was Struck In The Back By His Door ,and Knocked To The Ground ! The Transmisson Had Broke And The Truck , And She Was Screaming Down The Ramp , Brents Leg Was Run Over By The Truck, The Truck Rushed Into The Water With The Trailer Still Hooked Up , Laying There Helpless , Brent Watched His Truck Float Out Into The River , He Said The Truck Floated For 2 Or 3 Minutes Before It Sunk , The Truck Got Cought Into The Strong Current , And As Floating Down The River Sinking At The Same Time , The Truck Floated 400 Feet From The Ramp, Before It Hit The Bottom , 911 Was Called By An On Looker , And Many Many Rescue Units Showed Up Very Quick , After Searching For Hours The Divers Finally Located Brents Truck Upside Down On The Bottom Of The River In 30+ Feet Of Water ,with The Trailer Still Hooked Up . After Several Hours Of A Massive Recovery The Truck Was Brought To The Surface While Brent Watched ! How Awful To Watch Your Beautiful Z71 Truck Go Under The Water And Get Cought Buy A Current , Get Well Brent , I Hope U Had Good Ins , And U Get Taken Care Of...u Can Borrow My Truck Anytime !
Get Well Soon

Pics To Follow On The Recovery

Thats funny as s&*@ Parker!....All jokes aside Big B is fine(just hurt b/c of the truck going down)....no broken leg, truck did'nt run over him, Never went upside down and was only about 65-70 ft from the water line.....see the news story here....

http://www.rickystokesnews.com/cgi-bin/MyWeb/archive_proc.pl?action=2&id=1106


Itch

[Forkin' Crazy]

Nice.. :o :rolleyes: That should make our insurance go up. If you have ever seen the park mechanism in one of one of those auto transmissions, you will start setting the parking brake on level ground!!!!

[WATERWINGS]

I leave my truck parked on the ramp while I am out.

I always carry a chock in the back of the truck and use the parking brake AND the chock.

I used to not use the chock untill a friend told me about the wimpy park pins in some of these transmissions.

[rjdubiel]

in high school my buddy had a lifted f150 5 speed stick. he went to pay a speeding ticket at the local city hall and there was a hill that the city hall was on. well much to his surprise when he came out the truck was gone:eek: he looked down the hill and it was sitting on top of a donated chevy impala at a drivers education school. well if you knew this guy you already knew he didnt have insurance on the truck:( long story short, that 1993 single cab f150 ended up being worth $20,000 after refinancing to pay for the impala. goes to show you parking breaks should be used.

[RON FIELDING]

Hey Big B I hope you heal from the abuse your truck dished out . Call me I still NEED a cowling . Cant wait to get together again . See Ya Ron

[MorganB]

Feel better soon Mate!

[warrior74z]

In about 1970 we had sent one of our shop guys to the lake to test run a customers boat. "Maylon" already had a history of being a little rough on equipment and as Dad would say, in mock southernese, "that boy could tar up a cee-ment motorsickle". So we got a call to come to the boat ramp, "Maylon" had a problem. We hopped in the old shop truck, a '54 International, that we called "Granny" and took off to the lake. We rounded the last bend in the road, arrived at the ramp and there stood Maylon. The boat was floating in the middle of the cove, and the shop truck, and trailer was nowhere to be seen. Dad and I hopped out of ol' granny, walked over to Maylon and he just dropped his head, and pointed out about fifty feet in the lake, at about three inches of antenna sticking up from the surface. I ended up being the one to swim the wrecker cable out and dove down, with no diving equipment, and hooked it onto the trailer. I remember them pulling it out with the trailer first, and the truck coming up the ramp backwards with water coming out the windows. This was ,I think, a 1968 Ford with a 360 cubic inch V-8 that used more fuel than a Saturn rocket. Anyway, we had it towed to the service station, (remember those?) and the next day for only $150 repair bill, we drove it away, and it never caused a problem again...

Barron

[CDave]

Hope your insurance pays, they usually don't payout for suicides. :p
That's gotta suck watching your truck commit suicide. I can understand why it did it being a Chevy. But man it tried to take you with it, that bites.

Just joking, glad ya weren't hurt and your boat is ok.

[warren]

FEEL BETTER HOPE ALL IS WELL OBVIOUSLYCOULD HAVE BEEN WORSE WARREN:confused: :eek:

[Tom Foley]

Hey Big B I hope you heal from the abuse your truck dished out . Call me I still NEED a cowling . Cant wait to get together again . See Ya Ron

Cowling ???? What kind ?



BIG B , I really feel for you and your truck !!!!!!!! As far as emergency brakes , the Ford 1 ton E -brake will not hold a vehicle on a ramp ...had three of them and they all suck and will not hold the vehicle . a small piece of 2 x 4 is your best bet with a ford anyway .

Hope all is well and things get better !!

[Tom Foley]

In about 1970 we had sent one of our shop guys to the lake to test run a customers boat. "Maylon" already had a history of being a little rough on equipment and as Dad would say, in mock southernese, "that boy could tar up a cee-ment motorsickle". So we got a call to come to the boat ramp, "Maylon" had a problem. We hopped in the old shop truck, a '54 International, that we called "Granny" and took off to the lake. We rounded the last bend in the road, arrived at the ramp and there stood Maylon. The boat was floating in the middle of the cove, and the shop truck, and trailer was nowhere to be seen. Dad and I hopped out of ol' granny, walked over to Maylon and he just dropped his head, and pointed out about fifty feet in the lake, at about three inches of antenna sticking up from the surface. I ended up being the one to swim the wrecker cable out and dove down, with no diving equipment, and hooked it onto the trailer. I remember them pulling it out with the trailer first, and the truck coming up the ramp backwards with water coming out the windows. This was ,I think, a 1968 Ford with a 360 cubic inch V-8 that used more fuel than a Saturn rocket. Anyway, we had it towed to the service station, (remember those?) and the next day for only $150 repair bill, we drove it away, and it never caused a problem again...

Barron

Great story !! BTW , I worked at several " Service Stations ":D

[Lanceonthelake]

Heal up soon.
Nice fire:D

[RitcheyRch]

Oh man that sucks. Get well soon. Could have been much worse,

[AirRide]

Love those 4L60E trannies...Thanks for the emergency brake reminder. Hope everyone involved heals up quick.:)

[RON FIELDING]

Hey Foley , Im looking for a Bridgeport cowl mine is held on by ty wraps .
I WILL USE MY E BRAKE
I WILL USE MY E BRAKE
I WILL USE MY E BRAKE

[Martymarr76]

Man I hate to hear that about a fellow boater. Unfortunately I have seen it before. I have been boating down here in South Florida for about 30 yrs and when I was a kid, putting my Action in a older man was launching his boat. He caught my eye because he had the hitch on the front of his truck? Anyway he launched his boat and put the truck in park. The truck was and older chevy with a camper top. Make a long story short the truck popped out of gear and went down the ramp. The only thing floating was the camper top and the boat. I learned my lesson a long time ago about parking brakes and trucks. I have sunk a Z71 due to four wheeling so I know what it feels like, there was fish in it when i finally brought it up. I sunk it in a old canal that was used for cooling a power plant, yuk it was in slime and muck. I had to swim in it to hook the tow truck to the front bumper to pull her out. Trucks are replacable, get better my friend. Hang in there it will all work out!!! You have my prayers and thoughts.

[BIGB]

Great story Parks. Most of its true to guys can u believe it. No broke bones, i was hit by the mirrow as the truck came past. Iff the door would have been open it would have knocked me under the truck and into the water.....It was like some1 was in the truck pressin the gas.....

It easier to laugh at it now, however, it was the most horrific thing ive witnesssed, I was totaly hepless, when it filled with water it went like a rock... Sat on the botom in 22' for 4 hours....Insurance totaled the truck and picked it up today, it went to south FL to a salvage yard....

Thanks for nice comments, all is well...love all you guys. later

BIGB

[Ron V]

Good lesson in what could have happened and how bad it could have been. My biggest fear on the ramp is always walking behind the truck while securing the winch because if the parking brake doesn't hold well and the trans jumps, you could easily get pinned and plowed under into the water because you're facing backward and may not realize what is happening quickly enough to get out of the way.

Another thing I always do is roll down the driver's window before backing in. I started doing that after reading about a guy who got trapped in deep water on a man-made reservoir when his brakes failed on the ramp. At least with the window down it is easier to get out than waiting for the vehicle to fill so you can open the door.

Trouble is if you don't use your parking brake frequently they sieze up because of the way they are made. Especially here in the north where they salt the roads in the winter. The only way to really keep them in good working order is to use them every time you park the vehicle, which I believe is what they taught us in driver's ed and what the owner's manual calls for.:rolleyes:

[Cyncwby]

True story, years ago I was sitting at the Golden Shore launch ramp in Long Beach, Ca. An old guy and his wife comes in from fishing, he drops her off and she goes and gets their rig. It was an old Cortez motor home, the one with the door in the back. Well she backed it down the ramp and I was amazed at how well she was doing.......until she backed the whole rig right into the drink......with the old man screaming STOP !! STOP !! the whole time. Anyway the thing sunk all the way up to the rooftop, she swam out the window and was ok. Big commercial wrecker had to respond to pull it out, the old man was so pissed at her but to add insult to injury he made the mistake of opening that back door while it was still sitting on the steep ramp........yea you guessed it, the second he turned that knob that old door blew open and probably a thousand gallons of water come rushing out and down the ramp like the dike just broke, along with all their possessions......AND the old man.

[The Big Al]

i hope hes ok!!

This is a good reason to properly set the park brake and check it in neutral before engaging park.

reminds me of this

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c24/gotboostedvr6/trunksinkuq5.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c24/gotboostedvr6/1000002imgar9.jpg
You know who this is????????

[sho305]

Man that sucks, glad you are ok. At my nasty ramp I use low range all the time, even with my diesel. I can ease it out over the bumps and it puts less pressure on the trans be it parking brake or heat. I had a stick shift I did that with and got to be habit I guess, and that way the low range gets used now and then.

Lol...
"Taking offers on nice Chevy truck: likes to swim and can't sit still, it is young at heart. May need some minor cleaning but in great cosmetic condition. Make this fine truck yours today." Problem is you need to tear the whole truck apart to save it, once they sit lots of things get trashed...just like an outboard. If insurance co.s had half a brain they would send it right in if it's a nice vehicle.

[The Big Al]

I remember!

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/1580/trucksinkingvk5.jpg

[Martymarr76]

Bro glad your ok, could of been alot worse! Funny thing is my last name is Smith, Bro, and I sunk a Z71 also, must run in family!!! lol don't let it get you down!

[Mr. Buss]

Trouble is if you don't use your parking brake frequently they sieze up because of the way they are made. Especially here in the north where they salt the roads in the winter. The only way to really keep them in good working order is to use them every time you park the vehicle, which I believe is what they taught us in driver's ed and what the owner's manual calls for.:rolleyes:

yeah...i found out my brakes didnt release....... on the ramp!! I bought the truck about a month prior to this and didnt even think of it until i tried to pull out. i got it out and worked it back and forth they freed up a little bit. but the 10 mile drive home F***ed up my brakes and my axle seals. so i fixed the seals and brakes but not the cables.....shame on me!! i been relying on that little park tang in the chevy tranny for 2 years now:eek:

but i do park real close to the ramp and crank off the wheel opposite of the ramp so if it did roll it would catch the dock.
But after reading this (and doing some thinkin' :confused:) its probably more likley that would be a good way to get myself pinned between the truck and dock. so i think ill get off my butt and fix it.. so this dont happen to me.

glad nobody got hurt!!!!:)