We took our boat our this weekend to San Diego Bay to enjoy the 90 degree weather! (See attached pic!)
With the boat partially backed into the water, I parked the truck on the ramp to un-clip the winch on the boat trailer. With the truck in park, and the parking brake firmly set, and all 4 wheels not turning at all, the entire rig began SLIDING BACK DOWN THE RAMP! The ramp was dry, and I have the off-road package with the meaty tires, but I guess they just didn't grab the ramp well enough.
I hopped back in, put it in 4 LOW, and was able to pull up the ramp no problem, but the whole thing was very close! We didn't get the boat launched, but it turned out okay because the boat batteries were dead anyway.
I guess all I can do is chock the wheels or decrease the weight of the boat (it did have a full tank of gas - 120 gallons) and try again!
We were at the Shelter Island ramp in Point Loma - it's not real steep, but is a bit beat-up. The surface is kind of uneven.
The boat/trailer probably weigh-in about 8900 pounds with all the gas on board. I guess gravity does win if the trailer weighs twice what the truck does!
I'm glad that nothing bad occurred on that trip to the ramp and you are now afforded the chance to unpucker and analyze to come up with a solution.
The learnings are the weight of the boat/trailer was indeed offseting the grip (coefficient of friction) induced by the weight of the Titan and the wheels with the surface of the ramp. Can you put any weight into the Titan before launching? Maybe only launch with a full tank of gas, keep any heavy gear in the bed until the boat is lauched, etc. Chocks will indeed increase the friction/grip over just that of the tires....but the chocks might end up sliding too, depending on the surface of the ramp and the material of the chocks.
We took our boat our this weekend to San Diego Bay to enjoy the 90 degree weather! (See attached pic!)
With the boat partially backed into the water, I parked the truck on the ramp to un-clip the winch on the boat trailer. With the truck in park, and the parking brake firmly set, and all 4 wheels not turning at all, the entire rig began SLIDING BACK DOWN THE RAMP! The ramp was dry, and I have the off-road package with the meaty tires, but I guess they just didn't grab the ramp well enough.
I hopped back in, put it in 4 LOW, and was able to pull up the ramp no problem, but the whole thing was very close! We didn't get the boat launched, but it turned out okay because the boat batteries were dead anyway.
I guess all I can do is chock the wheels or decrease the weight of the boat (it did have a full tank of gas - 120 gallons) and try again!
It is always a good idea to chock the truck when puting any boat in the water at a ramp. You where lucky to get into the truck quickly. A piece of 6x6 with a angle cut always works well as a chock.
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Bill and Denise
Canteen Green Titan CC LE 4WD
Any idea what your tongue weight is? If it is low, increasing it will help the truck rears to grip.
There are some nice drawings around of chocks with cords that tie off to the hitch so that you can drag them behind you as you drive off the ramp.
__________________ 2004 Titan SE Crew Sportfishing Edition
Deepwater blue with Big Tow, Active Braking Limited Slip, Utility Bed, Bench Seat, Foglights, Tech Tube Steprails, A.R.E. LSII bed cover with keyless lock, Save the Reefs tag, Fishing CDs in the player, and Fishing Themed Graphics
Born: 12/15/03
Luck you! I've been at that very ramp - coming back in from a long day fishing. We arrived just in time to see a guy launch his boat & truck at the same time. Turns out only one floats He was jumping around like a maniac trying to keep boats from driving over his truck! I don't think I will forget that. Consider yourself lucky! Do you think you would have been able to pull it out if you had a 4X2? I'm getting a Titan soon, but don't want the 4X4 if I can help it. I do plan on pulling a boat in the future. & probably at the same ramp!
I had a 6000lb boat that would do the same thing to my full size Blazer. It will stop sliding once the boat starts to float and the wieght is reduced.
Check your tongue weight. It should be 7 to 10% of the total weight of the boat and trailer. Also not enough tongue wieght will make the trailer get squirrly over 55mph on the highway.
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You may only be one person in this world, but you may be the world to one person.
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let your old age be childlike, and your childhood like old age; that is, so that neither may your wisdom be with pride, nor your humility without wisdom.
We were at the Shelter Island ramp in Point Loma - it's not real steep, but is a bit beat-up. The surface is kind of uneven.
The boat/trailer probably weigh-in about 8900 pounds with all the gas on board. I guess gravity does win if the trailer weighs twice what the truck does!
What kind of fuel economy do you get with that nearly 9000lb load? Do you have the big tow pkg or a class IV aftermarket hitch? Also, do you use a break controller? if so, what kind and do you see a big benefit..?
Thanks
-Paul
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03-29-2004, 09:41 AM
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He was jumping around like a maniac trying to keep boats from driving over his truck! I don't think I will forget that. Consider yourself lucky! Do you think you would have been able to pull it out if you had a 4X2? I'm getting a Titan soon, but don't want the 4X4 if I can help it. I do plan on pulling a boat in the future. & probably at the same ramp!
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