Do enough miles with a boat in tow and you will have a ‘Minties Moment’ or two, one of those occasions where only you and your drycleaner know how close you came to a disaster. Story by Grant Dixon.
Mine came around 30 years ago when I was towing the family’s 6m cabin boat to Lake Taupo’s western bays, taking the back road from Te Awamutu to Kinloch which involved negotiating numerous steep hills.
My two-litre automatic Toyota Cressida was not the ideal tow vehicle, which I found out on the first decent incline. Cresting the top of the hill at around 75kph I headed down the other side, gradually picking up momentum. I touched the brakes to bleed off some of the speed, but it had little effect, other than the tail starting to wag the dog. With braking only exacerbating the situation, I tried accelerating to straighten everything up, but to no avail.
The upshot was the towbar ripping away from the car’s chassis as we were spun through 180o and the by-now detached boat leaping over an eight-wire boundary fence backwards to land in a swampy part of the adjacent paddock. The farmer arrived with his tractor and pulled the trailer, with the boat still rigidly attached, back up to the road. On close inspection the only mark was on the skeg of the outboard which had clipped the top wire on the fence as it sailed over!
While some towing accidents and close calls are unavoidable, others are preventable, and I learned some valuable lessons from the experience.
Firstly, my vehicle was not up to towing a load of that size. Secondly, I should have approached the decline with a little more caution.
While the boat was balanced on the tandem over-ride braked trailer, I had put several 25-litre fuel cans in the cockpit aft, as well as adding a Mercury 9.9hp trolling outboard motor to the auxiliary bracket. The cumulative effect upset the rig’s balance with weight taken off the drawbar and placed well behind the rear-most axle, which created a speed wobble I was unable to counter.
The one good thing to come out of the incident was the lesson ‘you can never have enough tiedowns’ to secure the boat to the trailer. A heavy strop held the stern in place and at the bow there was the winch cable and a separate heavy-duty safety chain snugged up with a turnbuckle which did not allow for any movement. No movement, no momentum.
Back up to align the towball with the trailer hitch. This is made much easier with a backing camera, which the Hilux Hybrid has, along with sensors. Without a camera you had to have someone to guide you or do it by ‘braille’ (touch)!
Ensuring you have the hitch in the right position – many trailers have hitches that can be changed to fit either a 17/8th or 50mm tow ball – lower the trailer onto the ball then wind the jockey wheel up. The wheel should be stowed pointing upwards and the shaft full retracted to hold everything snug. Jockey wheels left in the down-facing position are prone to striking the ground when negotiating curbs or speed bumps.
If your trailer has two safety chains, these should be crossed to limit the tow hitch movement should it come free of the tow ball. A boat needs to be secured by four points of contact – tie-down strops, the winch and safety chain.
Connect the lights, and with the aid a crew member, check that they are working. While at the stern, check the tie down/s to ensure the boat is held snugly on the trailer. Now is a good time to check that the bung/s is in place, the outboard raised and secured in position, and the prop flag is properly attached.
Remove the wheel chocks and release the service (hand) brake. If you have over-ride brakes, make sure the backing collar is flicked over to allow the brakes to function as they should do. At the first opportunity, touch the vehicle’s brakes to make sure the trailer brakes are functioning.
On the road
The biggest consideration when you finally get on the road is stopping. With your average 6m trailerboat you have doubled the weight you are in control of with boat and tow wagon added together.
Many modern vehicles, like the Hilux Hybrid, use radar or optical technology to allow the driver to set the following distance, or at least slow you down until a more acceptable gap is attained. But for most, following distance is determined using the driver’s ‘eyeometer’ technology. For standard driving the distance between vehicles is three seconds, but when towing you should double this.
One of the scariest places to drive is in Auckland during peak hour traffic. Leaving yourself plenty of space to stop becomes almost impossible as any gap you create seems to be an open invitation to other drivers to jump in – and then brake!
A wet road, especially after a long spell of dry weather, can be like walking on ice in well-worn jandals – an accident waiting to happen.
Similarly, towing on a loose, ungraded or corrugated metalled road requires your attention. Just as for wet roads, allow for extra stopping times and exercise caution when negotiating corners.
One of the roads that grabs my attention runs from Thames up the western side of the Coromandel Peninsula to Port Jackson and beyond. I am sure readers have others they could nominate for being equally demanding. When towing a bigger boat – 6m and longer – there is no room should either your or oncoming traffic cut across the apex of the corner.
If you are on the outside of a corner, stay as wide as possible. Conversely if you are on the inside, stick as tight as you can to the left-hand side. The trick is not to run your wheels too close to the edge of the tarmac as that is where the potholes and hard edges lurk, ready to damage a tyre. Unfortunately, it’s hard to avoid when you meet a stock truck and trailer on the corner.
On the open road, drive as smoothly as the conditions allow. Anticipate the corners and if you need to drop your speed, do it well before you start turning. The same applies coming up to intersections and road works. Give yourself time.
With a trailer hitched up behind you are limited to 90kph regardless of the posted speed limit. Be aware of any traffic building up behind you and pull over regularly to let them pass. Extending such courtesies to other road users will see them pass where it is safe, rather than risk overtaking in a less safe location.
On long hauls, stop occasionally for a driver reviver break to stretch your legs, have something to eat and a coffee. If possible, share the driving.
Rules of the road
There are a many rules around towing and they can be confusing.
The key points are: drivers with a Class I licence can only tow up to 6000kg combined weight of boat, trailer and vehicle.
If your boat and trailer weighs more that 3500kg it needs a Certificate of Fitness (CoF), renewed every six months. It is illegal to tow a boat without a Certificate of Fitness if the rig, fully fuelled and loaded with gear exceeds 3500kg.
I have seen bigger boats hauled over the weighbridge at Uretiti, south of Ruakaka, subsequently ordered off the road because the load had exceeded the 3500kg upper limit for a simple Warrant of Fitness. The only roadside solution is to get the rig onto a suitable truck or trailer and get it somewhere safe from where a Certificate of Fitness can be issued.
It would pay to check your insurance policy to see if you are still covered if your rig exceeds the 3500kg limit. Even if you have an accident caused by another driver, because you are legally not allowed to be on the road with an overweight rig, you may well not be covered by either your insurer or the other party’s.
Trailers fall within two classifications – under 3500kg laden weight (light) and greater than 3500kg but less than 10,000kg laden weight (heavy). The former requires a WoF, the latter a CoF.
For a CoF, the laden weight of the trailer must be no more than 50%.
Trailer braking systems fall into three categories: service brakes that can be controlled by the driver or work as override brakes where the weight of the trailer pushes against the tow vehicle to activate the brakes in a stopping situation; breakaway brakes, usually activated when the driver steps on the brake pedal; and a trailer handbrake, used primarily to stop the rig moving one it has been disconnected from the tow wagon. It must be able to hold the loaded trailer on a one-in-five gradient.
From my experience these are the most effective brakes and should your tow ball and hitch part company the trailer brakes automatically engage.
Regardless of what system is used, the rig must be able to pull to a stop from 30kmph in seven metres.
My own boat has hydraulic override brakes that operate on just one of the two trailer axles. When the boat’s parked up I use a set of chocks to prevent the rig moving. My preference is to release the handbrake with the chocks in place to prevent any binding if standing for an extended period.
Light requirements
One of the most overlooked requirements for a light trailer is the light on the propeller flag when operating during the hours of darkness.
If your propeller extends more than a metre from the back of the trailer, a suitable bright flag is required during daylight hours. After dark, a red light, visible from 200m, must be attached.
The maximum width for a light trailer is 2.55m and the maximum length – from tow ball to outboard, cannot exceed 12.5m. As well as the standard rear red, stop and indicator lights, white/yellow facing sidelights are a requirement.
A light trailer can be classified as over width provided the width at the widest point (mudguards, guide poles etc) is between 2.55m and no more than 3.1m and must display fluorescent yellow flags or hazard panels during the day.
In any urban areas an overwidth trailer cannot be on the road between 7.00am and 9.00am or 4.00 and 6.00pm, Monday to Friday; or 10.00am to 1.00pm or 4.00pm to 7.00pm at the weekends.
Before You Go
Over the years I have developed a 10-point check routine before heading off, regardless of how long the journey.
It goes something like this…
Tow hitch secured
Jockey wheel retracted
Safety chains in place
Lights connected and working
Bow safety chain and winch rope tight
Prop flag on/light working
Outboard raised and locked
Tie downs on and pulled tight
wheel chocks removed
Trailer brakes activated
Tips & Hacks
To ensure the trailer hitch is the correct height when backing the ball under it, use a permanent ink pen to mark on the jockey wheel shaft the right height to align everything up.
1. Always trail your boat with the jockey wheel fixed in the up position to prevent it striking curbs or raised speed bumps.
2. Use a turnbuckle as part of your safety chain to hold the bow of the hull firmly against the trailer’s snubbing block.
3. Bearing Buddies are a great way to prevent salt water from entering the wheel bearings. Use a cable tie to secure the end cap in position.
4. Put your boat name, and a contact phone number, on your trailer. If for any reason you are long overdue at the ramp, searchers can determine who they are looking for or make contact.
5. Trailers are susceptible to the ravages of the marine environment. If your trailer does not already have them, add a couple of hose connections to allow you to flush out the main box sections of the trailer frame. It does not hurt to add some anti-corrosion product to the flush every few washes.
6. Adding an extra shackle makes it easier to attach the safety chains, especially if hitching up in the dark.
If those safety chains are too long, why hasn’t he shortened them? And are those shackles on the safety chains rated?