Close call on the ramp

[Lt.Mike]

Two days back we launched the Overnighter for the day. It was a good trip, the boat ran well but things went south at the ramp. Most days it's a simple thing to load the boat and go but for some reason I had a bear of a time getting it to load straight. Ok I eventually got it on and feeling s little frustrated with myself for having trouble I hopped in the truck to pull it up the ramp.
That's when it happened, I step on the brake pedal, release the emergency brake, and as I'm taking it out of park and moving the shifter through reverse the damned brake pedal went to the floor!
Yup, it picked that moment to pop a front brake line.
The truck rolled back must have been 5' as I put it in drive and hit the gas. It was like a neutral drop with all 4 tires making a loud chirp and it climbed the ramp.
I ended up unhooking the trailer, towing the rig home with the wife's SUV and leaving the truck in the lot for the night.
That is the absolute closest I have ever come to launching the truck and trailer.
I guess a close call on the ramp is better than the line letting go at a stop light down the road.
Mike

 

[DennisG01]

Phew! Glad you didn't get 'yer truck wet! Quick thinking with the gears - only rolling back 5' before you caught it!

Back when I was about 19, I delivered a boat to a guy at a local lake. He had just bought it - brand new. When I got there, I asked him if he wanted to get in the boat and take it off the trailer, or if he would rather pull the truck/trailer out of the water. I had set the e-brake and left the truck in 1st gear (manual tranny). He said he was nervous about taking the boat off the trailer as it was a tight maneuver with close-by docks right behind the ramp. I took the boat off, then watched as he (which I found out later) apparently "learned" to drive stick on my (the marina's) truck. It didn't go well. Had to call a tow truck to pull the rig out. Luckily it didn't go far enough in to cause any major problems. But because it was only 2WD, I wasn't able to pull it out under it's own power.

FYI... the emergency brake would still work.

 

[Lt.Mike]

I abandoned the thought of using the E-brake again as if wet I wasn't sure it would grab and hold.
Grant it a neutral drop into drive is hell on a trans. :roll: but at least it was in 4wd.
Now I'm waiting for new brake lines to arrive. Half are pre-bent and the rest I have to bent recreating the insane wire puzzle that the factory installed.
Ah, the joy of owning an old truck! :wink:
Mike