Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Just a reminder to double and triple check that the hitch is on the ball of
your trailer.

Yesterday I went out to hitch up our trailer.  Had good alignment, and used
the heel of my boot to knock the hitch down onto the ball, or so I thought.
Closed it, put the safety pin into place and pulled forward.  We loaded the
horses and took off down the drive which has a rise up on to the road at the
end of it.  Upon pulling out, the trailer came off the hitch and rammed into
the bumper and stopped without incident, other than us saying " what the
hell was that".  The Ball was still in the closed locked position as it sat
on the ground.  

Unloaded the horses, took them back up and got the trailer jacked up and off
the road.  Had to rework for wiring that got torn, but that was all.
Basically a happy ending and still got to do our training ride.  BUT.... and
this is a BIG BUT... what if it had stayed on the truck until we were up to
highway speed.  This story could have had a very tragic ending. Even as I
was saddling yesterday before we started riding, I got a sick feeling and
tear in my eye realizing that we could have lost our horses in a bad
accident.

How many times have I hooked up and taken off and  never double and triple
checked the hitch to be sure it was on right.  This was a first time of me
in over thirty years of hauling, and I hope the last.  Even after it
happened, in my minds eye, I had put it on correctly.

Do not ever get complacent in doing a walk around check before starting your
trip, even if it is only  a short one as it could divert a disaster.

Cheryl



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=