Truck towing overloaded kills, driver gets felony charges.

[LD48750]

The number of axles on the trailer tells me it's pretty heavy

Being someone hauling big boats for hire, the number of axles tells me the trailer MAY be able to haul heavy boats but may have been used for length rather then weight.

 

[VoyagernOK]

I also wonder about the true weight of the boat. This same story was tossed around on the other thread. I was thinking there were no trailer brakes??

That is one of the charges against him... no trailer brakes. "Required brakes missing on trailer"

 

[Username Taken]

Here's a Nor-Tech 420 (42 feet) Monte Carlo with 3,100 HP. They make them not far from me. I used to hang with some of the guys that made them. Couple of immigrants from Scandinavia.

Nor-Tech 420 Monte Carlo – Nor-Tech Boats

www.nor-techboats.com

Speed toward a getaway​

Twin Mercury inboard engines — with a max of 1,550 horsepower per side — will power your weekend getaway. Pack your luggage, grab your guests and head out to see the sunset at record speeds. You’ll be stable and comfortable, with maybe some wind in your hair (but there’s also full wind protection from the stunning wraparound windshiel

Weight with engine assemblies included, 12,500 lbs.

And yeah, it matters. With that kind of power, that boat better be put together. When you're doing 120 MPH the water is like concrete. And that boat will do it. Without eveen breaking a sweat

So if that little POS that poor, dumb rigger was pulling weighed 37k, then my boat is the Titanic.

Marinas routinely send boat riggers to do some boat-moving.

 

[DieselBound]

Is that an anchor on the bow in the pic? Doesn't seem like a very big anchor; if it's right-sized then it would seem that the boat might not be all that big*. At any rate, NO TRAILER BRAKES is most certainly the secondary cause (first is driver fault [for, of course, not ensuring proper brakes; second would be for not allowing sufficient and safe braking speed/distance- even without trailer brakes one can stop a large load).

* Quick check of anchor weight (yes, this is a pretty broad description as there are different anchors with different holding capacities, but...), basing on a boat of about 40' in length and about 23k lbs (that's what I believe is about right here), would be something like 55 lbs.

I've run without my trailer brakes being hooked up towing maybe 3,500 lbs. I was careful. But I will NEVER do this again. Best practice is to always verify your brakes are working BEFORE you need to use them: anticipate an up-coming stop early- if your brakes have managed to stop working (after they were known to have worked) then you have some time rather than NO time to deal with the predicament.

 

[Username Taken]

That is one of the charges against him... no trailer brakes. "Required brakes missing on trailer"

I wonder who he was pulling the boat for.....

And how did they know the trailer didn't have brakes?? Electric brakes are part of the 7-pin harness and surge brakes are built in.

whatev

 

[the old grind]

Boats compared here have little in common with that one on the trailer. I'd guess its beam to be 12'-14' min. Add a stateroom, galley, & plumbing along with o'all height of a cruiser, more glass & metal trim,etc. Those add a lot more weight than tacking 10' length onto a 8' or 8' 6" beam runabout with a fancy cuddy, an MSD, and a built-in cooler.

Going traffic speed or even slightly downhill with a mere 20k lbs on back that truck's brakes alone aren't close to stopping that much boat under normal circumstances. His brake 'failure' was the truck being nowhere near enough with the trailer's brakes not connected (as listed in charges) or functioning. If anti-lock worked and kicked in it'd make thing worse. IMO the rest is nits to pick as happens now and then. (ahem) I doubt if our disdain will get the driver at fault any more than he's got coming already. Lives were lost and damage was done. We can't change that.

 

[Username Taken]

Is that an anchor on the bow in the pic? Doesn't seem like a very big anchor; if it's right-sized then it would seem that the boat might not be all that big*. At any rate, NO TRAILER BRAKES is most certainly the secondary cause (first is driver fault [for, of course, not ensuring proper brakes; second would be for not allowing sufficient and safe braking speed/distance- even without trailer brakes one can stop a large load).

* Quick check of anchor weight (yes, this is a pretty broad description as there are different anchors with different holding capacities, but...), basing on a boat of about 40' in length and about 23k lbs (that's what I believe is about right here), would be something like 55 lbs.

I've run without my trailer brakes being hooked up towing maybe 3,500 lbs. I was careful. But I will NEVER do this again. Best practice is to always verify your brakes are working BEFORE you need to use them: anticipate an up-coming stop early- if your brakes have managed to stop working (after they were known to have worked) then you have some time rather than NO time to deal with the predicament.

Since there are no tides in Nevada lakes and I doubt there is much of (if any) current, you wouldn't need a whole lot of anchor. Just enough for the wind. And I don't know how much that can be. The boat seems to have a fair amount of freeboard, so that may be a concern.

 

[PuffyC]

Another article said it was a 44 ft boat. Just for an example, a 44ft Contender FA is over 22,000 pounds with engines. Add 3,000 pounds of fuel and a 4,000 pound trailer and you’re at 29,000 pounds. Add in 8,000 pounds for the f350 and you’re at 37,000 pounds. Maybe that’s where they got the number from and they just got the specifics of it wrong.

 

[DieselBound]

I wonder who he was pulling the boat for.....

And how did they know the trailer didn't have brakes?? Electric brakes are part of the 7-pin harness and surge brakes are built in.

whatev

Are surge brakes "built in?" [just looking to learn something from this thread ]

I don't have a boat, therefore no boat trailer, but I have a 12k lb utility trailer with 4wheel elec brakes and I've had a 12k lb dump trailer that had surge brakes. No trailer with both (would seem like a good idea for huge loads).

 

[Username Taken]

Boats compared here have little in common with that one on the trailer. I'd guess its beam to be 12'-14' min. Add a stateroom, galley, & plumbing along with o'all height of a cruiser, more glass & metal trim,etc. Those add a lot more weight than tacking 10' length onto a 8' or 8' 6" beam runabout with a fancy cuddy, an MSD, and a built-in cooler.

Going traffic speed or even even slightly downhill with a mere 20k lbs on back the truck's brakes alone aren't close to stopping that much boat. His brake 'failure' was the truck being nowhere near enough with the trailer's brakes not connected (as listed in charges) or functioning. IMO the rest is nits to pick as happens. I doubt if our disdain will get the driver at fault any more than he's got coming already. Lives were lost and damage was done. We can't change that.

I saw a close up of it and I estimate its beam to be no more than 8'. 9 feet tops.