Loaded with 5 Nacra Infussions and all gear, our 24 ft enclosed trailer crashed on Friday and seems like it will likely be totalled by the insurance company. Trailer left the Boston, MA area headed for F18NA's in Long Beach. 5 boats were disassembled, on two racks inside the trailer with the masts attached to a rack on the roof. Same set up was used last fall and winter for F18NA's, steeplechase, tradewinds, and Tybee500, returning all boats to New England after the tybee last fall. In prep for doing the cross country trip, we had a mechanic go over the trailer for a full inspection of brakes, bearings, and tires. Boats were loaded last weekend and on Friday the 24th, Jim and Nora Zelmer started the western trek. 4.5 hours into the drive they experienced significant sway of the trailer behind them while driving at 55-60 mph, slowed down to control it, and immediately were swung around 180 degrees through the lines of traffic and ended up facing the opposite direction on the highway. The trailer had blown a tire and in the end had taken out a highway sign, chain link fence, and narrowly missed an 18-wheeler. A fence post went through the front of the enclose trailer, highway sign took out a mast and crunched the body of the trailer, popping the welds on the mast rack. All 5 masts and the rack ended up on the highway. The force of the tailspin bent one or both of the axles on the trailer, and the sway bars bent the frame/tongue of the trailer. Amazingly, the E250 van and trailer did not roll over, and NOONE WAS HURT! The boats were ok on first inspection minus major damage to 3 of the 5 masts, and some damage to another. Everything was insured, but we still have a long way to go to figure out all the damages and who will be covering what.
The weekend was spent retrieving three of the boats and getting a double stack trailer to the crash site to have two of the boats continue on to Long Beach, CA. We are hoping that two of the other teams will be able to negotiate charters.
An awful event, with the potential to have been so much worse.
Chris

Wow,

All that caused by a blown tire? A tire that had recently been inspected. Anything can happen I guess.

Glad no one was injured in this mishap.

Good luck

HOLY SHNIKEYS!

Really glad that no one was hurt!

Love your tenacity to continue the trip. We owe you drinks when you get here. Hope you find boats. I heard that JW had most of it under control after many hours on the phone trying to make sure you are ready when you get here.

Cheers,
Dan

That's some determination. Glad to hear nobody was hurt.

Two of the three teams that needed charters are sorted out as of this afternoon. I haven't given up hope that we can accommodate Chris, too.

ps - the back-up trailer had a blowout, too... but don't give up!

Need another f18 charter boat? I may know one.

jeremy@surfcitycatamarans.com

I've got a 24' enclosed Featherlite trailer. If you didn't already have it, and you plan on replacing it with the same setup, the load distribution bars help alot. It really helps to settle down the trailer.



Sorry for the troubles, that sucks.

Hey Chris,
Sorry to hear about this. Glad no one was hurt. Good luck on the left coast.
Todd

Karl:

We are doing a 20' enclosed concession trailer. Got a link on where to get the bars? Sure would hate to loose it going to a rally.

Doug

We use to have the load level bars on the camper when I was young they helped. A real bugger to snap over center. Glad everybody is aright.

I hope the insurance company is good to you.

Jeremy at Surf City a true gent in making the extra effort for everybody. Now that is what sailing is really about!

John W has been awesome in helping us get everything set up on charter boats, replacement masts, and general support! Rick Bliss has been instrumental in helping secure all the needed parts to get our boats back in one piece, and Jack Young is doing all he can as well to execute this. Here on the east coast, Barry Moore loaned us his trailer to carry the doublestack. A true testament to how awesome this cat sailing community really is.

the trailer had a set of anti-sway/ weight distribution bars set up. It was actually at the attachment site to the trailer tongue/ frame that the frame of the trailer bent. The sway bars and weight distribution set up were totally fine and stopped the trailer from crushing into the back of the van.

When the Zelmers get there, make sure they are very well lubricated with booze that first night.... they deserve it and are going to need it!

Haha! Glad no one was hurt, and it is great to see how sailors are rallying to help!

Did anyone take pictures of the wreck?

Glad to know only parts are hurt. This is probably a good time to remind us all that hauling a trailer is serious business and even thorough prepwork requires vigilance. Those boats had a few miles on'em GOOD JOB!

Everybody pulling a trailer: Be sure to check the manufactured date on the tires. Not a 100% guarantee, but definitely a must.

Tire supply chain stores in my area will not mount tires beyond their life expectancy of 5 years, even if they have never been on the road. I am looking at the expense of replacing my RV tires this or next year due simply to age. They still have lots of tread left. All tires have a date stamp on them. The last two digits indicate year of manufacture. I.E. xxxx04 indicates manufactured in 2004.

dan

good call Dan

Good advice. I just changed all 6 tires on my RV based on them being over 5 years old (the spare looked a lot older than that - I could not find a DOT number on it!). I also just invested in an after market Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) that covers the RV and trailer. Pressure sensors screw onto the valves instead of the caps, rather than the TPMS sensors inside the rim on new cars. This allows the monitors to be swapped rapidly between trailers. My system will cover up to 16 wheels. It alarms on low pressure with an audible alert. This won't save you from a catastrophic tire failure (blow - out) but could give valuable time /awareness to the driver.

The system I went with is from Pressure Pro
Monitor:

Sensors:

very neat.
their website does not show prices???
may i ask what the entire unit cost you?