A close call yesterday!

[fasteddieb]

Let me remind everyone what our situation was.

A flash flood had washed out a portion of the gravel platform on which our CampLite - "Campy" - sits:






And there's a missed hint in that photo that courted disaster!

We were moving Campy to the airport to have work done on the platform. We backed our Flex - "Flexie" - up to within about a foot of the trailer to judge how high we had to lift the nose of the trailer.

First step was to retract the stabilizers.

Right front - up.

Left front...

As I was taking the load off the stabilizer the entire trailer started to roll forward and drop 6"!!! I got clear of it, and Karen, who was standing between Flexie and Campy, just missed getting hit by it.

Whew!

Regrouping, it became clear what had happened. Look at this:






With the gravel washed away, even though the Anderson Stabilizers were still in place and chocked, the chocks on the other side had been eroded under putting a lot of forward pressure on the tongue jack. Retracting the second front stabilizer put all the weight on the 6x6 we use under the jack and it rolled forward off of it. YIKES!

In any case, we waited for the adrenaline spikes to go back down and reassessed the situation. The whole weight of the front of the trailer - about 625 lbs, had come down on the left front stabilizer, leaving it like this:






(I think its repairable - nothing seems bent and I think the "gears" just jumped a couple of "teeth" - will try to look at it later today.)

In any case, we just had room to wedge a board under the tongue jack, and got it high enough to hook up to Flexie.






Wedged a board and some rocks and some rubber matting under the worst part of the erosion and Viola! And Karen got a video!

https://youtu.be/MG4ocjhvpVk

Anyway, no loss of blood or limbs! But a good reminder of how unforgiving these things can be in a moment of carelessness.

But mission accomplished!

[pinstriper]

When you foreshadowed this story, I looked at the photo and saw your leveling blocks under the wheels and said to myself "where are the chocks ?" I figured your story would involve the trailer rolling when you tried to hook up. Yowzers !

That happened to me once, years ago, with a horse trailer (empty) where I forgot to chock the wheels, and it rolled back a few inches when I unhooked from the ball. I now always make sure to chock the wheels, and even the jack wheel.

That erosion looks scary - you could have lost the whole trailer.

[peislander]

I'm glad nobody was hurt! I can imagine the scare that the sudden movement of the trailer must have provided. Anybody pee their pants?

[fasteddieb]

[quote source="/post/12949/thread" timestamp="1436117763" author="@peislander"]Anybody pee their pants?[/quote]I guess that depends!

[farmboy]

Glad no one was hurt; scary.   Things can go bad so very quickly.    Once, in a rush, I disconnected a two wheel utility trailer from our van, forgetting that there was  a  large bucket of rocks on the back end of the trailer.  As soon as as I released the coupler from the ball, the tongue  shot up,   It must of missed my head by less than an inch.  Lesson learned; never hang head over coupler.   Hope you can repair the parking area without too much trouble or expense.  

[2moonunit]

Looking at the erosion, you might want to inspect the wheel bearings for contamination. ...

[fasteddieb]

[quote timestamp="1436337725" source="/post/12988/thread" author="@bae146"]Looking at the erosion, you might want to inspect the wheel bearings for contamination. ...[/quote]Good thought.

There's no indication - mud or waterline on the tires/wheels - to indicate the water level ever got that high.

But maybe I'll check them sooner rather than later.

Thanks!

[ammobob]

See a nice hill behind your spot that had to have contributed with a real heavy rain. Glad everything and everyone is OK. Looks like the new spot would be a better spot for the future home of your TT. Plus it looks shaded which would keep Campy cooler in summer.

[fasteddieb]

Repair and expansion of the area in progress:






When completed, we plan on having about a 30'x30' slab poured, and eventually a carport. Should be room for two trailers. Also having 30A service run down to it.

Big job!

[fasteddieb]

Good news.

As I expected, nothing major bent on my left front stabilizer - just pulling the two forward pivot bolts let me realign it:






Could have been so much worse!

[shovelhead]

Wow!!   That would have had me changing my drawers.

[tinkeringtechie]

[quote source="/post/13056/thread" timestamp="1436528880" author="@fasteddieb"]Repair and expansion of the area in progress:


[img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3728/19387794540_d7d173db68_z.jpg"]

When completed, we plan on having about a 30'x30' slab poured, and eventually a carport. Should be room for two trailers. Also having 30A service run down to it.

Big job![/quote]Looks like fun. What kind of measures are you taking to make sure that a slab and two trailers don't go sliding down the hill in the next flood? Maybe a culvert from the far side of the driveway into that pond?

[fasteddieb]

As an update, we got the new, larger platform mostly completed and brought Campy home yesterday:




It's always something!

[leslie]

The work that you have done this far looks really good.

BTW, a new restaurant that opened in Louisville is also a tequila bar. Knowjng how fasteddie likes tequila, you two will have to come for a longer stay so we can all go to it. My husband and I ate there for the first time this week, and I had a flaming margarita!

Now, back to the thread - when you are finished with paving, that landing pad will be impressive!

[charliem]

[font size="3"]Nice looking, Eddie. I assume you'll put the perimeter and runway lights in when you get the electric hooked up. And the centerline strip. No sewer connection either, but I guess that just runs off into the creek    
[/font]