Tell us your trailer bloopers

[Tnavas]

So fess up - who's had a stuff up with their trailer! This happened to the mum of one of my Games kids.

Nicole didn't turn up for games practise on Thursday, which is so unlike her. Embarresed mum tells the story of the trailer tragedy at Area Games on Sunday.

She hitched up as normal, secured the chain and the lights and then drove the float around to where she loads the pony. To do this she has to go around the side of the house, down into a dip and back up to the stable yard.

Into the dip she goes and as she comes up the other side there is an horrendous thump, and the car is bounced around. She got out to look and the trailer had come off the tow ball and embedded itself in the boot of her car. The tow ball had not locked on and had got under the car going down the hill and as she went through the dip had shot upwards and gone through the floor of the boot.

Hubby had to use the hydraulics on the tractor to lift the car up, put blocks under it and then use the hydraulics to put enough pressure on the trailer to get the tow ball out off the car.

 

[polo_han]

I have pulled off when one of the wheels was stuck (brake hadnt come off for some reason) and I was driving along with a huge cloud of smoke behind me until a motorcycle pulled up along side me and told me! Dont know how I hadnt noticed it in my mirror!! Worst thing was I was on a huge long hill so had a monster hill start to pull off on!!

 

[noodle_]

i dont have a trailer but i unloaded my (poor) horse the other week from one....and forgot to undo the partition


poor little sod squeezed out (shes a 15.2 CHUNK)...no complaints

shes a very good loader - will literally get in anything and i totally took advantage of this due to bein ghighly stressed! lol

 

[Enfys]

Hmmmmmmm, coming home with two horses up, we'd just, JUST turned off the highway onto a dirt road when a wheel overtook us and bounced into a tobacco field.

The nearside rear wheel had just come off the truck, fortunately the trailer was a gooseneck (hitches to the bed of the truck) and was holding the truck up, otherwise it could have been a sticky moment and downright dangerous if we'd still been on the highway.

We got absolutely soaked looking for the wheel in that field, the tobacco plants were about 5' high. We did eventually find it though, rolling a socking great wheel back through tobacco plants is not an easy job!

We were actually only about 4 blocks from home so friends came round with a truck to pick up the trailer, mind, they had to go back and switch trucks once as they'd bought the fifth wheel (like lorries have) instead of the truck with the gooseneck hitch.

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Years ago I worked at a yard near Towcester, we had runners one day, so packed the lorry etc, jumped in and got to the track - opened up, and yep - NO horses! Clever! It could have been worse, Windsor, Fakenham, Aintree...

 

[Louby]

After lots of practice towing first without a horse, I proudly arrived at my local show with my new to me trailer. It was a tight turn in a full car park through a gate into the field to park. I only got stuck in the gateway. Couldnt go forwards as I would have scraped the trailer, couldnt go back as the brakes locked on. The show organisors had to rock the trailer sideways with my angelic horse none the wiser on board and I had to edge forward very slowly to squeese through the gate way.

 

[Shavings]

we don't own a trailer and never really travel any were, normal hack to a place we want to go.
how ever the woman who brought my TB to us *his old owner* made me laugh she arrived on the yard and opened the car door and handed me a wheel, i just looked at her she said it had come off the trailer!!

little horse was fine and trailer got its wheel back on thankfully

 

[Tnavas]

In my early days of driving a trailer I went to tidy up my bosses yard and tried to move the trailer to a different spot that involved reversing, after countless attempts I drove down the drive, round the block and back in and re parked it - in the morning she was most puzzled as the trailer was facing the oposite way! I hate reversing a trailer even now and try my hardest not to have to.

 

[becca1305]

Not a huge blooper but my mum who is usually good at reversing over shot the entrance to a BE event (VERY) poorly signed and had to turn round. We had arrived early but for some reason she was in panic mode and could not turn the trailer round in a huge drive way. So we ended up eventually with me reversing the trailer round having never driven it before and arriving 40 minutes later than I needed to despite arriving early only being 50 yards from the venue! Dont know what had happened to her she'd just lost the plot! I guess everyone has off days!

 

[maresmaid]

I once had a trailer wheel puncture on a really busy roundabout. I had no idea how to change a tyre (still don't) but there was a "Kwick Fit" place just next to the roundabout so we managed to pull into it and pursuade the lovely chaps there to change the wheel for us - this involved unloading my horse in their very busy forecourt right next to a very busy road! She was an angel and took it all in her stride, watching all the activity with great interest - as were all the other Kwick Fit customers and passers by. The Kwick Fit chappies changed the wheel - and didn't want to charge us anything for doing it! Thumbs up for Kwick Fit!

 

[Ranyhyn]

Mine:

Took Clover out in the new trailer for a hack. Went brilliantly. Brought her back in (on her own so single breast bar and cross-tied). Took her bridle off, turned to give it to helpful OH.

Turn back.

Horses' backside in my face! Of course, always make sure you put the headcollar on straight away otherwise your horse can turn around! Clover is now stood with her head lolling over the back ramp, smiling at passers by

I'm starting to go into full on panic mode when OH suggests waggling some food at greedy mare. With this, as calm as you like, mare simply turns back around as if its the most normal thing in the world, sending the trailer rocking like a ship on a stormy sea!! So I quickly cross tie her back up!

I had visions of driving down the dual carriageway with Clover's head hanging out the back window

I wont ever be doing that again!

 

[blood_magik]

me and my dad were shifting the partitions in the lorry and he didn't tell me when he let go - I fell down the ramp with the partition on top of me

 

[becca1305]

Actually thats a good point ^^ i did similar when first got our new lorry didnt realise how heavy they were (donut!) and tried to move them alone just about killing myself in the process. Luckily dad was out in the logstore and heard my yelps of help! Wont be doing that again in a hurry!

 

[Mince Pie]

Bliztenfys - we've had that with a caravan!

Not really a trailer one but I was following my friends who were taking their coloured cob to a show. Their towing vehicle is a 1964 series 2a landrover and in the middle of a roundabout that had roadworks on it decided to conk out (usually very reliable!). Rather than faff about unhitching the trailer and re-hitching it to my discovery, we just put a tow rope between the landrovers and towed the whole lot to the showground with the disco! The organiser's face was an utter picture when we arrived

The other one was probably when their horsebox blew a head gasket on the Caterham Bypass, concerned passers by rang all the emergency services so we had 2 police cars, 2 fire engines and an ambulance turn up!

 

[tinap]

Not a trailer but a caravan - was driving, came to an s bend so slowed down when the wheel of the caravan just fell off, rolled passed me & into the canal at the side of the road!!

 

[asmp]

Haven't told the husband about this one but the other day, after unloading the horse down the side ramp, I assumed my daughter had put it back up as I then proceeded to drive the trailer to it's parking place. Luckily my daughter stopped me going too far and as the yard was thick mud, no damage was done to the ramp!

My husband, when reversing to hitch up the trailer once, stood on the accelerator instead of the brake (automatic) and slammed the car into the trailer, which in turn crashed into the fence behind - nice hole in the car bumper, a mangled fence and a bent jockey wheel (just glad it was him and not me!)

 

[muffinmunsh]

I managed to go through the wrong gate at a show, up a very narrow driveway... Got stoped by a very anxious show organiser and had to reverse about 30m out into a very busy carpark... I had only just started towing and was *****ing myself! Luckily, I had 3 passengers - one for each corner LOL
Mind you, there were a lot of rather bored horsey husbands and dads who were chomping at the bit to help us out ;-)

 

[Aoibhin]

i have done the check & double check everything in car the night before ready for show, water/tack/grooming kit/hay net for hangnig around ect. next mornnig got up & went down yard, got the lad out tied him up & put on travel boots/rug & poll guard ect & helped best mate do her lass, all done then dogs & us all into car & off we went....... my gran phoned us 20 mins later to say good luck with the pair jumping but wouldnt we be requireing the ponies too? we had left them both tied up outside stables at home & had an empty trailer behind us! OOPS.

 

[Rowreach]

I opened this thread thinking it would be amusing but I'm
at the number of people who don't check the trailer is hitched on or don't check the wheel nuts regularly

I know someone who who was driving along when the wheel came off her trailer and it hit a motorcyclist and killed him

 

[Jemima_P]

When we first got the horses mum bought a huge muck trailer, painted it green to match her Landy, then parked it in the field very proud of herself. Forgetting how tight the turn is out of the field, she then tries to take it out on her own to empty it and gets the trailer wedged on the gate post with wheels off the ground and blocking the whole road.
Thank god its a tipper so we could release the catch and it crashed back down... the gate post is still a lovely shade of green!


On the other hand we're particularly careful with the horse trailer after a relative loaded his horses up one day, let his friend drive away with them on board.. follows behind 10 mins later to see his trailer upside down in a ditch

 

[pepsimaxrock]

More of an OOOOH - its still doing my head in.

Finally at a v grand old middle aged age bought my first horse 18 months ago. the second summer i had him thought about getting my own transport.. seemed a big decision so hired a trailer for 6 months.

all going very well until - 4 months later - travelling to a show in only v moderate wind - trailer snakes snakes snakes on the main motorway - finally slams into the side of my car and over it goes.

my lil friend - only 12 - gets out and rescues both horses (perfectly fine) in less than a minute. We held up the main A1 for an hour and a half.

I have heard today that the insurance claim is settled. I would love to get another trailer, but has anyone got over a bad trailer accident - if they did, how did you do it? xxx