Boat Launching with your motorhome

[Bear007]

The RV lost it's grip:

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/mostpopul...64/detail.html

RV Makes Splash In Bay
Driver Says Brakes Failed
POSTED: 3:24 pm PDT August 19, 2008
UPDATED: 6:05 pm PDT August 19, 2008

MISSION BAY, Calif. -- It's not a sight you see everyday -- lifeguards coming to the aid of a motor home owner, after an RV ends up submerged in DeAnza Cove.

Officials told NBC 7/39 a man and a woman from Los Angeles were attempting to launch their boat into the bay. The woman was behind the wheel of the RV and the husband was in the boat, when the boat came loose and the brakes failed on the motor home, NBC 7/39 reported.
The woman jumped from the RV and it came to a rest submerged halfway into the water.
Lifeguards dove into the water, attaching cables to the motor home and a tow truck was called in to pull it out. It took about two hours to pull the RV out of the water. The couple's boat was also retrieved and secured nearby.
Officials said the RV was valued at around $200,000.

[historyljc]

That'll be a tough one to trade in.

[Bear007]

If they take it out to Yuma, AZ it will be dried out in a few days. Right now, they're ALL tough to trade in.

[JCM]

I put a simple hitch on the front of my coach and I "push" my boat into the water without any of the running gear getting wet. It is also so easy to direct the boat from the drivers seat looking out the front.

[Doggy Daddy]

Most RVer's carry wheel chalks and they should be used whenever launching a boat [even if by auto or truck]. They can be placed a safe distance behind the front wheels in advance before backing up. If the brakes should fail, rear wheels slip or a surge (if ocean harbor) should raise the rear of the vehicle, all is still safe. The use of a 2 way radios and a boat trailer that has tip rollers (i.e. E-Z Loader) also makes loading and launching more user friendly especially with a 12v power winch. Safety lessons I learned from my father, an RVer and commercial fisherman.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Would that be "wheel chocks"?

[Tom N]

To each his own but there is no way I am putting a $100k+ RV in jeopardy to launch a boat. I'd offer someone at the ramp $20 to do it.

-Tom

[Hitchhiker]

Quote:

I'd offer someone at the ramp $20 to do it

I bet the dude that owns that MH wishes he had thought of that first.

[chasfm11]

We used to have our boat slip within easy sight of the launch ramp at a marina in NJ. There was nothing so entertaining as sitting in our cockpit, sipping on an adult beverage and watching the people try to launch. We saw people flip the lever on the trailer ball and launch the trailer still tied to the boat (they hadn't removed the rear straps), women "launched" from the dock as their men lurched (as in backed up fast and slammed on the brakes) the boats off of the trailers with the women holding the painter line, boats launched without drain plugs installed and several boats with their motors drowned because the trailer stayed with the TV but the straps were still fastened to the boat when the trailer was submerged.

IMHO, the chances of problems of using a MH to launch a boat on a ramp with the proper incline aren't all of that high. I can tell you that backing my 22'sailboat with a van (cannot use the inside mirror) was not a fun process at times because I had to try to pivot the boat onto a launch ramp from a 90 degree angle but a backup camera should help that kind of situation a lot.

[Doug Sage]

I suspect part of the problem was that there is no "Park" prawl to lock the drivetrain. Then the emergency driveline brake can be problematic as well. The wife probably backed the motorhome down the ramp, put it in park and maybe set the brake and took her foot off the vehicle brake, got up and headed for the door. All of a sudden the motorhome is moving and all is lost. I would not use a motorhome to launch a boat unless there is a dedicated driver that stays in the deat with their foot on the brake the whole time.