So, last night was boy scout night. I was sitting in the Exped. waiting on my boys to finish up. Their job last night was to empty the troop trailer, inventory the stuff and repack.
The leaders had hitched up the trailer (parked right next to me) and pulled it forward a bit to make more room for the boys to get in and out. After they were done, they backed it back and one of the leaders started unhitching. Thankfully it was the leaders and not the boys doing the unhitching, although I think my boys would have remembered the cardinal rule... Chocks first!
The leader cranks down the tongue jack and starts to lift the trailer hitch off the ball. He doesn't really crank it high enough, and thinks it's stuck, so he jumps on top of the hitch and starts jumping up and down.
Hmm... that didn't work... maybe he needs to crank the tongue higher... so he does, then jumps back on top and starts jumping up and down again.
I'm thinking to myself.... this is a very bad idea....
About that time, the ball pops loose and the trailer immediately rolls back about 2 feet and hits some little saplings and stopped. THANKFULLY the gravel lot backs up to woods and there is a little dip. IF there had been a hill and not trees, it would have just kept on rolling.
Luckily the guy jumped clear - he was fortunate that he didn't fall and get hurt.
I'm sort of sitting there just watching it all unfold. I turned to my 12 yr old, who was sitting in the car with me by then and said "What's the FIRST thing you do before you touch the hitch when you arrive and the LAST thing you do before you drive away?"
CHOCK THE WHEELS, MOM!
Glad he's learning right
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