My dad came up to visit today and we had already decided to go to the river. I bought a 2017 Tacoma about 10 days ago and hadn't pulled my boat with it yet. So we loaded up the truck and rode together: me, my dad, my wife, and my 18-month boy. We get to the boat ramp and decide that we'll let my dad back us in at the ramp. I backed the boat down to within a few feet of the water and got out to take straps off, etc and the 3 of us jumped in the boat. That's when it all went downhill.

My dad starts backing us into the water pretty steady and the boat glides gently off the trailer as expected. What we didn't expect was that the truck would keep coming further and further back into the water. I NEVER use bad language but I can tell you that my wife and I were both screaming at the top of our lungs to "STOP!!!!!!!! GO FORWARD!!!!!" and this continued until half of the tailgate was under water. I was in the boat and totally helpless and thought that I was about to watch my brand new truck get sunk. He finally hit the brake, put it in drive and got it out but I thought for sure that the truck was about to be gone.

He pulled the trailer up to the top of the hill and then walked down to the pier where we were sitting in the boat. I said "DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU ALMOST JUST SUNK MY TRUCK???" He said that he was focused on the backup camera screen and didn't realize he had backed it up that deep.

My nerves were shot for the day. When we got ready to put the boat back on the trailer, there was no chance in hell that my dad was going to drive the boat or the truck. I backed the trailer into the water to where the fenders were just barely poking out of the water. I put the truck in park and got out and my back tires were probably 2 feet from touching the edge of the water. My dad must have backed up at least 10 feet further when launching the boat in the beginning. I'm royally pissed about it and it ruined our whole day.

Lesson learned: when it comes to boats and trucks you're better off just handling it yourself. I've had the worst of times letting other people either drive the truck or boat when we launch and it's been close to disaster several times. Not again...

Trucks can be replaced. Glad it all worked out.

shucks happens youre too high strung if thats ruining your day

If that gets you pissy enough to write this novel then you need medication. Try to be glad your glad you got to spend some time with your dad instead?

Man you definitely didn't grow up on a farm. You would have a heart attack at the shucks that gets broke around our place

I've always had a fear of dumping a truck off a ramp. Wrecker guys tell me it happens more than you think.

Hopefully you did not make dad feel bad about it. Crap happens thankfully everyone and everything are okay but whats the big deal, dad launched you succesfully and yall spent the day together 3 generations worth!

Good times laugh about it

Look at the bright side. No one was hurt. Now go have the diff. Fluid changed. If it was that deep then it probably filled the diff through the vent.

This ^^^^^^

I wasn't really mad at my dad, I knew the truck would be fine because it stayed running the whole time. I just couldn't relax the rest of the day because my adrenaline was pumping. My wife and I talked about it last night after we got home and we both agreed that we were very close to having to jump out of the boat to pull him out of a trunk that was underwater. That's how close it was to being gone

Dude it's your Dad! Sound like you were/are more worried about a truck then your own Father.

Sorry to sound harsh but this is a great example to make a point for ALL of us on what is happening to us as mankind...

We were made to love people and use things, however we have began to love things and use people. We all need to get our priorities back in line.

Glad it worked out for you and your truck.

I would give anything to go fishin with my daddy. Sure do miss him.

Man, I hate to continue the "Debbie Downer" responses, but I have a couple of good buddies that wouldn't care if their dad sank the truck, boat, or any other monetary thing. They'd give it up just to ride with their dads one more time. It's a shame that ruined your day.....

Phil, I understand where you are coming from. Buddy of mine pulled boat and trailer out of the water. Got to top of hill, put it in neutral instead of park. Thank God, he realized it and jumped back in the truck.

I'm sure all of y'all self-righteous posters would not be totally fine if your truck got sunk at the boat ramp or close to it. Keyboard warriors out in full force

Exactly

If it's going to stress you out that much, then definitely DIY ... given the choice between the two, I've had better luck letting someone manage the boat vs. the truck/trailer ... What I've gone to is a very long rope on the front of the boat; most docks are fairly close to the ramp, so I just have another noob/guest hold the long rope, or tie it off so the boat can't get too far away once it's in the water ...

I had a stressful time at a ramp recently that was a deg'gum 70 deg incline down to a very short ramp; had to put my truck in 4WD & ride the brakes hard to ease the boat down to the ramp; thankfully the dock was right there, and my buddy was educated on handling boats, so it worked out Ok, but I wasn't a fan of that ramp at all LOL

With a little practice, you'll learn to launch & trailer your boat yourself pretty quick ...

I use my boat horn. When someone is backing me in, I honk and they stop. Fire up the motor and let it warm up, then honk again. They back me in until they see me come off the trailer.

Same when loading. They back the trailer in until I honk. Unless they lower the tailgate, they can't see the trailer well enough to know when to stop.

Chit happens,I see where you're coming from Phil.I wouldn't let it ruin my day but I wouldn't want my new truck sank.Laugh it off now and move on.

shucks...I used to have a 12' semi-vee with no trailer...we just backed the truck far enough in to flood the bed, pulled the boat in and tied up just like in a boat slip, then pulled out...never hurt anything.