A lot of folks have VWs that they have invested countless hours and dollars in . . . and rather than chance having them dammaged while driving, they haul them on trailers.  I just had an experiance that convinced me that no matter how much I've invested in a vehicle, I will NEVER trailer it as long as it is capable of being driven.  If it's broked down and I am forced to trailer it, I WILL take the time to load it correctly and correctly secure it to the trailer.

About 6:30pm I was cruising down Hwy 27 on the LaFayette Bypass doing about 55 MPH.  I was driving a nearly new Dodge truck that Justin borrowed from work.  I was pulling a borrowed trailer and hauling my mother-in-law's brokend down car.  I had several cars I MUST move this weekend, so in my haste to get it loaded I had put on the trailer rear end first . . . I KNEW this trailer tends to be a little light on the front unless you load your vehicles engine end first, but that was the way it was sitting in the yard . . . I just back up to it and loaded it.  Anyway, I was headed North on the by-pass and felt the trailer wobble a little and thought to myself, you have a trailer tire going flat . . . I let off the gas and started to ease on the brake . . . the trailer's momemtum pushed on the back of the truck, and jerk it sideways, my nylon hold down straps broke and car rolled almost off the back of the trailer.  The ONLY reason it didn't roll on off the back of the trailer was a rope that I had looped over the back axle and tied off to the front of the trailer caught it . . . I didn't have the rope on there to secure the car, I had tied it on and looped it over the axle just to keep from loosing it. Anyway, the car (an '88 Mercury Tracer wagon) is front wheel drive . . . so now the engine, tranny and probalby 75% of the weight of the car is almost off the back of the trailer, making the trailer, which was already too light at the hitch, even lighter at the hitch . . . in fact, the trailer was lifting up back of the truck making almost weightless in back and also making the brakes totally useless.  So for the next 30 seconds or so I was all over the road . . . 4 traffic lanes and a turn lane and I used every bit of all of them!  I really can't tell you how I managed to keep it from completely jackknifing . . .

But, luckily, the only car in site heading towards me saw what was going on and stopped and there was no one beside me.  The cars behind me stopped and waited for the smoke to clear before they went on their way.  I was finally able to get it under control, straightened out, off the road, and stopped.  I unloaded the car, unhooked the trailer, finally located a tire and wheel I could borrow, got it all hooked up and loaded the car (front end first this time to give the trailer some tounge weight) and get back home with it . . . about 6 hours later.  All I can say is that I was VERY LUCKY and there was someone upstairs looking out for me.  The damage was limited to a tiny dent in the bumper (caused from the trailer tounge getting to a near 90 degree angle with the truck) and a VERY LARGE STAIN in the seat of my pants!  ::

I'll try again in the morning . . . this time (and EVERY TIME FROM NOW ON) with the car loaded correcty and held in place with a chain and come-along instead of cheap nylon straps.