Any hitch ever come loose or apart?

[109jb]

Re: Any hitch ever come loose or apart?

I had a utility trailer hitch come unhooked after a several hundred mile trip. Right size ball and right size hitch and security checked before the trip began. What happened was the adjustment nut that hooks to the coupler latch came unscrewed enough to let the trailer bounce off the ball. It almost unscrewed completely. The nut was supposed to be a locking nut, but I could spin it by hand. I later replaced the nut with a good quality locking nut and never had another problem.

 

[199675hpforce]

wow stories

wow stories

I could see if my dad hooked up the boat he would frick up latching it down. Mine is hard to get on any angle and the latch wont go down, sometimes it looks right but isnt. I always use my finger underneath just to make sure its on there good and the nut securing the latch is attached. Always triple check the connection yes be paranoid. I also us hitch locks and pin locks wouldnt want some punk kid unhooking this stuff.

 

[danond]

Re: Any hitch ever come loose or apart?

I've seen it happen in front of me. Scary.

These stories about chains breaking... are you guys sure you were using the appropriate size chains and everything was in good shape? I've seen PLENTY of trailers in my time with wimpy, useless chains.

It's pretty easy to set a trailer on a ball and not get it fully engaged, drive away and all seems well until you hit a bump. Whenever I hook up I look underneath to make sure the ball is fully seated, then I put in the safety pin. No problems.

 

[jtexas]

Re: wow stories

Re: wow stories

glad you survived it, Ken.

the coupler separate from the ball? It was padlocked?

if you find the cause, come back & let us know.

 

[samo_ott]

Re: Any hitch ever come loose or apart?

It happened to me yesterday!

Towing my 18 Ft center console (total rig around 3,000 with trailer), which has been towed by the same SUV for three years with no incident. Traveling 55-60 on the highway heading to the ramp, and all of a sudden a huge screech and I knew I was on my emergency chains. What do you do then? I tried a light brake, only to have my SUv rear ended by the bow, and then both chains snapped like twigs. I watched in my rearview as the entire rig went sailing into the guard rail at 50 MPH and prepared for the worst.

Thank god I was in the right hand lane, and the trailer went off of the road on the right side. Nobody hurt, and no other cars hit the careening rig. Terribly scary, and you really have little control with a few flimsy chains at highway speed. The trailer hit the guardrail and screeched to a stop. I thought my boating days were over, but miraculously, the boat only suffered a few gouges from the guardrail and and two chips out of the bow. But the entire tongue and front of the trailer was bent in a U shape. I believe the old fashioned tie down strap I use is the only reason the boat was still on the trailer. If it was held with transom straps, no way it would still be here.

The flatbed tow driver came with two trucks as he said when the state police call about a boat, it is usually seperate from the trailer.

Very scary, and out 2K for a new trailer -but the Winner CC will float again!

How it happened, still unclear. The hitch was closed and locked with a padlock. 1989 trailer, could it have lost it's grip?

Any ideas?

OMG, you are so lucky!

 

[Stepney55]

Re: Any hitch ever come loose or apart?

I had a utility trailer hitch come unhooked after a several hundred mile trip. Right size ball and right size hitch and security checked before the trip began. What happened was the adjustment nut that hooks to the coupler latch came unscrewed enough to let the trailer bounce off the ball. It almost unscrewed completely. The nut was supposed to be a locking nut, but I could spin it by hand. I later replaced the nut with a good quality locking nut and never had another problem.

The exact same thing happened to me with my dad's old boat. It had become looser and looser over time. We kept the boat at our home right on the shore of Lake michigan, but we weren't gonna take 16' fiberglass fishing boat with 70 horses on the big lake. SO we towed it 20 miles to the St. JOe River. The road went from bad pavement to gravel @ 35mph and soon we heard the tongue dragging on the gravel. Hopefully nothing like this will happen with the newer boat, since its literally twice as heavy and only has one big safety chain. I can't lift up 400 pounds

 

[dave11]

Re: Any hitch ever come loose or apart?

I have used a device called Trailer Guardian for three years. It is a simple safety device that keeps the coupler on the ball regardless even if the coupler was to have a failure. You can take the nut off of the trailer ball and nothing will come loose. It comes with pins and a lock. I use it on utility and boat trailers faithfully. Look at www.trailerguardian.com and see the products and video. I have the dual arm.

I use one of these, also. Easy to install and use. It is one of the most well made items I have bought in a long time. Simple & easy to use.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Any hitch ever come loose or apart?

The worst case I saw was a one ton Ford van which lost its frame hitch while towing a large equipment trailer. Someone had used cheap bolts to attach it and they were all sheared. The trailer lodged itself into the back doors of the van as they came to a stop.

I have seen a few dropped trailers while towing but most have either been a case of either a mis-adjusted coupler or wrong size ball.

I have had a few trailers on which you had to really look close to make sure the coupler was locked and secured. I always travel with a pin or lock in the coupler and a locking hitch pin. On my heavier trailers, I use extra heavy safety chains and threaded replacement links to secure the chains to the hitch.

A buddy of mine borrowed one of my utility trailers once and said he either forgot to latch the coupler or just didn't have it down on the ball all the way and it came off, the chains held but it made a mess out of the tailgate on a brand new truck when he stopped.

 

[Shizzy]

Re: Any hitch ever come loose or apart?

It's pretty easy to set a trailer on a ball and not get it fully engaged, drive away and all seems well until you hit a bump. Whenever I hook up I look underneath to make sure the ball is fully seated, then I put in the safety pin. No problems.

very easy. I figured out right away if I had the trailer too far forward the ball would catch the clamp wrong and the trailer would sit on top of it rather then catching properly. unless you looked under the hitch you couldnt tell.

 

[mike64]

Re: Any hitch ever come loose or apart?

Soon after I bought my boat, I was heading to a nearby lake for a water test. Most of the way was on a washboard dirt road-- bumpity bumpity bumpity. Suddenly I see in my rear mirror my boat is whipping wildly from side to side! I pull over, my heart now going bumpity bumpity bumpity.

No damage-- safety chains held. Turns out I hadn't put a padlock on the coupler and it worked loose. I make sure that goshdarn padlock's on every time now!

 

[Expidia]

Re: Any hitch ever come loose or apart?

Coincidently, just last night I came across the instructions I saved from the hitch I had uHaul install a few years back and I just re-read them last night.

Just a note: Apply a little grease to the threads when reinstalling the ball if you have to remove it, so nut does not seize to the shaft.

The instructions also explained why they install it with a plastic washer. As you tighten the nut the washer squeezes out and you know you have reached the proper torque when you can just flick the plastic off with your finger that squeezed out.

If one does not have a new plastic washer you need to torque the nut down to 125 lbs (this was for my 1 7/8 ball).

And be sure to put the cotter pin back in or replace it with a new one. If you don't have a hole in your the shaft, drill one and cotter pin it.

I too "always" padlock. First, so my hitch does not come off. A bolt or lock in NY is the law anyway. And the padlock helps to prevent theft of your trailer, so you don't come back to just a car in the lot . Hopefully the thieves will go to the next trailer (the one with no bolt, lock or pin )

If they really want your exact trailer model, they will get it anyway. That's what insurance is for. But don't make it easy for them. A brass padlock is probably $4 at Walmart.

I use the tire club too! I'm going to get some type of trailer guard for the ball too.

I had the trailer pop off (a trailer guard would have prevented this) last year as I was pulling away from a campsite on a hill (coincidently, I'm going to that exact same campsite just tomorrow, we have not been there in a year). Chains saved the day. I thought I had it locked down on the ball, but it was not all the way around the ball, the level went down and it locked with the padlock but the trailer popped right of the ball on the hill.

 

[Shizzy]

Re: Any hitch ever come loose or apart?

If they really want your exact trailer model, they will get it anyway. That's what insurance is for. But don't make it easy for them. A brass padlock is probably $4 at Walmart.

I picked up a 4 pack of nice rubber coated Master locks for around $15. Now the hitch and my three compartments on the boat share the same key. $15 for peace of mine is cheap.

 

[byacey]

Re: Any hitch ever come loose or apart?

The worst case I saw was a one ton Ford van which lost its frame hitch while towing a large equipment trailer. Someone had used cheap bolts to attach it and they were all sheared. The trailer lodged itself into the back doors of the van as they came to a stop.

I have seen a few dropped trailers while towing but most have either been a case of either a mis-adjusted coupler or wrong size ball.

I have had a few trailers on which you had to really look close to make sure the coupler was locked and secured. I always travel with a pin or lock in the coupler and a locking hitch pin. On my heavier trailers, I use extra heavy safety chains and threaded replacement links to secure the chains to the hitch.

A buddy of mine borrowed one of my utility trailers once and said he either forgot to latch the coupler or just didn't have it down on the ball all the way and it came off, the chains held but it made a mess out of the tailgate on a brand new truck when he stopped.

I don't see a lot of mention in these posts about checking the coupler adjustment nut to ensure it's snug on the ball. I'm sure many are even unaware of this adjustment, and it would account for many of the "mysteriously came loose cases". This nut should be adjusted so the coupler is as snug as possible without binding on ball when latched, and allowing free placement and removal in the unlatched position. The ball should also be greased even though it's a messy nuisance sometimes.

 

[DRIFTER_016]

Re: Any hitch ever come loose or apart?

I too use a Pad Lock. Not only at the ball and Coupler but underneath at the hitch Pin also. Not only keeps it safe from coming loose but also keeps it secure.

Me too, and I use quick links on my chains instead of those hooks.

 

[BF]

Re: Any hitch ever come loose or apart?

when I was a kid, we had the hitch fail on our car when pulling a pop-up camper at 60 mph. It was a hitch that was common at the time, it was bolted to the frame at the front with 2 bolts, and then bolted to the rear (chrome) bumper of the car with another 2 bolts. The rear 2 bolts failed and the hitch fell down until the tongue jack of the trailer hit the pavement. Luckily, the front 2 bolts held, otherwise the whole trailer, with the hitch (and safety chains) would have completely separated from the car.

I vividly remember seeing the cool shower of red sparks in the back window. I also remember that by the time we stopped, the jack had been ground down about 1".

When it's possible now, I try and put safety chains to somewhere else, other than the little tabs on the hitch. But these days there usually isn't anywhere else to go with them.

 

[fixb52s]

Re: Any hitch ever come loose or apart?

I agree with byacey on the coupler adjustment. I would always check and readjust a new (to me) trailer prior to towing it, and check it once a year as part of an annual inspection. These couplers do wear, and could actually wear to a point where it will not fully grip the ball. This is one reason it is adjustable. Some older trailers could use a new assembly, and they don't take much to install. Another thing to look for is the corrosion on the coupler guts. There are springs that I have seen rusted away, leading to a possible problem.​

 

[109jb]

Re: Any hitch ever come loose or apart?

I agree with byacey on the coupler adjustment. I would always check and readjust a new (to me) trailer prior to towing it, and check it once a year as part of an annual inspection...​

I check the coupler adjustment nut on every trip and at every stop during the trip. In my previous post, that is what loosened up on me. The nut had lost its self-locking feature and backed out during a long trip. The adjustment was fine and was checked before the trip began. After the trailer came loose I found that the coupler adjustment nut had come loose and could be turned by hand. If you can turn the nut by hand, either the nut or the whole coupler need to be replaced.

 

[Ken Barber]

Re: Any hitch ever come loose or apart?

After reviewing in my mind 100 times the trailer accident of last week, I finally came to the conclusion that the trailer jack must have fallen into the down and lock position while driving. There was not one piece of the jack left on the trailer - no hardware, nothing. The jack was oriented to swing closed toward the coupler of the trailer, so if it did somehow get loose and fall down, it would automatically fall into the locked, upright position. This was added by the previous owner, and probably should have been mounted on the other side of the tongue with the closed position facing the back of the trailer, so if it did fall down while traveling, it would just bounce off of the pavement.

That is the only thing I can think of - the jack fell into place, and popped the coupler off of the ball. Again, the coupler is still closed, with the padlock still intact, as is one of the safety chains. Still, just a very scary event.

 

[The-Machinist]

Re: Any hitch ever come loose or apart?

When I was a kid, my dad and I went to pick up our first 4 wheeler. We had a 1980 datsun 210 sedan and a 73 toyota pickup bed trailer that had the big hand nut to lock the hitch to the ball. When we picked up the atv my dad says "lets stop at uncle Glenns", which is about a mile and a half away. I begged and pleaded with my dad to let me sit on the atv. after about 5 min. he finally gave in and handed me a helmet and stated that we were going VERY slow so hang on and be careful. as we went around the first curve we hit a bump and all he!! broke loose. The coupler came off the ball and the tounge hit a pothote and ripped the loops out of the hitch where you hook up the chains. My dad hit the brakes as the tounge was coming up and the coupler destroyed the trunk lid, then hit the road and made a beeline to the woods. All this time here I am 11 years old and stomping the brakes of a tied down atv. The trailer came to rest in a cedar thicket(after the cedars had removed me from the atv) and all was suprizingly unhurt. It took my uncle about 2 hours to cut enough cedar to get the trailer out. All in all we were very lucky and learned a very valueable lesson: Anything mechanical can and will fail anytime it wants to. So, nowadays I will not pull that style of hitch, If you cant lock it, I dont want it. And my saftey chains go to the frame, not the hitch, period.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Any hitch ever come loose or apart?

I have to agree with that part, those older style hitches went away for a reason. They tended to also loosen the ball from the hitch if overtightened as well. I had the fine experience of towing an early 50's trailer with a coupler like that about 70 miles a few years ago. It was a trailer made from an old pickup and the tongue was welded to the axle housing and not the frame or body, the result was every last ripple in the pavement being transferred to my truck. It felt like I was dragging a plow down the highway. The old nylon cord tires took 20 miles to heat up and become round again, the lights didn't have brake lights, nor a quick disconnect set up for the wires so I used clip on lights.

If that had come loose, I'm not sure I'd have gone back for it. It also had no safety chains or a way to properly attach them. The body was from a mid 40's Chevy truck as was the rear axle.The tongue was a section of water pipe welded to the old torque tube and a cast iron, hand tightened coupler.