Trouble hooking up to coupler

[frankthomas]

I have a new to me boat and trailer. 2 questions actually..

1) Having trouble getting the coupler to sit down on the ball. It's a heavy boat and trailer at 3500 lbs so no man handling. It has to sit down perfect and still takes several tries. It seems the under jaw doesn't open enough. I loosened the adjuster to back it off but still having trouble.

2) I think that because I have backed the under jaw off a bit there is now a bit of what feels like slop when towing. It kind of bangs fore and aft a bit. So have I backed it off too much? Should there be any play there?

Thank you

 

[MTboatguy]

If it is a used trailer then you are flying a bit blind, I would pick up a coupler rebuild kit and refresh things, you have no idea how many times previous owners may have smacked it trying to get hooked up. That is pretty much standard protocol for me when I buy a new to me trailer of any type. I am just getting ready to go to town to pick up a new coupler for the EZ loader trailer I bought the other day because it is difficult to hook up.

 

[Scott Danforth]

my guess something bend or broken, or maybe it just needs a bit of lube.

 

[ahicks]

My bet is some lube, and some familiarity will both be big helps. If the trailer is on uneven ground, forcing the trailer to push on the ball during the coupling process, or the ball is located too far to the rear during the coupling process, you can expect some difficulty. You'll figure that out soon enough, after you've hooked it up a few times.

Yes, adjusting that nut will affect the coupler's ability to snugly latch onto the ball. That will need to be readjusted, but details on just how that's done depend on the coupler. If you'd care to share a pic, you might get some ideas on how that's done.

 

[Alumarine]

It's easier to adjust a coupler if you make the adjustments off the hitch using either a spare ball or take the one off the hitch.
It also has to be the correct size. I'm assuming 3500 would use a 2" ball.
If you have surge brakes and they are shot that banging could be the surge coupler as there is no pressure to dampen it.

 

[M2HB]

You would be surprised how many people don’t think that hitch balls need to be lubed. Dry metal on dry metal is not a good thing. The heavier the load with a dry ball, the faster galling will occur. This can wear out a hitch ball and the coupler.

Who knows how many people abused the coupler in question. On trailers that I have that don’t use Surge Brakes, I use collar lock couplers. They don’t accidentally release.

 

[jetboater]

I had similar problems with a new to me 25 year old boat and trailer—-after fooling around with it, I ended up just replacing the entire coupler for about $20. It was a 5000 lb coupler and I got it from Amazon but they’re available a lot of places.

Easy 3 bolt installation—-I did pick up new grade 8 bolts from my local Home Depot for a few bucks.

 

[roscoe]

At 3500#, the trailer should have brakes.
So if surge brakes, that will be the "slop" you mentioned.

Do you have the correct size ball to match the coupler?

 

[MTboatguy]

At 3500#, the trailer should have brakes.
So if surge brakes, that will be the "slop" you mentioned.

Do you have the correct size ball to match the coupler?

Having a 3500 pound coupler has nothing to do with having brakes, the new coupler I put on my trailer today is rated at 5000 pounds and the load I will be carrying is only about 1500 pounds. I always buy more than I need, here in the Rockies, you over compensate when you are towing trailers through the mountains.

 

[jimmbo]

So you know what brand the old coupler is?

 

[roscoe]

Having a 3500 pound coupler has nothing to do with having brakes, the new coupler I put on my trailer today is rated at 5000 pounds and the load I will be carrying is only about 1500 pounds. I always buy more than I need, here in the Rockies, you over compensate when you are towing trailers through the mountains.

He said his rig weighed 3500#.
So in most states that would require brakes.
Most boat trailers have surge brakes.

 

[MTboatguy]

He said his rig weighed 3500#.
So in most states that would require brakes.
Most boat trailers have surge brakes.

Sorry, guess I misunderstood you, I am just saying just because a couple is rated at a certain amount does not mean it requires brakes. As far as surge brakes, I am seeing far more electric brakes on boat trailers these days than surge brakes, I guess the technology has changed.

 

[MTboatguy]

So you know what brand the old coupler is?

A lot of the kits are interchangable between brands of couplers if they are formed channel couplers.

 

[roscoe]

Sorry, guess I misunderstood you, I am just saying just because a couple is rated at a certain amount does not mean it requires brakes. As far as surge brakes, I am seeing far more electric brakes on boat trailers these days than surge brakes, I guess the technology has changed.

Thats what I figured.
We are all guilty of reading to fast, or failing eyesight, or typing while blind. LOL

Around these parts, people still look confused when I tell them I have electric brakes.

 

[frankthomas]

So the coupler is a Dutton Lainson 2" 5000 lb. I've sprayed the works liberally with WD 40 and did a few couple/uncouple cycles and seems to be better at coupling now. There are no brakes. I've just learned that because of the weight I need to add some. So I will be adding some electric brakes.

I looked at the adjustment of the under jaw. It seems to be correct. As I pushed the Locking lever down it just comes into contact with the ball and then I have to apply a bit more pressure to lock it all the way down. Sound right?

 

[MTboatguy]

So the coupler is a Dutton Lainson 2" 5000 lb. I've sprayed the works liberally with WD 40 and did a few couple/uncouple cycles and seems to be better at coupling now. There are no brakes. I've just learned that because of the weight I need to add some. So I will be adding some electric brakes.

I looked at the adjustment of the under jaw. It seems to be correct. As I pushed the Locking lever down it just comes into contact with the ball and then I have to apply a bit more pressure to lock it all the way down. Sound right?

Sounds like it is working correctly, I would see if I could locate some spray on grease for the coupler, it will hold up better in a wet environment than WD. Most of the time I just put a dab of axle grease on the ball when I hook up and as you are towing down the road it gets spread pretty even into the couple and on the ball.

Also if you end up needing to, you can get a repair kit for your coupler, they run about $20.00 on the Big A website.

 

[M2HB]

Most cheap couplers can be overcome and release the ball when they get worn. Very few boats are heavy enough to overcome the upward holding power of the cheap coupler, therefore they work “good enough”. I had a 20,000# rated coupler that released the 2-5/16” ball.
When making equipment trailers, I went with pintle couplers.


For a boat, I prefer collar locks. You know when they are attached, and they won’t accidentally release. A cheap coupler usually costs around $25 or so. A collar lock costs $80 or more. Most folks won’t pay the difference.

 

[MTboatguy]

When talking about the loads that most of us carry on boat trailers, there is a point of no return and collar locks for a boat trailer I have found to really be over kill. I use collar locks on horse trailers, for the simple reason you have couple of thousand pounds that is always moving when you are towing it. Having a couple of thousand pound horses shift rearward on you while going down the road at 55 can be an eye opening experience, but boats if they are secured properly normally don't shift like that.

 

[fishrdan]

Having a couple of thousand pound horses shift rearward on you while going down the road at 55 can be an eye opening experience, but boats if they are secured properly normally don't shift like that.

I crushed the under jaw of a coupler while aggressively loading the boat, similar to horses banging around in a trailer. Loaded the boat and coupler popped of the ball, thank God for chains! Fun getting the trailer back onto the ball in the water. Replacement under jaw metal was twice as thick as the old one that crushed....

 

[MTboatguy]

while aggressively loading the boat

Why were you aggressively loading the boat?