I wasn't sure if I could post this many pics in one post. Apparently I can!:) Short story is I got stuck in the soft ground while moving our RV to it's summer camp site. I called the tow truck service and they showed up with a fairly large truck and hooked on to the front passenger side tow hook of our four day old new to us 2012 F350. The tow guy winched the truck and RV forward and to the right at a fairly sharp angle and we really chewed up the turf, much to the chagrin of the campground owner. He finally got the truck forward enough, after three sharp pulls at some pretty severe (at least to me) angles of attack and steepness , where he advised that I should be able to pull forward now and into our spot. I gingerly stepped on the fuel feed and not even two feet later ----- BAM!! all heck broke (literally) loose.Apparently all of the sideways forces and pressure on the hitch head damaged it severely, as the pictures show, and it couldn't hold capture on the pin. I saw this after the tow truck guy made me feel like I hadn't hitched properly. ANYWAY.The appraisal damage to the truck is currently sitting at $12,500.00 CDN. The appraiser for the RV damage was here today and he said that we would have to have the RV thoroughly examined at a facility as it appeared that the damage to our home was potentially structurally fatal. The one tire was badly compromised from the sideways stresses and I have 0 faith in the other three, Aside from the obvious damages visible in the photo's we have found two fairly large soft spots on the floor of the living area and galley that never, ever were there before the mishap.This happened on Monday, May 08th. Yeah, it was a pretty crappy day.Cheers boys and girls! Be careful out there!Mike and Carol

Lets hear the details. Did your hitch fail, was it not latched correctly? Why is there damage to wheel/suspension area from dropping the rig? Not being nosy but as someone who dropped their rig back in 09 I can feel for ya....10K insurance claim with all damage to my truck. Can you kinda walk us through what happened so we can potentially learn from it. Im always up for a reminder even after doing it myself.Hope you can get everything all fixed up for camping ASAPDaryll

?? What are we looking at here? Top of hitch doesn't look like it's attached to the truck bed. Why are the suspension photos there, were you moving down the road when this happened?

Mike LeClair wrote:I wasn't sure if I could post this many pics in one post. This happened on Monday, May 08th. Yeah, it was a pretty crappy day.Cheers boys and girls! Be careful out there!Mike and CarolThis is a horror story that will not end quickly, Our hearts go out to you. IMHO this is totally on the tow truck driver. It should be easy to prove you rig was in good condition because it got that far.OBTW where did this happen.?

When my buddy got stuck with his fiver the tow truck driver hooked chains with binders around each landing gear to each side of his receiver hitch in addition to his pin box connection. He then pulled him STRAIGHT out with the front hooks.

The hitch was latched correctly as I pulled it from one place in the campground towards our summer spot in the same campground. It had to have been hitched correctly or it never would have withstood all of the insane pressure and torque that the tow truck winch line put on the truck and trailer while pulling us out of the soft ground where I had bogged down. The trailer remained hooked to the truck during the entire episode. The damage to the hitch head is clear in the pictures and the hitch had been removed from the truck in order to take the truck to the appraiser. I didn't even see the deformity until the day after the event. The tire is believed to have bulged from the extreme forces of being pulled sideways while attached to the truck which was being winched out at a very sharp angle. The trailer tracks actually show that the RV was turning in an arc even tighter than the one the truck was being pulled in. The suspension photo's were my poor attempt at showing the huge bulge on the inside of the tire. Darn thing was up pretty high on it's rotation and I really didn't want to jack it back up again. We are unsure of the extent, if any, of the chassis damage.Yes, I guess you could say I was moving, or at least trying to. I got two feet from the spot where the tow truck driver said "good to go now"Mike

Dropped the fiver today, and how was your day? Part 1

rhagfo
Explorer III
May 11, 2017
byronlj wrote:
When my buddy got stuck with his fiver the tow truck driver hooked chains with binders around each landing gear to each side of his receiver hitch in addition to his pin box connection. He then pulled him STRAIGHT out with the front hooks.

Tyler0215 wrote:
IMHO the tow truck driver should not be jerking on a stuck vehicle. Slow and steady pulls do the job or else re-rig and try again.
I hope your ins company is going after the tow company for the damages. From your description of what happened, they are at fault.

ps Take plenty of pictures and document every phone call, email, and conversation.

Just for the future, don't just call a TOW TRUCK! Find a towing company that specializes in RECOVERY! These are the ones that will know how to do it right.

IMHO, the tow truck driver should have parked on the far edge/shoulder of the road, perpendicular to your TV. Then dropped a cable to a low point on the back of the tow truck with a snatch block to the front of your TV. done similar to the chain and binders to the Landing Gear to take up some of the strain. Then dig out around the TV and 5er tires so he wasn't trying to pull over a 6" to 8" dirt curb!
Document everything, the tow truck driver was a Jerk for Jerking on your TV! Very bad action with steel cable, and pulling to the side.

I once had to call a recovery tow company on Thanksgiving day, to get our 88 Bronco II out of deep ditch with 45 degree sides! DD had slid in and had not done any damage to the Bronco II, had my 79 F250 and some chain. Took on look at it and called the recover company. The operator hooked it low to the road, had me get in and steer to the direction of pull and we were out in no time!
If I had tried on my own, could not get a low as lead, and likely would have laid the Bronco over on it's side. This was back in about 1995, and it was the best $90 I ever spent!!
bpounds
Nomad
May 11, 2017
I'll bet you signed a waiver stating that they are not responsible for damages to your property. Might not hold up if you can prove negligence, but good luck trying to make that stick.
Tyler0215
Explorer
May 11, 2017
IMHO the tow truck driver should not be jerking on a stuck vehicle. Slow and steady pulls do the job or else re-rig and try again.
I hope your ins company is going after the tow company for the damages. From your description of what happened, they are at fault.

ps Take plenty of pictures and document every phone call, email, and conversation.
laknox
Nomad
May 11, 2017
Mike LeClair wrote:
I wasn't sure if I could post this many pics in one post. Apparently I can!:) Short story is I got stuck in the soft ground while moving our RV to it's summer camp site. I called the tow truck service and they showed up with a fairly large truck and hooked on to the front passenger side tow hook of our four day old new to us 2012 F350. The tow guy winched the truck and RV forward and to the right at a fairly sharp angle and we really chewed up the turf, much to the chagrin of the campground owner. He finally got the truck forward enough, after three sharp pulls at some pretty severe (at least to me) angles of attack and steepness
, where he advised that I should be able to pull forward now and into our spot. I gingerly stepped on the fuel feed and not even two feet later ----- BAM!! all heck broke (literally) loose.

Apparently all of the sideways forces and pressure on the hitch head damaged it severely, as the pictures show, and it couldn't hold capture on the pin. I saw this after the tow truck guy made me feel like I hadn't hitched properly. ANYWAY.

The appraisal damage to the truck is currently sitting at $12,500.00 CDN. The appraiser for the RV damage was here today and he said that we would have to have the RV thoroughly examined at a facility as it appeared that the damage to our home was potentially structurally fatal. The one tire was badly compromised from the sideways stresses and I have 0 faith in the other three, Aside from the obvious damages visible in the photo's we have found two fairly large soft spots on the floor of the living area and galley that never, ever were there before the mishap.

(pics snipped)

D@mn, dude! That really sucks. I =hope= your insurance co. is going after the towing co.'s insurance, and that this is completely their fault, IMO. You might need to also file a personal claim against them to cover any losses your insurance might not cover.

Lyle
Dayle1
Explorer II
May 11, 2017
Was the tow truck pulling from the right or the left? And what about a good pic of the king pin, does it show it is twisted in the direction of the pull? Can't tell from the existing pic.
rhagfo
Explorer III
May 11, 2017
Mike LeClair wrote:
......
I called the tow truck service and they showed up with a fairly large truck and hooked on to the front passenger side tow hook of our four day old new to us 2012 F350. The tow guy winched the truck and RV forward and to the right at a fairly sharp angle and we really chewed up the turf, much to the chagrin of the campground owner. He finally got the truck forward enough, after three sharp pulls at some pretty severe (at least to me) angles of attack and steepness
, where he advised that I should be able to pull forward now and into our spot. I gingerly stepped on the fuel feed and not even two feet later ----- BAM!! all heck broke (literally) loose.

Apparently all of the sideways forces and pressure on the hitch head damaged it severely, as the pictures show, and it couldn't hold capture on the pin. I saw this after the tow truck guy made me feel like I hadn't hitched properly. ANYWAY.

The appraisal damage to the truck is currently sitting at $12,500.00 CDN. The appraiser for the RV damage was here today and he said that we would have to have the RV thoroughly examined at a facility as it appeared that the damage to our home was potentially structurally fatal. The one tire was badly compromised from the sideways stresses and I have 0 faith in the other three, Aside from the obvious damages visible in the photo's we have found two fairly large soft spots on the floor of the living area and galley that never, ever were there before the mishap.

This happened on Monday, May 08th. Yeah, it was a pretty crappy day.

Cheers boys and girls! Be careful out there!

Mike and Carol

Your statement above did the tow truck driver, use his truck moving to jerk on the TV and 5er, or did he use his winch?

If he used the "Red Neck" jerk method, I would be suing for damages!!!

He should have hooked a tow bridle to the frame of the TV and slowly pulled you forward, I would have your TV checked for frame damage also.
bpounds
Nomad
May 11, 2017
Mike LeClair wrote:
...Apparently all of the sideways forces and pressure on the hitch head damaged it severely, as the pictures show, and it couldn't hold capture on the pin. I saw this after the tow truck guy made me feel like I hadn't hitched properly. ANYWAY.

I'm not seeing any damage to the hitch head, maybe I am missing something in the dark photos. If you are referring to the offset jaws in the photo looking down on the head, that is normal. The jaws are free to pivot like that when there is no king pin inserted.

Hate to say it, but I think your tow driver was correct about not being hitched properly. That hitch head is unscathed.
REWahoo
Explorer
May 11, 2017
howardwheeler wrote:
I looked up that hitch the OP has and I was mistaken. Though similar in appearance, it's not the one I've had experience with. It does have the side to side pivot. The head looks the same, but it has double pivots.

Yes, I have that hitch and it does pivot side-to-side.

As mentioned in a comment above, some tow truck drivers are very skilled and really know their business. Others just look for something to hook on to so they can start dragging. Unfortunately Mike got the latter.

Best of luck with the insurance coverage - I hope it goes well.
JIMNLIN
Explorer III
May 11, 2017
I've seen the results of a big rig wrecker pulling a stuck on a construction worksite one ton drw truck with a loaded flatbed trailer/pintle hitch....twisted the trucks main frame rails at such a angle it destroyed the pickup bed and its subframe.

Some tow truck operators have enough experience in knowing how to pull a vehicle hooked to a heavy trailer safely without damaging to the truck or the trailer......and some don't as in the OP case.

I've seen SAF-Holland...Fontaine big rig 5th wheel hitch jaws/pins bent/destroyed and the whole hitch even torn from the trucks frame fails........bent 22.5" truck and trailer wheels in similar stuck (buried) circumstances when pulled at a steep angle with big rig tow truck winches.

Damage jaws in one picture doesn't indicate a high pin hook up but looks like side loading from winching forced them open just enough for the pin to come out....then slip of the jaws when the truck moved forward.
howardwheeler
Explorer
May 11, 2017
I looked up that hitch the OP has and I was mistaken. Though similar in appearance, it's not the one I've had experience with. It does have the side to side pivot. The head looks the same, but it has double pivots. I can certainly sympathize with that sinking feeling when the trailer pops out of the jaws and onto the pickup bed rails! It seems clear that the kingpin had to be pulled out of the jaws to deform them like that, providing, of course, that it had not been previously damaged but not seen. If it was properly latched, it does seem the tow company could have some liability. I hope insurance will cover all your loses and you're not too unconvinced by it all.

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