Dropped Trailer on Bed Rails Today
I've read many threads that dropped trailers are a result of operator error. I believe that, but I've now come to believe that equipment can and do fail from time to time. I have a Reese Pro Series 20K hitch that I use to tow my 37ft Keystone Raptor. Both trailer and truck are within manufacturer specs; pin weight, rear axle weight, GVWR, you name it...I'm in compliance because I've weighed everything on Black Cat scales.
So here's what happened:
I hitch up, raise the landing gear and visually check hitch and pin. I note the hitch jaws correctly wrapped around the kingpin. I engage the latch and lock with a Reese small brass pad lock. During my visual inspection I note the pin is not "pin high," I plug in my trailer electrical cable and close the tailgate. I shake the gate; it's secure and I ask my wife to double check the pin and hitch. She does, gives me the thumbs up and we both jump in the cab. I release the parking brake, grab the brake controller and pinch lever to full close; thus fully engaging trailer brakes and give the truck a little fuel. The truck moves forward, and I get the familiar "clunk" of the kingpin tapping the rear of the hitch jaws. Test complete!
I engage the "tow mode button" on my 2011 GMC Sierra 2500HD Duramax 6.6, press the exhaust brake button and say to the family..."and they're off!"
I roll up 25ft, say "standby for brake test" and conduct brake test. Trailer breaks engage, we again fell the familiar lurch of brakes engaging and the "clunk" and I say "brake check complete: sat."
I roll up our street, stop at a stop sign and begin my familiar left turn at the top of the hill that I have made a gizzlion times and BAMMM! The kingpin separates from the hitch and the trailer falls on my bed rails! I immediately stop, place truck in park, engage parking brake and hop out of the cab.
I see the trailer resting on my truck bed side rails and think I screwed this up, but every one is ok. I'm in the middle of the intersection in the midst of left turn and I note the safety latch, padlock and jaws are closed and intact. I look at the pin box and kingpin and I see no damage and no failure. Immediately, I think I did something wrong and I caused this. I even mentioned this to my wife who is watching with a horrified look on her face. I lower the landing gear on the trailer so that pin box and pin clear the tailgate of the truck, by the way - has been severely dented and bowed, so that I now cannot drop the tailgate. I disconnect the pad lock, throw back the latch, pull on the jaw release lever and the jaws spring open. I realize that I need to clear the intersection, so I maneuver the truck to place the hitch directly under the pin box and lower the kingpin back in the hitch. I close the hitch jaws by the jaw lever and note the jaws close around the pin box. I note about a 1/2 inch gap between the jaws! I raise the landing gear and manage to get the trailer back home after I make another left turn to arrive home in less than 3 minutes.
After closer inspection and after many jaw lever actuations, the jaws never fully close leaving a 1/2 gap between jaws, even with the safety latch engaged and pad lock in place. I surmise the cause of the accident was that the jaws never fully closed creating a very loose gap around the kingpin and the left turn on the hill as the truck rolled down while the trailer pitched up, gave the kingpin the perfect path to release.
Has anyone ever experienced this or can someone point out my error.
Thanks,
Dave
So here's what happened:
I hitch up, raise the landing gear and visually check hitch and pin. I note the hitch jaws correctly wrapped around the kingpin. I engage the latch and lock with a Reese small brass pad lock. During my visual inspection I note the pin is not "pin high," I plug in my trailer electrical cable and close the tailgate. I shake the gate; it's secure and I ask my wife to double check the pin and hitch. She does, gives me the thumbs up and we both jump in the cab. I release the parking brake, grab the brake controller and pinch lever to full close; thus fully engaging trailer brakes and give the truck a little fuel. The truck moves forward, and I get the familiar "clunk" of the kingpin tapping the rear of the hitch jaws. Test complete!
I engage the "tow mode button" on my 2011 GMC Sierra 2500HD Duramax 6.6, press the exhaust brake button and say to the family..."and they're off!"
I roll up 25ft, say "standby for brake test" and conduct brake test. Trailer breaks engage, we again fell the familiar lurch of brakes engaging and the "clunk" and I say "brake check complete: sat."
I roll up our street, stop at a stop sign and begin my familiar left turn at the top of the hill that I have made a gizzlion times and BAMMM! The kingpin separates from the hitch and the trailer falls on my bed rails! I immediately stop, place truck in park, engage parking brake and hop out of the cab.
I see the trailer resting on my truck bed side rails and think I screwed this up, but every one is ok. I'm in the middle of the intersection in the midst of left turn and I note the safety latch, padlock and jaws are closed and intact. I look at the pin box and kingpin and I see no damage and no failure. Immediately, I think I did something wrong and I caused this. I even mentioned this to my wife who is watching with a horrified look on her face. I lower the landing gear on the trailer so that pin box and pin clear the tailgate of the truck, by the way - has been severely dented and bowed, so that I now cannot drop the tailgate. I disconnect the pad lock, throw back the latch, pull on the jaw release lever and the jaws spring open. I realize that I need to clear the intersection, so I maneuver the truck to place the hitch directly under the pin box and lower the kingpin back in the hitch. I close the hitch jaws by the jaw lever and note the jaws close around the pin box. I note about a 1/2 inch gap between the jaws! I raise the landing gear and manage to get the trailer back home after I make another left turn to arrive home in less than 3 minutes.
After closer inspection and after many jaw lever actuations, the jaws never fully close leaving a 1/2 gap between jaws, even with the safety latch engaged and pad lock in place. I surmise the cause of the accident was that the jaws never fully closed creating a very loose gap around the kingpin and the left turn on the hill as the truck rolled down while the trailer pitched up, gave the kingpin the perfect path to release.
Has anyone ever experienced this or can someone point out my error.
Thanks,
Dave
