Hitch recall

[gaymeadowsman]

I posted this over in the Travel Trailer forum but also wanted to post here for everyone who may need to know.

This is something I found while surfing and I hadn't read it before.

Hitch recall link

[BarneyS]

Here is what is being recalled. It is not a concern for most of the members of this forum as we normally do not use simple ball mounts but use WD hitches instead.
Barney


Here are more details of the recall.
About 162,000 trailer hitches sold at U-Haul outlets are being recalled because of weak steel that could cause the parts to break.

The recall, announced Saturday, covers two types of hitches made by Wisconsin-based Curt Manufacturing between July 2014 and January 2015 and sold under the “U-Haul Power Tow” brand. They were sold only at U-Haul stores and online.

Curt Manufacturing said a Chinese company, Shandong Jiyang Machinery, changed the way it cleaned steel during the hot-rolling process, reducing the steel’s strength.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that if owners don’t also attach safety chains for the trailers, the defective hitches could mean a trailer breaking away from the vehicle towing it.

The TS1 and TS2 hitches are rated to tow trailers weighing up to 7,500 pounds, but can break near the maximum load, according to a recall report posted on the highway agency’s website. The agency said no injuries or property damage has been reported to the manufacturer.

Curt Manufacturing will notify owners and replace the parts free of charge, according to the highway agency.

[2KGeorgieBoy]

I saw this post and the newspaper story says it only concerns about 162,000 "hitches" that were sold by U-Haul. I contacted Curt, since I have recently purchased a Class 3 hitch to mount on our new 2015 KIA Sorento. Wanted to make sure the problem hasn't spilled over to other products besides U-Haul. The kicker is that the lady I talked to at Curt said that it doesn't involve any "hitches", JUST THE BALL MOUNT! Looks like whoever wrote the original news story doesn't know "S---T from Shinola". More accuracy in the media! Where do these morons come from? Nothing like spreading totally bogus information around. I realize that it is still a problem and can be disastrous, but still, the story and facts need to be correct...One phone call to Curt, like I did, would have provided the correct story.

[timmac]

Holy Moly, I bought a Curt hitch from Uhaul last year for my Jeep, its rated for 3500 lbs, not sure if its the same one but going to check with Uhaul anyways, so much for the cheaper cost hitch I bought.

[Campinfan]

This recall reminds me of the people who say the Chinese stuff is just as good as the stuff made here because they met our standards or international standards. The problem is that this isn't the first time the Chinese companies "make adjustments" to the manufacturing process.

I try my hardest not to buy Chinese (other than food) when I can because of these things. I know American made can be faulty but I truly believe it is intentional in China.

[Jim2007]

Thanks for sharing. Jim2007.