I NEED HELP ASAP

[Anddrew15]

I have transported rv's for almost 2 years now I have well over 200,000 miles loaded not 1 problem a few weeks ago I had a keystone hideout TT come off my bumper WHEN I WAS DRIVING even thou everything was hooked up properly the pin was still in the tong lock after

HAS ANBODY ELSE HAVE THIS HAPPEN TO THEM PLEASE LET ME KNOW ASAP THANKS

[BurbMan]

wmoses wrote:
What more do you want? Sounds like you are fishing for some other answer you want to hear. Good luck with that.

The OP is simply asking if anyone else has had the same problem with a defective coupler on a Keystone trailer. The guy says he is an RV delivery dude, so he knows how to hook up a TT and no they don't use WD on deliveries.

There is no need to be so judgmental about his negligence, etc. Not like this guy is a newbie towing his shiny new TT off the lot for the first time.

[wmoses]

IMO this thread is going nowhere.

You said you did everything right because you know what you are doing. We have no way of verifying squat. Several here have taken the time to speculate as to what happened but more often than not you disagree. Meanwhile this event is history. A recall has been cited so the problem was known to have occurred before. What more do you want?

Sounds like you are fishing for some other answer you want to hear. Good luck with that.

[Anddrew15]

I know it was on there properly this was not the first travel trailer i hooked up and i know the steps to take to make sure it's on there and it was...so it came off because of the trailer it's self.

[wmoses]

Sounds to me like it was a combination of 2 things - defective coupler shape & WD not used (to demonstrate the lack of a secure connection). OP is silent on the use of any WD hitch and the defective coupler is plausible.

[Huntindog]

myredracer wrote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, but not all professionals use a WDH when pulling a TT from factory to dealer. I saw one back in Dec. that was over 2K miles from Indiana on a ferry to Vancouver Island. F250 with a 30'+ TT and no WDH.

That is true. In fact I have never seen any telltale WD marks on any new TT. Not what I was addressing though.
Many here don't seem to know about another benefit of WD..
We have a lot of coupler locking threads here.

[Gene_Ginny]

When I hitch up I use the tongue jack to raise up the tongue AND the back end of my tow vehicle to latch up the weight distribution bars easier. THAT also shows me that the coupled is properly latched. I know delivery drivers would not have weight distribution setup on a new unit but raising the tongue with the jack would be a good test to see if the coupler is properly adjusted. I suspect the coupler was NOT adjusted properly to lock onto the ball.

JMHO

No, I have never had one come loose.

[myredracer]

Yes, but not all professionals use a WDH when pulling a TT from factory to dealer. I saw one back in Dec. that was over 2K miles from Indiana on a ferry to Vancouver Island. F250 with a 30'+ TT and no WDH.

CampingN.C. wrote:

Huntindog wrote:

Francesca Knowles wrote:

Anddrew15 wrote:
if it was a false hitch I would have thought it would come off sooner than it did

Not necessarily. False hitch often "looks" true...coupler can appear to be almost all the way down on the ball, it's just not latched. A trailer can go quite a ways before it jolts off the ball, especially if you've got weight distribution and/or sway bars hooked up too.

If WD is hooked up it is impossible for the hitch to come off the ball.

Try this for yourself to see.
Hookup everything. The unlatch the hitch. Now use the tongue jack to try to lift it off the ball.
It can't be done.

X2
Unfortunately I drove home last Saturday with our brand new camper and found that the coupler wasn't latched when I got home. Completely my fault as I assumed it was done correctly. Oh how I was mistaken.
No WD and I'd been in trouble.

On a side note and possibly off topic. The guys that move units at the large campgrounds at Myrtle Beach never get out of their trucks to hook up, meaning they NEVER latch any of them. And they're going up to a mile away.

[JJBIRISH]

To the best of my knowledge this recall effected trailer chassis mfg. between 3/30/2010 and 5/18/2010 and use for some early model year 2011 Keystone Outback’s… I haven’t heard of it being expanded if it was…
You trying to somehow tie your problem to that recall… good luck with that…

The coupler is defective or chances are its operator error… it is obvious you automatically discounted operator already, and justify that by the fact you and 2 others you know have had this same thing happen…

The three of you should collectively have filed a faulty safety equipment claim with the NHTSA… if it’s a faulty hitch it shouldn’t be had to prove with 3 of them happening recently…

Once that’s done you need professional advice not internet advice…

Good luck, but my money is on operator error right now… but yes I have had it happen with a 1 7/8 inch ball when the coupler wasn’t adjusted correctly (operator error also)…

I to, know well about the chipper accident in Richland Twp.…

[JIMNLIN]

Francesca Knowles wrote:

westend wrote:
FWIW, here is a posting from another Forum with the NHTSA recall information regarding certain Keystone travel trailers.

That recall is from 2011 and affects models built prior to that. NHTSA Link

The O.P. hasn't given us much in the way of details, but it sounds as if he picked up a brand new unit of some kind just a few weeks ago. Seems doubtful that three years later Keystone would be putting out trailers with a coupler on them that's already been recalled.

If you're looking for specific incidents related to the equipment on the trailer, O.P., you might start over with a new thread asking for input from folks with that particular make/model/year etc.

I thought the OP gave plenty of info for his simple request. He simply was looking for anyone that had the same issue he did which no one did.

As usual to many folks start making different scenarios from the OP request.
his 1st post...

I have transported rv's for almost 2 years now I have well over 200,000 miles loaded not 1 problem a few weeks ago I had a keystone hideout TT come off my bumper WHEN I WAS DRIVING even thou everything was hooked up properly the pin was still in the tong lock after

HAS ANBODY ELSE HAVE THIS HAPPEN TO THEM PLEASE LET ME KNOW ASAP THANKS

2nd post 15 min later

well like I said I have experience doing this I know that it was on the ball properly Keystone and Lippert both have recalls I'm similar trailers for this happening it has something to do with not enough indentation on the front of the hitch

To the OP ...
Does Keystone have a TT forum. Some owners of those units may have had a issue with their hitch coupler not able to go down far enough on the ball.

[CampingN_C_]

Huntindog wrote:

Francesca Knowles wrote:

Anddrew15 wrote:
if it was a false hitch I would have thought it would come off sooner than it did

Not necessarily. False hitch often "looks" true...coupler can appear to be almost all the way down on the ball, it's just not latched. A trailer can go quite a ways before it jolts off the ball, especially if you've got weight distribution and/or sway bars hooked up too.

If WD is hooked up it is impossible for the hitch to come off the ball.

Try this for yourself to see.
Hookup everything. The unlatch the hitch. Now use the tongue jack to try to lift it off the ball.
It can't be done.

X2
Unfortunately I drove home last Saturday with our brand new camper and found that the coupler wasn't latched when I got home. Completely my fault as I assumed it was done correctly. Oh how I was mistaken.
No WD and I'd been in trouble.

On a side note and possibly off topic. The guys that move units at the large campgrounds at Myrtle Beach never get out of their trucks to hook up, meaning they NEVER latch any of them. And they're going up to a mile away.

[cmack]

This thread has my attention. I've towed boats, pop-ups and hard-sided trailers overs 20 years and (sadly) never checked the play in the coupler. I assumed (we know that saying) it was adjusted correctly and it's got me wondering about our new TT that we have yet to tow. Guess what I'll be doing before taking it out onto the road.

[coolbreeze01]

I helped a truck driver with over 35 years experience hook up an mt equipment trailer. We didn't get very far before it came un-hooked. When the air brake lines broke, the maxi-brakes set and the trailer came to rest, blocking the whole road. Embarrassing to say the least, and no-one to blame it on.........

[Francesca_Knowl]

westend wrote:
FWIW, here is a posting from another Forum with the NHTSA recall information regarding certain Keystone travel trailers.

That recall is from 2011 and affects models built prior to that. NHTSA Link

The O.P. hasn't given us much in the way of details, but it sounds as if he picked up a brand new unit of some kind just a few weeks ago. Seems doubtful that three years later Keystone would be putting out trailers with a coupler on them that's already been recalled.

If you're looking for specific incidents related to the equipment on the trailer, O.P., you might start over with a new thread asking for input from folks with that particular make/model/year etc.

[soren]

Typical post here. The OP explains that he is a professional hauler who had a failure that appears to be related to a defective coupler, and may be a defect as it has happened to two other drivers recently. Which, predictably, is then followed by lots of amateurs telling him that it is impossible. Oddly enough, someone posts the recall info. indicating that it is not only possible, but happening to (shockingly) Lippert. Same sheet, different day.

Gdetrailer, funny you should mention the chipper accident. My son is a safety engineer who worked for that chipper manufacturer at a factory service and rental facility in Pittsburgh. They are brutal when it comes to who leaves the yard with a chipper and how it's hitched. Doesn't matter if you are a supervisor for one of their best accounts, or a weekend homeowner, if you don't have a tow vehicle that can do the job, and the trailer isn't hooked up 110% correct, you aren't leaving the gate. In our area, one of the big regional tree clearing and power line ROW outfits just spent months clearing lines. They spent the day in front of the house and I noticed that reattaching the chipper was a two man job. One guy hooked it up and checked the lights. Once he got in the truck, the driver hopped out and double checked everything.

[fla-gypsy]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Two causes
Mechanical failure
Operator Error

Sounds like 'operator error'

X2, this is the only answer. Probably the latter