our latest camping trip to PA

[ZeeLet50]

Just spent the Holiday weekend in Sinnamahoning State Park. Great wildlife weekend as we saw bald eagles,Elk many nursing deer and a 2yr old bear cub.
Anyhow few troubles with the camper. One was the hot water heater throws a fault when I try to use propane to heat. It will ignite if I open service door but will not otherwise. Its like its starved for air.We used campground showers so all hot water needed was for washing dishes. Second problem was upon arrival home this evening ,when I unhitched, found metal shavings and the ball was all worn at the top.It was not like this when docking at the camp site. I do lube every other trip but apparently it was too dry. Will replacing the ball be sufficient? TT is still under warranty so may have dealer check out heater.

[ZeeLet50]

Finally got some pics of the ball. Have a new one on the way

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/4/9aqp.jpg/

[ZeeLet50]

LOL Pathwalker, you are correct. I just purchased a 6 gals jug from Wallyworld to fill the fresh water. The grey well..... lets just think trickle trickle if I can but will not admit it.
I will try to get pics this weekend of the ball. Lube will be a priority next trip. I agree some are lucky.
Fireman, Kettle creek was on our list of next top spots. DW is from the area and knows all the good central PA spots. Love them!

[PAThwacker]

Y. State park camping is water jug Olympics and 200lportable gray tank strong man ccompetitions

[rexford]

Can not imagine what would do damage like that to your ball but it would worry me about the condition of the receiver parts. Please give it a good inspection before hitting the road again. Also I would be very interested in a picture or resolution you find.

[fireman41]

Glad to here you had a good weekend over all. If you ever get back this way again I highly recommend kettel creek state park its just a few more miles down the road. And the lower camp ground is great its right next to the river I could catch a fish and cook it over the fire and never leave my seat.
By the way how full was the damn the week before we had real bad flooding up here so it might have been pretty full yet.

[ZeeLet50]

Atlee, the electric heater i was talking about is the hot water tank. It has dual mode capability. Gas heats quicker but i was having an issue with it.
I do suspect now i had a misaligned coupling but had no indications when i hitched it. So i am replacing ball but have to use same cup as that replacement would require welding.

[Atlee]

Why would an electric heater and AC be on at the same time?

ZeeLet50 wrote:
Doug, this is a TT and yes we had electric but only 30amp and if you have electric heater on and AC, you will trip the box breaker!

[Lynnmor]

ZeeLet50 wrote:
Braking on trailer is fine. I have a MaxBrake controller and it has adjust ability of 0 to 100. I have it at 16 and it does very well. If I go to 20 the trailer will outbrake the TV.

Great choice on the controller, other than factory units, no other will control the brakes using your foot pressure as a reference.

Always lube the ball. The "I never had a problem" statements should read "I have been lucky so far." A metal to metal contact can develop galling without lube. A good chrome surface mated to a soft steel surface may indeed operate for some time with no ill effects, but it could fail at any time.

In your case, I suspect that the latch was not engaged around the ball correctly. When hitching, keep the ball slightly forward forcing the trailer to move towards the truck as it drops into position. This will give clearance for the latch to move into position.

You should check the fit of the ball with it off the hitch parts. It should latch easily and have very little play. Some are adjustable.

[ZeeLet50]

Braking on trailer is fine. I have a MaxBrake controller and it has adjust ability of 0 to 100. I have it at 16 and it does very well. If I go to 20 the trailer will outbrake the TV.

[DiskDoctr]

Another possibility is if your braking was insufficient on the trailer, especially in the terrain you mention.

When you hit the manual override switch on your brake controller, you should feel a very strong tug from your trailer. If not, it needs adjusted.

Also make sure your trailer's brakes are in good operating condition.

If they weren't working properly, or weren't aggressive enough in your brake controller settings, there could have been a very significant lateral loading on your ball, and combined with sharp turns....

[Doug33]

I can only imagine that a piece of metal got in there somehow. Anything else would have just been ground to dust and not affected the ball. Or the socket somehow developed a spur inside. I can't see how lack of lubrication was at fault. I rarely lubricate the ball. The creaks, groans and pops from the WD/sway mechanism is quite normal, especially around tight turns.

[ZeeLet50]

Atomic, you are correct.its 2 5/16 ball. Trying to do to many things this am. I am thinking something got in there. Can't post a pic as trailer is at storage facility and won't get by there till later today.

[AtomicChicken]

ZeeLet50 wrote:
Ball hitch was a 2 5/8 ball which is the correct size I towed with this six times this season already without a problem I will try to get a picture of the ball. it is physically marred. it did engage very easily and the catch slid over without a problem that is why I am so confused as to why there was all the wear.

2 5/16" ball?

Even running completely dry won't tear it up as bad as it sounds it was with just a few runs - depending on distance traveled of course. Something in the coupler is at fault.

[ZeeLet50]

Doug, this is a TT and yes we had electric but only 30amp and if you have electric heater on and AC, you will trip the box breaker! I do have a equalizer WD setup. Never had an issue with it till this last ride. Everything hooked up fine and easy. Ball was not dry but could of used more grease. Replacing ball is easy...if it damaged the trailer coupler cup,then it can get pricey as its welded on. I did hear allot of creaking on turns but that is standard fare for this type of WD. Plenty of hills and curvy roads on my trip home. Had it connected up correctly because if I did not,when raising to install sway bars,hitch would of popped off. Maybe some piece of metal got in there. I use magnetic mount locator balls to align. Thinking maybe a piece of magnet broke off and was sitting ontop of ball and I did not see. That is where I place it.