True, but scary, hitch story

[brulaz]

After a day's tow I discovered this:



It was very cold and raining very hard when I hitched up. And somehow I managed not to get the hitch socket completely on the ball before closing the latch. I remember that getting the Equal-I-Zer bars in place was unusually difficult, as you might expect. So there was a lot more pressure holding the hitch socket on top of the ball.

Still can't believe that the tongue didn't just pop right off the ball at some point during the tow.

Luckily the under-ball latch wasn't mangled much at the end of the day, and the hitch continues to operate fine.

Lesson? When conditions are tough, mistakes can be made. So be extra careful.

[Passin_Thru]

You forgot "You're not gonna believe this but!" at the beginning. I hooked up a trailer once, and got 5 miles before the thing fell on the chains, breaking the jack and I had to pull in someones drive at 0600 and leave the trailer, go home, get the floor jack and start over. I always check the hitch now!

[Tvov]

Thanks Charles. I looked again at RealityCheck's picture and saw the hooks. I think that is kinda like Walmart camping and traveling with the frig on propane - hooks up or down would be another big thread!

[Charles2222]

Tovo turn your hooks over and hook them up.Not much of a computer guy,so I only use an I pad,You can see I have about 400 post in 15 years,I just got tired of being shot down by some moderator or someone who's cousin had friend that had an uncle that knew all about it.Sorry

[Reality_Check]

hohenwald48 wrote:

Reality Check wrote:
Reason #42 why I hate balls..



No questions; it's latched or it's not.

Glad it worked out well for you...

What's all that dirty white stuff on the trailer tongue by the jack?

Are you serious...?

Oh, never mind, I see you're from Tennessee ..... my bad.
It's S N O W..

[hohenwald48]

Reality Check wrote:
Reason #42 why I hate balls..



No questions; it's latched or it's not.

Glad it worked out well for you...

What's all that dirty white stuff on the trailer tongue by the jack?

[Tvov]

Charles2222 wrote:
Your safety chain hooks are hooked up wrong.Should hook up from bottom so if tr. comes loose hook will rotate into slot.Try it and you will see how it works.(have done some heavy rigging in years gone by)

Not quite sure what you are describing. Pictures would be good.

[brulaz]

Charles2222 wrote:
Your safety chain hooks are hooked up wrong.Should hook up from bottom so if tr. comes loose hook will rotate into slot.Try it and you will see how it works.(have done some heavy rigging in years gone by)

Thanks for the advice.

[Reality_Check]

Charles2222 wrote:
Your safety chain hooks are hooked up wrong.Should hook up from bottom so if tr. comes loose hook will rotate into slot.Try it and you will see how it works.(have done some heavy rigging in years gone by)

Good call. We train the guys to hook back and up also. And we've found that there are less chains bouncing out/coming unhooked (even with 'safety latches').

[CavemanCharlie]

Charles2222 wrote:
Your safety chain hooks are hooked up wrong.Should hook up from bottom so if tr. comes loose hook will rotate into slot.Try it and you will see how it works.(have done some heavy rigging in years gone by)

Huh, that's good to know. Maybe you should start a new post on how to properly hook up safety chains. I usually just slap them on in any old way.

[Charles2222]

Your safety chain hooks are hooked up wrong.Should hook up from bottom so if tr. comes loose hook will rotate into slot.Try it and you will see how it works.(have done some heavy rigging in years gone by)

[rbpru]

Almost lost a PUP that way. Thank God for safety chains.

Glad you fortunate.

[KKWilliams]

I had my CURT safety pin break in transit while I was on the road. The latch was up, but the equalizer held the hitch on the ball. Ran into the store and bought a lock and have been using it ever since. Glad everyone is ok, that is why I check everything at every stop.

[TucsonJim]

hohenwald48 wrote:

2DHoop wrote:
Yikes! As I get older I try to have routines for doing things the same way every time in an effort to complete the process, but still, it's not hard to get distracted by external factors - unpleasant weather, someone yelling to hurry up, yahoos watching while you try back up into a tight space or the best of all: the boat ramp arguments between couples...

Glad this ended without incident.

That's why I never talk to folks who are hitching/unhitching. It interrupts their routine.

That is a good bit of advice, and applies to not only travel trailers, but fifth wheels too.

[Reality_Check]

TomG2 wrote:

Reality Check wrote:
Reason #42 why I hate balls..

No questions; it's latched or it's not.

Glad it worked out well for you...

Nothing is foolproof. I had a driver hitch up a twelve ton trailer behind one of our tandem dump trucks with the pintle hitch upside down. All that kept it on was the flimsy little safety catch. He used the jack to raise the trailer up and into the hitch from the bottom side.

^^^ lol, boy is that a true statement. I had a guy argue with me once that the pintle on the transfer truck was upside down. He couldn't wrap his mind around how it worked.

dodge guy wrote:


What is that contraption? I know what a pintle hitch is but that looks sketchy at best!

^^^it's a dirty, well used, WD hitch. Should I paint it or what? I sure don't want anything sketchy following me around...