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Thread: Trailer Hitch Failure

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
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    Medina Ohio
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    I have had a hitch fail It was a Reese that the welds broke at the mounting pieces. Lucky I only had my small trailer on. Just made it to the job site when it let go. I was 500 miles from home and had to replace it without all my tools. Switched to a Valley hitch that was all I could get out there.
    Last edited by Jerome Stanek; 05-27-2021 at 9:54 AM.

  2. #17
    Jim you lock it, I run a 1/4" bolt through, drilled a hole through it, wind the nut down then a piece of wire. Same on the load equalizers. Dont trust some of the trailer hitch place simpler to put on things.

  3. #18
    with all due respect to a lot of nice people here -- on a standard non-EQ hitch connection, simply crossing chains won't keep the trailer tongue from hitting the ground if the hitch/tongue connection fails. It's not possible. Why? Because one end of the chains are connected to the falling tongue! EQ hitches can keep the tongue up as long as the support bars hold. If the tongue is dragging the ground at speed, whether or not the chains are underneath won't matter much. What WILL keep the tongue off the ground is IF the brake cable applies the trailer brakes AND the driver doesn't apply the tow vehicle brakes very hard, if at all. And the only way the brake cable works in a disconnect situation, is if there's enough slack in the chains to allow the trailer to fall back far enough to tighten the brake cable. If the chains are too tight, no trailer brakes...
    ========================================
    ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
    FOUR - CO2 lasers
    THREE- make that FOUR now - fiber lasers
    ONE - vinyl cutter
    CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle


  4. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kev Williams View Post
    ...the only way the brake cable works in a disconnect situation, is if there's enough slack in the chains to allow the trailer to fall back far enough to tighten the brake cable. If the chains are too tight, no trailer brakes...
    I don't understand - what kind of brake cable is this? All my big trailers (both gooseneck and tag-a-long) have a breakaway cable that pulls a pin out of a box causing a switch to apply the electric brakes, powered by a separate battery on the trailer. The breakaway cable can be just long enough to make the turns. Do some brakes function with mechanical brakes instead of electric brakes with an in-cab brake controller?

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kev Williams View Post
    with all due respect to a lot of nice people here -- on a standard non-EQ hitch connection, simply crossing chains won't keep the trailer tongue from hitting the ground if the hitch/tongue connection fails. It's not possible. Why? Because one end of the chains are connected to the falling tongue! EQ hitches can keep the tongue up as long as the support bars hold. If the tongue is dragging the ground at speed, whether or not the chains are underneath won't matter much. What WILL keep the tongue off the ground is IF the brake cable applies the trailer brakes AND the driver doesn't apply the tow vehicle brakes very hard, if at all. And the only way the brake cable works in a disconnect situation, is if there's enough slack in the chains to allow the trailer to fall back far enough to tighten the brake cable. If the chains are too tight, no trailer brakes...
    I'm glad I'm not the only one scratching their head trying to figure out how crossed chains would serve any purpose other than to possibly take up excess slack. I was prepared to hook my trailer up and see if I was missing something. Thank you for confirming my own thoughts.

    John I agree that the break away cable will work if the length is correct. To long and it's probably of no use unless the chains fail or weren't hooked up. One of our company trailers came off because someone didn't lock the pintle hitch down. It stopped it with no damage. I don't know if the chains aided the situation or not.

  6. #21
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    Feb 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ronald Blue View Post
    I'm glad I'm not the only one scratching their head trying to figure out how crossed chains would serve any purpose other than to possibly take up excess slack. I was prepared to hook my trailer up and see if I was missing something. Thank you for confirming my own thoughts...
    I thought the reason for crossing chains was not to hold the trailer tongue off the ground in the event of an accidental disconnect but to allow turns with shorter chains in normal use, otherwise turning in one direction can tighten and put too much tension on the chain on the opposite side. The reason for shorter chains is to keep them off the ground but crossed chains can be placed on top of the trailer tongue instead, but at the risk of scratching paint or damaging wiring and such. Straight chains can also contribute to swaying in the event the trailer comes loose from the ball.

    While on the subject of trailer chains I make sure to use hooks with latches. I’ve seen too many trailers (some I bought) without hook latches. It might be unlikely but conceivable an unsecured hook could come loose in some extreme situation. Heavy duty replacement hooks are not expensive.

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
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    Crossed chains could potentially keep the tongue of a trailer with no brakes off the ground if still moving forward and the tow vehicle is not braking. My thinking is that the breakaway cable is only if the trailer is totally separated from the tow vehicle. I know when I tow a trailer with brakes the breakaway would not pull out if the chains got tight.

  8. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by George Yetka View Post
    Make sure you dont drag those chains ...
    Not sure if this has been mentioned (didn't read them all), but in addition to weakening them, out west at least, dragging chains is a fairly common cause of grass fires.

    I was always taught to twist the chains to shorten them; enough that under typical driving-down-the-road-at-better-than-25mph-conditions they NEVER drag the pavement. The occasional driveway, dip, or speedbump does no harm.

    Crossed. Not crossed. Brake cable. No brakes. All factor into the geometry of the hitch. Know your vehicle.

    On a slightly related cautionary note:
    Crew truck pulled into one of our job sites to hitch up a equipment trailer. They do the EXACT same thing dozens of times a day. Spotter got out, but was distracted momentarily. Helpful and eager young man hopped out and went to the rear of the truck to rotate the hitch to proper size ball. Driver backed over him - tragically fatal.

    Trailer?? Use a spotter! Always.

  9. #24
    Join Date
    May 2005
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    Highland MI
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    IMO it depends on how long your chains are and how far apart they are attached to the trailer. If long chains originate from a common bolt, little value. but if they are fairly short crossed chains originating from either side of the trailer tongue, they are more likely to work as advertised.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsw0...channel=BoatUS
    NOW you tell me...

  10. #25
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    Feb 2003
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    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post
    Do some brakes function with mechanical brakes instead of electric brakes with an in-cab brake controller?
    There are hydraulic surge brakes which are activated by the trailer pushing against the hitch when the tow vehicle slows down quickly.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

    My advice, comments and suggestions are free, but it costs money to run the site. If you found something of value here please give a little something back by becoming a contributor! Please Contribute

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Schierer View Post
    There are hydraulic surge brakes which are activated by the trailer pushing against the hitch when the tow vehicle slows down quickly.
    Inertial/surge brakes are standard on UHaul trailers that have brakes as well as many boat trailers and Euro horse trailers, for example. (Required in Europe because they don't depend upon a connection to the tow vehicle that can fail, etc.) They can be pretty practical for utility trailers, etc., as they work well within their design. For heavy towing, electric brakes are a little more versatile because behavior can be changed on the fly to suit changing or unusual situations.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  12. #27
    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post
    I don't understand - what kind of brake cable is this? All my big trailers (both gooseneck and tag-a-long) have a breakaway cable that pulls a pin out of a box causing a switch to apply the electric brakes, powered by a separate battery on the trailer. The breakaway cable can be just long enough to make the turns. Do some brakes function with mechanical brakes instead of electric brakes with an in-cab brake controller?
    John, your electric brakes are using something similar to this,
    elecbrake.jpg
    in a breakaway situation the cable, which is attached to the TV same as the chains, will tighten and disconnect from the controller, and the controller then applies 12v power to the electric trailer brakes. For these Ebrakes to work, as you know, the trailer must have its own battery--

    "Surge" brakes are another trailer braking system, which hydraulically activates the brakes just like a car or truck.
    This is a surge brake hitch setup:
    surgesetup.jpg
    Under the canopy is a typical hydraulic master cylinder to activate the brakes. This setup is 2 separate pieces, the main frame that's welded/bolted to the trailer tongue, and the hitch proper, which is hinged, and 'floats'... When the TV is under braking conditions, the trailer's kinetic energy pushes the hitch forward against the hitch ball, the floating hitch moves backward putting pressure on the master cylinder's plunger, which applies pressure to the trailer brakes. Very simple and works well! The brake cable's purpose on a surge unit is the same as with electric brakes, except rather than pulling a switch connection apart, this cable pulls on that lever it's connected to, which depresses the master cylinder plunger to apply the trailer brakes. The lever, depending on model, has one or more locking detents to lock the brakes on...

    Both systems rely on correct cable and safety chain length! If the chains tighten up before the cable, there will be no emergency braking...
    ========================================
    ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
    FOUR - CO2 lasers
    THREE- make that FOUR now - fiber lasers
    ONE - vinyl cutter
    CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle


  13. #28
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    E TN, near Knoxville
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kev Williams View Post
    J...
    in a breakaway situation the cable, which is attached to the TV same as the chains, will tighten and disconnect from the controller, and the controller then applies 12v power to the electric trailer brakes. For these Ebrakes to work, as you know, the trailer must have its own battery--
    ...
    Yes, the batteries are mounted on the trailers and are charged from the aux 12 line when the trailer is connected to the vehicle. Mine have a charge test button.

    My neighbor had a travel trailer with surge brakes but I never even looked at it closely.

  14. #29
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
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    Somewhere in the Land of Lincoln
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    One drawback to surge brakes that might not be an issue if you never leave paved surfaces is that off the road when backing up the brakes try to apply if much resistance is encountered in the ground. Although backing uphill would give the same effect. This can be a problem and can end up getting you stuck. Even though if it's a drum style brake you will still have the brakes trying to apply. I researched it a little and it sounds like newer trailers have a lockout feature. Either mechanical or electric. The electrical is tied into backup lights which makes sense. IT also means you won't be using a 4 pin connector. That would be the best way because then you wouldn't forget to activate them again.

    Whether they still do or not but fertilizer buggies used to have surge brakes for the benefit of the tow vehicle (usually a pickup) when being delivered to the farm loaded. Of course this is a little used method on the farm these days. Either floater trucks spread the fertilizer or they load the buggies at the field from a bulk delivery truck.

  15. #30
    Surge type DISK brakes usually have and definitely NEED a reverse lockout. Surge DRUM brakes however, because of their design have very little reverse-braking resistance...
    surgeshoes.jpg
    This is a RIGHT side surge brake shoe setup- unlike automotive drum brakes that apply pressure to both shoes, notice this wheel cylinder only presses on the FRONT shoe. Also notice the rear shoe's brake lining covers a much larger area of the shoe than the front does, and the front shoe's lining doesn't extend above the plunger very much if at all...When the plunger extends, the front shoe contacts the drum, which rotates the whole shoe assembly clockwise (on a right axle), which forces the rear shoe into the drum. When reversing, the pressure on the front shoe rotates the shoes CCW,which pulls the rear shoe away from the drum. With no pressure applied to the bottoms of the shoes and with little to no brake lining above the cylinder plunger, very few square inches of shoe are actually contacting the drum with significant force. There IS braking action when backing, but very minimal.

    Disc brakes, which work like vice-grips against the rotor, they don't care which way the wheels rotate
    ========================================
    ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
    FOUR - CO2 lasers
    THREE- make that FOUR now - fiber lasers
    ONE - vinyl cutter
    CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle


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