Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123
Results 31 to 39 of 39

Thread: Trailer Hitch Failure

  1. #31
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Falls Church, VA
    Posts
    2,335
    Blog Entries
    1
    The crossed chains was new to me. Many thanks to all the smart creekers!

    We had a travel trailer when I was a kid. We also had a nice utility trailer. My dad never crossed the chains. I’ve had little trailers over the years and never heard about crossed chains.

  2. #32
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Somewhere in the Land of Lincoln
    Posts
    2,545
    The bottom line with surge brakes is they are better than no brakes at all but not by much in my opinion. They make them with dual wheel cylinders as well. Probably heavier capacity trailers. The worst thing is they are useless if your on a hill facing upwards. A trailer can drag you down a hill backwards. DAMHIK

  3. #33
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Lafayette, IN
    Posts
    4,563
    Quote Originally Posted by Ronald Blue View Post
    The bottom line with surge brakes is they are better than no brakes at all but not by much in my opinion. They make them with dual wheel cylinders as well. Probably heavier capacity trailers. The worst thing is they are useless if your on a hill facing upwards. A trailer can drag you down a hill backwards. DAMHIK
    I had to do the opposite once—drag the trailer down the hill. We had rented a trailer-style man-lift, the kind with four outriggers, and no self-propulsion. It had surge brakes, and when I returned it, I had to drive down a fairly steep hill. Even with a 6000-lb, 3/4-ton truck, it would have held me on the hill, so I just had to give it some gas...
    Jason

    "Don't get stuck on stupid." --Lt. Gen. Russel Honore


  4. #34
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Greater Manor Metroplex, TX
    Posts
    264
    To answer the OP question, I have never had a hitch fail, but my wife is a member in very good standing of "The Church of the Horse"--i.e. she rides horses. Her Facebook feed is full of pictures of people who have had some type of issue when trailing a horse, especially with a bumper hitch. Often these are accidents, but occasionally some type of hitch failure will show up. About 3 weeks ago, one of her acquaintances had a weld fail on the the tongue and the trailer dropped when they were going down the express-way.

  5. #35
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,675
    Todd, having been a member of the "Church of the Horse" for quite a few years, I was really, really surprised at how many folks didn't really do proper maintenance on towing things as well as frequent opting for used stuff. Some folks were towing with truly ancient vehicles, too. But that was because the horse(s) ate the money I suppose...
    --

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

  6. #36
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Somewhere in the Land of Lincoln
    Posts
    2,545
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    Todd, having been a member of the "Church of the Horse" for quite a few years, I was really, really surprised at how many folks didn't really do proper maintenance on towing things as well as frequent opting for used stuff. Some folks were towing with truly ancient vehicles, too. But that was because the horse(s) ate the money I suppose...


    And I thought they only burnt oats and hay.

  7. #37
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,675
    Quote Originally Posted by Ronald Blue View Post
    And I thought they only burnt oats and hay.
    LOL!

    Seriously, lots of hay (which is expensive these days)...not many get fed "oats" anymore, however. The grain is pelletized and in different formulas, depending on the age and other needs of the specific horse. That said, they "eat money" in so many ways, It's the healthcare/vet bills, insurance, the tack and equipment, the same for the riders, the truck, the trailer, the monthly board bill if one can't keep them on their own properties, etc. Oh and folks that show, spend boatloads of extra money on top of that. it makes our woodworking endeavors look darn inexpensive. LOL
    --

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

  8. #38
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Upland CA
    Posts
    5,547
    When my son was a teen, he took our boat water skiing with friends quite often. One time he forgot to snap down the lock on the hitch. The boat came unhitched a block later, when he slowed at the first turn at the end of our street. The boat stopped just fine, but used the truck tailgate to do so. He now owns a small trucking company.

    We also had a nice 5th wheel travel trailer that had a very short cable for the brake emergency switch. Twice, I found out that the brakes worked very well, and locked up when it is triggered. Both times making a right turn off a busy street, and the cable caught on the 5th wheel hitch. Luckily, my F250 diesel had the power to drag the trailer with its locked brakes out of the road before an accident happened. Hard on the tires.

    PS: On one pickup I had, the receiver framework was 2" square tubing, and the hitch would store in the end of the tubing under the truck, so it was always available if I needed it. I don't like to leave the hitch attached...too many scars on my legs from walking into it. I drilled a half inch hole in the side of the tubing and used the hitch pin to secure it. On the hitch pin, I like to drill the hole for the hairpin spring keeper out big enough that I can put a padlock on it rather than the keeper. Cheap anti theft setup.
    Last edited by Rick Potter; 06-10-2021 at 2:58 AM.
    Rick Potter

    DIY journeyman,
    FWW wannabe.
    AKA Village Idiot.

  9. #39
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Mt Pleasant SC
    Posts
    721
    GMC and Chevy 1500 truck hitches from several decades ago till possibly now have complaints and one death blamed on the factory hitch from the RV crowd. Not sure what happened about the lawsuit. What did they do about the 1500 hitches, Nothing. They reinforced the hitches on the 2500 trucks. We have a 2003 GMC that we used to tow an RV with. The first two things we did was replace the factory hitch and get an Equalizer weight distribution add on. Once you remove the factory 1500 hitch and hold it you will say, are you kidding me. Disclaimer: I don’t know when or if they ever put a decent hitch on the 1500. Post a picture of aft and underneath and I can tell. Some knowledgeable hitch guys volunteered to inspect hundreds of hitches at an RV rally once and found an alarming number with cracks.
    Last edited by Bruce King; 06-13-2021 at 9:14 PM.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •