YIKES - Trailer popped off the ball............

[captronr]

I was bringing the boat home today to prep for launching. Hooking up went faster than ever. I did my normal routine: Make sure the hitch was down far enough on the receiver, secure the safety chains, plug in lights. I even reached under the hitch to feel the head of the bolt. It was "in place" or so I thought...........

Had gone about a mile, went through a small dip at less than 30MPH, and heard the ladder tied to the post dragging. WTF? I guessed the ladder had come untied and was dragging. Fortunately, I was near an exit lane, so was able to get off the main road.

Walked back, still thinking it was the ladder. WHAT? The trailer tongue was laying on the street, the jack post had a mushroom head on it now (but it didn't break off?). One chain hook was gone--think the chain broke on that side. The other hook was straightened out.

I was able to jack the boat up, secure it on the ball, and laid under it to make sure the tang was around the base of the ball. No chains available, so towed on city side streets, creeping through each dip.

So the questions- WHAT CAUSED IT?

My most probably case is the tang did not get below the ball, but I watch for that normally and it's pretty easy for me to see if it doesn't set low enough on the receiver.





I'm wondering if it's possible that the boat "sprung up" and pulled the hitch off the ball. Neither the bow winch nor the ratchet straps in the aft were snug at all as I'd just finished bottom painting it.

I had a paddlelock in the hitch, so I know it didn't "pop open".

This X trailer (circa 2002) originally had surge brakes. Installed electric, but the surge assembly is still in place. Some action back/forth through this.

And there is some play from the top side where the surge brake piston is located, even though I've installed bolt to limit movement.

Do these things wear out? Do they need to be replaced?

I'm too nervous to do a four hour tow until I get some answers and/or new parts. Thanks for any suggestions.

Ron

[seahouse]

Assuming correct tongue weight and that the ball size equals hitch size, you might need to adjust the tightness of the large nut you see in the picture to reduce the clearance between the two. Note you need some play.

Not all of these linkages are solid, some (newer) are actually under spring tension so they self-release in an emergency. But that tension is high.

You can test it by jacking up the tongue with the trailer jack while the trailer is hitched to the vehicle. It will lift the rear of the tow vehicle.

Of course, if it all looks solid, it is possible, as you suggest, that the ball was not fully engaged and was held by gravity.

[JohnCT]

As much as I hate to say it, user error if nothing looks worn or broken.

Happened to me once with a small camper, I thought I had it, but the trailer told me I was wrong.

[captronr]

Thanks guys.

Ball was 2", and I've seen the jack raise the rear of the truck.

Just got off the phone with my Mac dealer. His words were that they have never had a trailer come off IF the tang was where it was supposed to be.

Oh, the dealer suggested I blame the fupah on whoever was with me--but I was by myself.

Off to get some new safety chains..............

[JohnCT]

Blame it on Fred, I always do, just because he wasn't there doesn't matter

[Tomfoolery]

Oh, the dealer suggested I blame the fupah on whoever was with me--but I was by myself.

That's a polite way to say he thinks it was you who dropped the ball, as it were. I've put the coupler onto the ball with the latch part above the ball in the past. It's easy to do, which is why I peak under there to make sure it's under, not over.

You may be able to see some excessive digging or wear on the top of the ball toward the rear, if the tongue weight was resting on that latch instead of the closer-to-round coupler pocket.

But the only trailer I ever lost, which I didn't actually lose, but it was my trailer, was when a friend borrowed my log splitter on a trailer made from a Jeep frame that had a 2" hitch, and he had a 1-7/8" ball. Popped off on the highway, and he hadn't hooked up the safety chains. Did do any damage, thank God, but it popped off due to an undersized ball.

You'd think there would be a larger jump in the two smaller sizes, like there is going from 2" to 2-5/16". Maybe 2-3/32" instead of 2", which is right between 1-7/8" and 2-5/16". But that's another subject.

[Wind Chime]

Glad to hear things turned out with no damage to anything or anybody.
A good lesson and reminder for us all to be diligent with this.

HOW TO HOOK UP SAFETY CHAINS?
Maybe also a good time to have a review of how we all hook up our safety chains, and why.

We cross our chains under the trailer hitch and secure them at a height so if the actuator falls off or is disconnected, the tongue of the trailer falls into the cradle (made by the cross chains) and is not allowed to drop to the ground. Allowing time to pull over safely.
https://youtu.be/afaVNNxgoDc

Does anyone do this differently?

[Tomfoolery]

My chains originate at a single point under the coupler, so crossing doesn't do anything since they're not actually crossed. What I need to do is separate them so they can be crossed.

[Catigale]

I agree with the sentiment that if there was no damage, it is an OHIO issue. Ive done this myself, only once - now I put my head underneath and look to see that the tang is locked in and also looks normal.

I once brought a Harpoon home 30 miles pulling a 1 7/8 inch coupling on a 2 inch ball. I wrapped the coupling with about 8 feet of heavy chain under tension so that the cops couldn't see it didn't fit, and then locked it with a shackle. It didn't move.

[budgates]

I've heard before that the reason for crossing the chains under the tongue was so that they would catch the trailer but that's simply not the case. The fact is there is less than a 50-50 chance that the chain will catch the tongue and keep it above the pavement. The reason for crossing the chains is to allow for clearance while turning corners. If the chains are linked straight from the trailer to tow vehicle without crossing the outside chain would pull tight while the inside chain would go slack (and likely drag) during the turn. Crossing the chains minimizes this. Having the chains attached to the trailer at the same location is fine as long as they allow the trailer to turn freely relative to the tow vehicle.

As for the original post, check the coupler to make sure it is serviceable. This may require completely disassembling it. If it is excessively worn or rusted don't bother trying to fix it just replace all the internal parts. A rebuild kit can be found at your local RV or trailer supply store for less than $20.

[seahouse]

When I hitch up, I start (after making sure the clamp is open) by resting the front (solid) half of the hitch near the highest point (the middle, or a little to the front) of the ball, then (let it) slide it down onto the ball by raising the trailer jack.

It will both pull the trailer forward and pull the tow vehicle backward a bit at the same time, and insure that it doesn't get hung up on the latch, which is towards the back of the socket. Works every time.

The first few times I hitched up after the Mac was new I also confirmed a positive engagement by cranking the jack down so it lifted the tow vehicle a couple of inches before retracting it. But I don't bother with that any more. Maybe I should?

[C Buchs]

I've heard before that the reason for crossing the chains under the tongue was so that they would catch the trailer but that's simply not the case. The fact is there is less than a 50-50 chance that the chain will catch the tongue and keep it above the pavement. The reason for crossing the chains is to allow for clearance while turning corners. If the chains are linked straight from the trailer to tow vehicle without crossing the outside chain would pull tight while the inside chain would go slack (and likely drag) during the turn. Crossing the chains minimizes this. Having the chains attached to the trailer at the same location is fine as long as they allow the trailer to turn freely relative to the tow vehicle.

I agree with what you are saying about crossing the chains, but I built a couple trailers and had them inspected by the Washington State Patrol so that I could get them licensed. The trailer codes here specifically say that crossing the chains is required to catch the tongue if it comes loose.

It also says that the chains can't be attached to the trailer at the same point. Two separate connections are required. The reason is so that if you break the attachment point at the trailer, both chains won't be useless.

Jeff

[seahouse]

Crossed chains give better control over a loose trailer because they pull the trailer back towards the centre line of the vehicle, which parallel-placed chains do not. And triangles (crossed chains) are more rigid in degrees of freedom than parallelograms (chains parallel). There are so many variables that you can't count on the crossed chains cradling a loose tongue. But when it did happen it would be a bonus that is unlikely to happen with parallel chains.

[Gabby_SC]

I would blame that Blue Mac, It must be running faster than your tow rig

[sailboatmike]

Im a newbie to whats road legal in the USA, you mean all trailer dont have to have chains by law???

The length of the chains should be long enough to give you full turning travel BUT short enough so if the trailer comes off the ball the hitch trailer cant hit the road and dig in causing untold chaos on the roads.