Hamlet
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Post by Hamlet on Oct 10, 2018 16:30:25 GMT -8
We’ve been towing Hamlet (ham style Compact) for nearly ten years. We also have a 1984 Bayliner 16 foot ski boat that we tow. So we’re not newbies by any stretch of the imagination. We went for a four day trip this past few days, but it nearly ended before it started. I had loaded the trailer and tow car and my hubby hooked it up, did a walk around, and we took off. About a mile away from home, there were some strange noises, then a loud thunk. The trailer had obviously come off the hitch. We were lucky to be in the one place on the two lane road where there was a turn around, so we pulled right over. The ballpark of the hitch hadn’t been put all the way in, so the pin wasn’t holding anything. Thank heaven for the chains. The clamps were twisted and unusable for the long term, so we stopped at a nearby hardware store and replaced them.
The rest of the the trip went without a hitch. Or with one!
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Post by bigbill on Oct 10, 2018 16:45:52 GMT -8
Fantastic I glad things went well. Several years ago I was towing a tandem axle flat bed (empty) for someone else and it was a lousy trailer that didn't tow well causing the ball to fail, the chains held I hit the brakes and let it hit my back bumper and pulled off the road with no damage except the front of the trailer. Now the neat part of this story is I put a new ball on the truck and carefully started on down the highway with the bent trailer in tow, which now towed perfect.
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Post by vikx on Oct 10, 2018 19:40:20 GMT -8
Sorry for the mishaps but glad all is well..
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Hamlet
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Post by Hamlet on Oct 11, 2018 9:22:57 GMT -8
Fantastic I glad things went well. Several years ago I was towing a tandem axle flat bed (empty) for someone else and it was a lousy trailer that didn't tow well causing the ball to fail, the chains held I hit the brakes and let it hit my back bumper and pulled off the road with no damage except the front of the trailer. Now the neat part of this story is I put a new ball on the truck and carefully started on down the highway with the bent trailer in tow, which now towed perfect. Your accident was totally not your fault, we have only ourselves to blame. My hubby is usually very careful. The ball part looked and felt like it was in all the way, so I understand how it happened. Just to be on the safe side, we’re putting a line of paint that should not be visible if the unit is put together correctly. One more level of security. Wewere lucky, there was no damage either to Hamlet or our tow vehicle.  |
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kirkadie
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'69 Serro Scotty Hilander
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Post by kirkadie on Oct 11, 2018 13:25:34 GMT -8
Had an empty boat trailer come off my truck, ball came off the hitch, but chains crossed twice under the trailer tongue before hooking to tow hitch rings saved the day. It was very embarrassing but certainly not the first stupid thing I caused.
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Post by bigbill on Oct 11, 2018 15:52:41 GMT -8
I always cross my chains. Just in case.
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Hamlet
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Post by Hamlet on Oct 11, 2018 16:15:16 GMT -8
We think the crossed chains saved the day, too.
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charliemyers
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Post by charliemyers on Oct 12, 2018 11:29:38 GMT -8
After you hitch up, crank trailer's tongue jack down until it lifts the bumper of the tow vehicle. If it's not properly hitched, it should come uncoupled.
I always thought of crossing the chains as mandated by law? Or maybe it's just common sense.
I'm glad to hear that your situation ended well!
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Ten
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70 Shasta 16SC + 1964 Airflyte
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Post by Ten on Oct 12, 2018 12:46:53 GMT -8
Stories like this are why I have always insisted that the chains be welded to the trailer, and they be crossed, loose enough not to bind and tightly enough not to drag. Crossing them may or may not be mandated, not sure, but it does give the coupler a "cradle" to fall into if it does come undone.
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Post by vikx on Oct 12, 2018 19:53:36 GMT -8
I have to share my horror story with you all:
My little truck (76 1/2 ton Chevy step side) was connected to my large stock trailer for the trip North from Calif. I took the mirrors off my Geo Metro and drove it right in. LOL. Anyway, I figured weight distributors would make the trip safer, so we hooked up and off we went.
As the trip went on, all seemed well. It was a lot of weight for the little truck, but it was doing well even up hill. Love those V8s! Every once in a while, we would hear clanks and groans in the parking lots when going slow but after checking, all seemed fine.
The trip went well and I decided to go get some furniture out of Aunt Mary's shop. As I was driving down our rural highway empty (no levelers), something seemed off. I slowed down and was hearing noises. At about 20 mph, as I pulled off the road, the HITCH FELL OFF THE TRUCK! The trailer followed along on it's metal wheel with the chains keeping it straight.
Wow, that was scary. The nice folks let me leave the trailer in their driveway and I went off to town to get the truck fixed. Turned out the hitch had been welded onto the truck frame rather than bolted and the clunks and clanks we had heard were the welds failing. Hitches nowadays are bolted by law. The weight distribution system had put too much stress on the hitch even tho they contributed to a smoother trip.
The safety chains were my savior as they kept the trailer from wandering. I learned a couple of things from the mishap. One was do not use a weight distribution system unless it is a properly installed hitch and rated for what you are towing. Two: ALWAYS use safety chains.
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ruderunner
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Post by ruderunner on Oct 13, 2018 3:15:48 GMT -8
I despise welded hitches. Very un serviceable and often poorly welded. I had to cut one off my ram charger to get the gas tank out for repair.
And yes it's a good idea to check the actual hitch attachment from time to time. Recently a friend wanted to borrow my flatbed trailer and when he showed up his hitch was barely attached to his truck. All bolts were loose, at least the ones that hadn't fallen off yet.
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Post by danrhodes on Oct 13, 2018 5:24:34 GMT -8
Seems we have two competing bits of advice here which I also found confusing early on. It seems that welded hitches are a big NO, but others seem to prefer welded chains. For me, I used a grade 8 bolt for my chains because it should have more consistent and tested qualities that a weld.
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turbodaddy
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Post by turbodaddy on Oct 13, 2018 16:16:22 GMT -8
Very interesting thread. I think danrhodes makes a good point because a weld is only as good as the welder...there just isn't a way to know if the weld is reliable until it has been tested by time (unless maybe we're talking nuclear submarines). Bolts and other hardware are manufactured to exacting specs, at least that is what we're told. So where does this leave us regarding all the other welded parts of these old trailers? Nothing like an 8000 mile shakedown trip in a 53 year plus trailer to find out! Oh yeah, then how about the integrity of the chains themselves? Jeez, we could drive ourselves crazy worrying about all this stuff!
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Post by vikx on Oct 13, 2018 20:00:23 GMT -8
It's worth discussing.
I think the hitch being welded may not allow any flex with the vehicle frame. I'm not talking a lot, but if something has to give, I guess it's better to have a bolt turn than a weld break. I'm not sure if my hitch had bad welds or we ratcheted the levelers too tight. The sounds we heard really gave me the creeps. I found out why on the way to Aunt Mary's. The guy at the welding shop was the one who informed me about bolting hitches vs. welding.
Chains are a little different. I've had both welded and bolted and they seemed strong. Some trailers came with skinny little single chains, others with beefy twins. Two chains is better. I like to cross mine as well.
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ruderunner
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Post by ruderunner on Oct 14, 2018 1:50:05 GMT -8
Dan and Turbo make a good point about welds. Most people who have welders think that just because they can melt 2 pieces of metal together they can weld.
Uh, no.
There's a lot more to it than that. What type of metal, thickness, penetration, heat treatment filler, preheat, post cooling and much more. Lots of which non professional welders aren't aware of.
Chains and bolts are manufactured in relatively tight quality control systems. Samples are often tested by destructive methods, if the samples exceed the levels necessary for a rating their ok.
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