bad coupler???

[kartman]

so i was pullin my boat around town to different upholstery shops ALL DAY. it was towing just fine, i even had to slam on the brakes a couple of times from people cutting me off. then i picked up the wife from work, and go to cross the street by her work. (i wasnt even moving that fast, 30 maybe) as soon as i got across the streat, the trailer came off the ball, trailer started dragging on the ground, when the chains were tight, it came back at the truck, and the nose of the boat busted out my back lift gate on my mountaineer. i new i couldnt just hit the brakes or it would slam into the truck again, so i had to coast to a stop, in rush hour traffic. i had a guy stop to help me, and we inspected the coupler and the ball, and every thing looked fine. so we hooked it back up, and made it back home without further incident.

the ball and coupler are both 2". i double and triple checked when it came off. The ball is about 3 years old, and the coupler i would guess was new in 2000, when the trailer was made.

my question is, was this just a freak accident? or should i be replacing the ball and coupler with new ones?? or even up grade to 2 5/16" ones. the boat is a 99 bayliner 2050, about 3200lbs.

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Did you have a pin or lock on the coupler?

[Knightgang]

No need to upgrade as a 2" ball is rated correctly for the weight of your rig.
Dumb question I know, but are you sure it was lowered all the way onto the ball and latched correctly. I only ask because I have had a coupler hang before and when I thought everything was okay, it slipped and I discovered that it was just sitting on top of the ball, not all the way down and latched...

When your came off, was the coupler latch up? Do you use a padlock or coupler safety pin when towinf to prevent the latch from comming up and allowing the coupler to come lose?

Without pictures, we cannot advise as to if you need a new coupler? I am pulling trailers that have 15 year old couplers or more... No problems...

[kartman]

oh ya, forgot to put that part in, it was locked in the down or latched position all day long. it busted the plastic off of the lock. not sure how that happened, but it did. i had to unlock it to put it back on the ball. then we tried to lift it off of the ball, and 3 guys couldnt.

[Paul Ryan]

Lock assy adjutment to loose? I've been meaning to ask how tight the lock assy should be.

[FAC]

i had a trialer jump off the ball and the coupler had been worn down and could jump off and still stay in the locked position, you could test it by jacking up the tongue while it is latched and see if it comes off

[109jb]

You need to adjust the coupler. There is a nut up under the coupler that adjusts how tight the ball clamp locks onto the ball. With the coupler unlatched, tighten the nut underneath about 1/4 turn at a time and latch the coupler. Repeat until you have a snug fit.

[dave11]

You need to adjust the coupler. There is a nut up under the coupler that adjusts how tight the ball clamp locks onto the ball. With the coupler unlatched, tighten the nut underneath about 1/4 turn at a time and latch the coupler. Repeat until you have a snug fit.

That's what I thought. It has probably just loosened up over the years.

[kenmyfam]

I'm with the adjust the coupler group. Measure the ball though with a vernier caliper if you can. Always nice to know.

[kartman]

the weird thing is i adjusted it about 3 months ago when i bought the boat. i wonder if it came loose, or i got it wrong. i will readjust and check it again today. i think i will be replacing both of them anyways before next season. it is cheep insurance.

[Silvertip]

I'm gong to stick my neck out here and suggest that the coupler was not all the way down on the ball to start with and you drove around with "tongue weight" as your friend. I'm going to relate a story about my now ex-son-in-laws episode with a similar situation. Each year the entire family meets in a parking lot for an annual fishing outing. One of them mentioned lets get started. My response was - not until we check trailer couplers. Everyone said we are good to go. My response was - no we aren't. I pointed to the son-in-laws trailer and said "see anything wrong". The answer was "nope". His draw dropped as I picked the tongue off the ball. He had just driven about 8 miles that way. Couplers do not just jump off a ball if they are down and latched, not seriously misadjusted, worn out or the yoke is broken. And I've never seen a worn out coupler. A misadjusted coupler would have to have the nut nearly off the bolt so I really suspect this was operator error. Yes -- I have seen broken couplers.

[jeeperman]

oh ya, forgot to put that part in, it was locked in the down or latched position all day long. it busted the plastic off of the lock. not sure how that happened, but it did. i had to unlock it to put it back on the ball. then we tried to lift it off of the ball, and 3 guys couldnt.

Yea, but if you relied only on the trigger finger latch release to hold the latch locked...........
And were running without a pin or padlock thru the hole provided it could have popped up.
And then with the tongue going everywhere and smacking into your tow vehicle it might have gotten smacked back to the latched postion and breaking that plastic at the same time.
It also sounds like your safety chains were not crossed and are too long.
Crossing helps to catch and cradle the tongue from hitting the pavement (hopefully).
And too long allowed the tongue to go too far forward which allowed the boat to hit your truck.

[rbh]

One of the things that scares the heck out of me is just what happened to you. When the start of the seasons comes around I make sure the linkage that locks down the ball pall is free and lubed, as well I lock it down and make sure the pall is tight (not locked to it) to the underside of the ball. Do you ever grease the ball?

[kartman]

Yea, but if you relied only on the trigger finger latch release to hold the latch locked...........
And were running without a pin or padlock thru the hole provided it could have popped up.
And then with the tongue going everywhere and smacking into your tow vehicle it might have gotten smacked back to the latched postion and breaking that plastic at the same time.
It also sounds like your safety chains were not crossed and are too long.
Crossing helps to catch and cradle the tongue from hitting the pavement (hopefully).
And too long allowed the tongue to go too far forward which allowed the boat to hit your truck.

the plastic that broke was on the padlock.

and no, i have never crossed the chains, but that sounds like a good idea.
i think that i will be extending the toungue of the trailer and shortening the chains so if it comes off, it wont happen again.

[109jb]

I have had coupler adjusting nuts that would loosen up. They were the type of nut with the nylon locking ring, but the stud they are on is not a full circle thread and the nylon can get chewed up to where it won't prevent the nut from turning. When adjusting, if the nut is real easy to turn, go get a new locking nut before adjusting it. I have also installed jam nuts to prevent the adjustment from loosening.

[jeeperman]

And if there are not enough threads to utilize a jam nut you can use a deformed thread type locknut.

[dave11]

Another layer of protection to keep that from happening is to use a Trailer Guardian.

[wingmastr23]

Another layer of protection to keep that from happening is to use a Trailer Guardian.

Where do you find them?

[dave11]

Where do you find them?

Go to trailerguardian.com. I have a dual arm I got some time ago. I just called the guy who makes them on the phone, and he sent me one. It might take you 5 minutes to install if you have trouble getting the packaging open. Very simple and easy. Everything fits well. Two SS pins plus a lock. I dont't remember what I paid. It was a reasonable price.

I just went to their website. There is no contact number now, but they seem to have a lot of places where you can buy direct locally. When I got mine, you had to buy from the guy who made it.

[kartman]

that looks like a cool product.

i found the problem, their is a crack in the coupler. didnt find it till i jacked up the trailer with it attached to the truck. it spread apart and came off. time for a new one

[marlboro180]

Looks like you were right- freak thing to happen, a cracked coupler. Glad you figured it out.
Wonder how that could have cracked though.N ut tightened way too much, but that would bind so bad you would have to notice, or not be able to hitch up to it.
Or way too little tongue weight and constant slapping upward against the ball?