check your trailer coupler! (lost trailer on interstate yesterday)

[rstsco]

I am pretty sure mine is adjusted just about right but I'm definitely giving it the once over after spring hits.
12F and blowing snow isn't conducive to a backyard inspection of the coupler.

Our forecast high today is only 74. Tomorrow's 86. After that, cooling back into the 70s. Just saying.

 

[D60]

His chains were aluminum. Didn't everyone see the Al trailer? Duh! OK, JUST KIDDING!!

I prefer to cross chains but with larger drop draw bars (like 6") it's not really feasible. To run a utility trailer as shown on my stock height F350 I need a special-order 8" drop (they're available but rarely stocked in B&M)

Once I rented a dump trailer. The yard guys hooked it up for me. Get back to my driveway and dump a full load of gravel....once unweighted it lifts off the ball!! They had simply never seated it correctly. Bring it back down but it moved, can no longer line up with ball.

I had to pull the truck away, get my tractor, lift tongue, drop jack, chock wheels and start from scratch. This ate up a lot of time as we were scrambling within the hours of our gravel pit, but to my surprise the rental yard believed me and gave me an extra day free. It helped that when I picked up the trailer I had to fix THEIR wiring because trailer brakes weren't working....so they knew I knew what I was doing

 

[Sequoiasoon]

My friends utility trailer didn't have safety chains. I borrowed it to get some sod next day. I decided to get some chains first so on the way home from his house I headed to WalMart. I pulled into turning lane and went over a small bump but pretty slow and felt a larger bump impact like someone hit me. Cursing to myself I get out of truck and say whiskey tango foxtrot, why is the trailer 10 feet back? The nut on my newer stainless ball unscrewed and fell off. The initial bump let the ball pop out of draw bar and 2nd impact was when it hit the front of the bar and then bounced up slightly putting a small slice in plastic bumper cover. Luckily no major damage to my vehicle or anyone else. Could have been real bad the next day.

The ball was still in trailer coupler, I just placed it back in the hitch and pulled very slowly into parking lot to get it off the road and dropped the trailer in first spot. Went to Walmart got the chains and a new ball and wrench. Chains got installed, the nut/shank got locktite along with the lock washer and torqued correctly again. I then added a second nut as a jam nut with locktite and paint pen marked lines. I check that every time I install it. Been using that same ball/draw bar for 20 years now.

I recall one thread on a forum that a member lost a trailer on really bumpy road he travels often. All was tightened correctly prior. He went to a shop and replaced the latch version with a horse trailer coupler (sleeve lock). It opens and clamps more evenly and securely around the entire ball. I think of that when I haul the trailers on the not so smooth NY highways.

 

[dcd]

I'm sorry you had the issue with your trailer and thankful nobody was hurt. I appreciate your bringing it to our attention and I will be checking this part of the coupler assembly on my Aluma trailer before its next use.

I love Aluma's super-lightweight aluminum trailers, but have serious concerns about their quality control. I'm sure this applies to any trailer you buy, but please don't assume others did their jobs correctly. Here's my horror-ish story:

I purchased two Aluma trailers in the past few years. My 2020 Ram 1500 was totaled in a major hail storm in 2023 and we'd only driven it 8,500 miles in 3.5 years since new. We're getting older (wife retired yesterday), so we decided to not replace the pickup and get a lightweight trailer to haul stuff using our then 2022 Audi Q5 (rated 4,400lbs towing). I found the Aluma brand and got a 4.5'x10' tilt trailer at a dealer 100 miles north of me. It was a 2k trailer and only weighed 300lbs, so had payload capacity of 1,700lbs. Perfect for picking up lumber from Home Depot or whatever else I needed to haul within reason. Anything larger, I'd pay a delivery fee, which I did with the pickup anyway.

As I was pulling through the trailer shop's yard, I got indications something went wrong with the wiring. It only affected the side markers and I swung back around for them to look at. Two hours later, the trailer place said they fixed it and I headed home, but it failed again on the way. It was still daylight, so no big deal since the brake lights still worked, accept for the frustration of buying a new trailer and having problems. At a 4-way stop sign where I turn into my neighborhood, after the line of cars had been starting and stopping several times waiting our turn, as I reached the stop sign, a jack-up pickup behind me didn't stop and slammed into the trailer. He hit with enough force to bow the trailer up in the center a little. The guy behind him even jumped out to make sure I was okay because "he hit you pretty hard". We exchanged information and I drove the two blocks home. There I found the real fault of the side markers was a wire passing through a hole in the trailer going to one of the side markers had been pinched, the insulation was breached, and intermittently grounding out. During this time, I also noticed the tires had been manufactured more than three years previously. I called Aluma and they shipped three new complete wheel assemblies with tires less than a year old.

This trailer was totaled, so replaced it with another Aluma trailer, but purchased it from a different dealer north of Dallas (200 miles away). I got the same size without tilt and upgraded to their Executive model, which had the fender steps and fancier side markers. I special-ordered it with additional welded tie-downs. When the trailer arrived at the dealer, I made the drive up and carefully checked it out. Again, the tires were manufactured more than three years previously. Even the dealer was surprised, as they never checked date codes on their new trailers' tires, or at least they did a good job of acting like they were surprised. The wheels that came on the trailer were 13" and they had a set of 14" wheels with tires manufactured in the previous twelve months, and swapped the two on the axles and spare so I didn't have to jump through the hoops to get newer tires like the first trailer.

Please check your trailers carefully. I know I'll be doing so again after this.

My situation was similar to yours. In 2012 I sold my pickup and purchased the same 4.5 by 10 ft tilt deck trailer to pull with SUV. There was something about it I didn’t like and dealer let me swap it a few days later for the larger one I have now.

I didn’t check tire age but have since replaced them and they are probably due again.

My Aluma dealer has been out of business for a while now.

 

[D60]

For a small trailer like that I'd prefer 14" or 15" wheels and P tires. If they're good enough for an old Ranger or the front of a FWD car, they're good enough for a trailer, easier to source and won't be China bombs

 

[Elkins45]

For a small trailer like that I'd prefer 14" or 15" wheels and P tires. If they're good enough for an old Ranger or the front of a FWD car, they're good enough for a trailer, easier to source and won't be China bombs

The problem with that is no room under the fenders. I replaced the 13” wheels on my boat trailer with 14” so I could buy Goodyears and I had to rig up some riser blocks to keep them from rubbing.

 

[dcd]

For a small trailer like that I'd prefer 14" or 15" wheels and P tires. If they're good enough for an old Ranger or the front of a FWD car, they're good enough for a trailer, easier to source and won't be China bombs

Mine are 14” but ST rated. Bought them at Discount Tire. I think Hartland is the brand. Not sure if they are china bombs. I think they are supposed to be mid-grade. I didn’t want to pay up for the Goodyear’s just to age them out.

 

[Fattylocks]

This may be common knowledge to most folks here, but nobody ever told me. Yesterday my 6x10 aluminum trailer (with JD garden tractor) detached from vehicle while traveling down the interstate. I had always assumed that trailer couplers were maintenance-free and that the important part was making sure they are latched properly and secure. Evidently mine was too loose, but I didn't know anything was wrong since it had always been that way since I purchased the trailer new from dealership in 2012.

So I hit a large bridge transition bump on the interstate that caused the coupler to detach from the ball. Luckily the safety chains worked, but barely... just enough time to pull onto the shoulder. When I got out to check, both safety chains were severed! They grounded in two between the trailer and the pavement. It must have just happened or how else would the trailer have followed me to the shoulder.

Considering I escaped with no damages to tow vehicle or cargo or public, I feel like yesterday was my lucky day.

Afterwards I took the trailer to my local trailer repair shop. They noted that my coupler was loose and mentioned a nut that needs to be tightened. I am having them install a higher-end coupler that doesn't have this issue along with new safety chains.

This is trailer loaded and ready before the incident:

View attachment 317706

The load is barely strapped down.

 

[dcd]

The load is barely strapped down.

I have a strap in all 4 corners. The mulch cart has a semi-rigid connection to the mower via JD Click-N-Go mount. It allows up and down motion but not side-to-side. I am having the trailer shop add tie downs closer to the middle of the trailer for better strapping.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Years ago I had a ball mount that was held by a pin that had a clever lock that rotated to lock the pin in place. A guy at U-Haul took the ball mount off to tighten the ball and when he put it back on he did not get the clever rotating lock for the pin right.

I was in the middle of three lane highway when the pin fell out and the trailer was then being dragged by the chain. The trailer was a large double axle U-Haul trailer filled with household items for my daughter. Luckily I was going uphill.

A tow truck stopped behind me to block traffic and prevent someone from hitting the trailer which would have pushed the trailer into my Suburban. (Maybe injuring me if I was between trailer and Suburban). He loaned me a drift pin which we duct taped in place.

I have since gone to pins that lock with a key.

When I returned the trailer to U-Haul and told them what happened they said it could not possibly have happened the way I said.

Never been impressed with U-Haul before or after.

When I was younger and would camp with my parents, they would rent an enclosed 5x8 uhuaul trailer. One of the years we got a trailer that was missing one of the dust caps.

The next year, same thing. My dad looked through the paperwork and it was the same trailer missing the same dust cap. This went on for 5 years until we ended up with a different rental trailer. Uhaul just doesn't maintain anything

 

[crashz]

I've been a fan of pintle hitches all my life, primarily for this reason. When hitched completely, something large and heavy needs to break to separate the truck and trailer. But even they can fail when it comes to user error. When I was young with my head in the clouds, I was driving a 1 ton dump when all of a sudden an air compressor passed me. Without thinking I said to the passenger: "That's weird, that compressor looks just like ours." I was very lucky that day. Of course it was only one of many reasons why my handle is crashz.