[AT] Hitch broke on first tractor trailer. It's long but there is a point...

[Phil Auten]

As my old and dearly departed huntin' buddy McNabb used to say, "we're 
too soon old and too late smart". We all need to learn from Cecil's very 
fortunate accident and heed his advice. I am just as guilty as any of us 
about just hitching up my trailer and heading out. I guess about all I 
check is the lights. No more. Before I use it again I will do a thorough 
check for visible problems and fix them, or postpone using it until the 
problems can be fixed right. Thanks for sharing, Cecil, and sorry about 
your truck. BTDT.

Phil in TX


On 3/27/2019 11:58 PM, Cecil Bearden wrote:
> I have a trailer that my Dad & I built in 1971.  We bought it from a 
> farmer about 60 Mi NE of OKC and drug it home.  It had jeep wheels and 
> axles.  It was made from the old Military trailer axles.  We widened 
> it to haul a Massey Farm tractor along with lengthening the axles. It 
> had one axle with hydraulic brakes and we welded an Atwood "run-up" 
> hitch to actuate the brakes.  About 10 years later the axles were bent 
> and we upgraded to 7000# axles with 8 hole wheels one axle with brakes 
> and again using the old Atwood hitch with a 2"ball.   This trailer has 
> been to Canada once in addition to one trip to Chicago and all 
> surrounding states. The loads it has carried have been enormous.  The 
> tongue weight was exceeded many times.   When the original wooden 
> floor rotted out we floored it with steel from old Sohio oil tanks, 
> and covered the tires with home built fenders from oilfield sucker rod 
> and tank steel.   I built floor level side rails from 2-7/8 drill pipe 
> and reinforced the tongue with a piece of drill pipe.   In the last 10 
> years the hitch became worn and the braking feature  was not working.
>
> Since I get a discount from Etrailer.com, last fall I Ordered a new 
> 20,000# pintle style hitch and jack to replace the old 2in ball Atwood 
> hitch.  Due to water leaks, cold weather, and tractor problems, the 
> hitch is still sitting in the shed.
> Today I had to haul 3200# of sacked oats to our farm about 60 miles 
> south of home.  I hooked up to the old trailer with my  new to me 2011 
> Silverado 4wd crew cab long bed.  The nicest vehicle I have ever 
> owned.   After airing up the tires, I loaded up the 2 pallets of oats 
> and headed south.  We unloaded the pallets at the farm and I had 
> bought a Lincoln Ranger 8 on a tandem trailer a few weeks ago and 
> since the tires were bad, I left it at the neighbor's place at the 
> south farm until I could haul it home.  We loaded it on the trailer 
> today and I headed home.  While backing up in the pasture later, I 
> jackknifed the trailer and bent the bumper on my pickup.  Needless to 
> say I was upset.  I headed out toward the road, and felt a bump like 
> the tailgate dropped.  I checked the trailer and found the hitch had 
> bent and partially broke just in front of the actuator on the hitch.   
> I thought I could make it the 1 mile to the neighbor's place and leave 
> the trailer.  I only made it about 600ft before the hitch broke and 
> hit the ground.  The safety chains did their job.
>
> My neighbor brought his 2755 JD and picked up the front of the trailer 
> by the safety chains and drug it to his place.  The hitch coupler was 
> still attached to the ball.
>
> When I unhooked the coupler, one side of the coupler had been broken 
> for a long time, the break was very rusty.   Only half of the coupler 
> was holding, the bushing hole for the actuator was broken through the 
> hole.
>
> I still regret very much tearing up the rear bumper and fender on my 
> truck, I am peeved at getting distracted while backing and at the 
> expense of repairs.  However, if I had not had that mishap, I would 
> not have known the coupler was broken.  If it had broken farther from 
> home or help, I would have been in an expensive fix to get help and 
> get it hauled home off the road.     Also, if it had broken while at 
> high speed and hit another vehicle,  it could have resulted in a loss 
> of life or at the least 10 years of higher insurance rates.
>
> My Mother used to say everything always works out for the best, and if 
> my Dad was still here he would have said I was lucky it happened where 
> it did.  I certainly was!
>
> I tell you guys this to encourage you to check your hitches on your 
> trailers.  We all use them, but I know how we usually just latch it, 
> hook up the chains and go.  Also, make sure those safety chains are 
> heavy enough, mine were ex military safety chains, and they certainly 
> paid off....
>
> Cecil
>
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