Redneck in training
Elite Member
I adjust the lenght of the safety chains by twisting them.
Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong
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sklunk
Gold Member
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- Southcentral PA
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- Deere 345, Deere Z960R, Bobcat CT2025
I agree, but how many people crawl under their truck every time before they tow and check the receiver welds, frame to receiver surfaces, and especially the bolts (since you can't really see the part of them that goes into the frame rails). The towing person is ultimately responsible but I'll take the extra safety of making sure the brakes will activate if there is a catastrophic failure of the receiver or truck frame.
Exact scenario I was talking about. Thank goodness it happened sitting still in his driveway. Imagine if he was doing 65 mph down the highway when the rust let loose!
rd_macgregor
Veteran Member
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- Prince Edward Island, Canada
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- Kioti DK45SC, Kubota B2650
That would have made a hair-raising video! Congrats on pulling off that feat.
RobS
Super Member
Years ago, we rented a travel trailer. Maybe 24 foot, tandem axle. Plenty of truck to tow with and all went well for a relaxing week away until we were almost home. We had pulled into a parking lot to grab a snack and as we made the turn one of the trailer tires decided to go straight! I checked things out and the wheel bearing was dry/rusty/gone.
I decided that this was not my problem and called the guy we rented from. He said to leave it and he'd get it in the morning. So we unpacked into the truck, locked the trailer and finished our trip home.
Next day, I went to see the guy to settle the bill and turn over the keys and was surprised to see the trailer sitting there. He said he was bored the night before so went down to get it. Remember when I said I locked the trailer? I locked the hitch with one of those anti-theft hitch locks. He was not amused.
He ended up buying a 2" ball and just set the closed 2 5/16" hitch down over it. Safety chains must have held as I could tell by the grind pattern on the tongue jack that it had bounced off. I asked him how he managed with the wheel gone, he said the axle was off the ground so he just pulled it with 3 wheels. He also confirmed that the tongue bounced off the ball "several" times!
Glad I wasn't a part of that drive
I decided that this was not my problem and called the guy we rented from. He said to leave it and he'd get it in the morning. So we unpacked into the truck, locked the trailer and finished our trip home.
Next day, I went to see the guy to settle the bill and turn over the keys and was surprised to see the trailer sitting there. He said he was bored the night before so went down to get it. Remember when I said I locked the trailer? I locked the hitch with one of those anti-theft hitch locks. He was not amused.
He ended up buying a 2" ball and just set the closed 2 5/16" hitch down over it. Safety chains must have held as I could tell by the grind pattern on the tongue jack that it had bounced off. I asked him how he managed with the wheel gone, he said the axle was off the ground so he just pulled it with 3 wheels. He also confirmed that the tongue bounced off the ball "several" times!
Glad I wasn't a part of that drive
fidowanttobe
Platinum Member
Co-worker told us the story of him bringing his boat home (80 miles) and when he stepped on the brakes and accelerated he heard a clunk. "Oh, whatever, it's still back there" He gets home and sees that he didn't put the receiver hitch pin in so it would slide out till the chains were tight, then slide in upon braking.
They are out there and they vote!
They are out there and they vote!
coldsteelva
Veteran Member
Co-worker told us the story of him bringing his boat home (80 miles) and when he stepped on the brakes and accelerated he heard a clunk. "Oh, whatever, it's still back there" He gets home and sees that he didn't put the receiver hitch pin in so it would slide out till the chains were tight, then slide in upon braking.
They are out there and they vote!
How do you not take basic precautions to double check your rig BEFORE you start towing? He heard the noise and yet ignored it. He was a couple cheap 'S' hooks away from jail and/or lawsuits.
tractorshopper
Veteran Member
Years ago, I borrowed a trailer from my brother to take a 4 wheeler, a Rokon, and some camping gear on my occasional Colorado hunting trip with my buddy(s). Everything was fine and road worthy on the trailer. I inspected it before packing up and leaving. Electric grease on the pins, good tires with great tread, all welds good, everything very functional with no rust, etc.
Had a good trip. No issues out or back. Until... literally when I pulled in my driveway late that night and drove over the speed bump (a water diverter), the trailer slumped on one side immediately.
The next morning I got up to check things out, and the one side wheel bearing had basically disintegrated allowing the wheel to canter to one side; think (\).
Luckily no harm no foul and had it happened on the trip, I would have had to stop and replace the bearing, etc, on the road somewhere in the middle of the night, but I can tell you in subsequent trips, whichever trailer the group takes gets the full check, but now INCLUDING taking wheels off and checking/greasing bearings.
Other than that one deal, I've never had issues towing any trailers whether mine or someone else's.
Had a good trip. No issues out or back. Until... literally when I pulled in my driveway late that night and drove over the speed bump (a water diverter), the trailer slumped on one side immediately.
The next morning I got up to check things out, and the one side wheel bearing had basically disintegrated allowing the wheel to canter to one side; think (\).
Luckily no harm no foul and had it happened on the trip, I would have had to stop and replace the bearing, etc, on the road somewhere in the middle of the night, but I can tell you in subsequent trips, whichever trailer the group takes gets the full check, but now INCLUDING taking wheels off and checking/greasing bearings.
Other than that one deal, I've never had issues towing any trailers whether mine or someone else's.
BigBlue1
Veteran Member
Seeing several posts about wheel bearings failing reminds me of a trailer story of my own. While not negligence, it certainly is interesting...
One summer I bought a new 6x10 aluminum utility trailer. Really nice one with ramp gate for driving my JD345 up onto or whatever else I may need to haul. Pulled it around quite a bit that summer because at the time I was mowing several yards and at my gun club. That fall I took it on a trip from MN to IN to pick up a Victory Cross Country motorcycle I bought. That was about 700-750 miles each way. During that trip at every gas or food stop I checked the hubs for heat buildup and they were cold every time. Didn't use it much for the next month or so until I get a call in December from my ex asking if she could borrow the trailer to haul some stuff out to a storage place. We're on pretty good terms so I said sure. She comes gets it, uses it the next day. I get a call: "Um, the wheel fell off your trailer." Huh? I know I checked the lug nuts numerous times since I bought it, including before and after my trip to IN. So I drive out to look at the situation and sure enough the wheel had flown off. Turns out the bearings disintegrated and the whole hub blew apart. Thankfully it happened on a small gravel road just after turning out of a driveway at slow speeds so no major damage. Just bent up the fender from the wheel hitting it.
Being only 6-7 months old I, of course, called the trailer sales place up and told them they had some warranty work to do. The guys says "which model was that?" "Oh, yeah we've had some problems with those." Apparently there was a batch where the axle manufacturer (or the trailer manufacturer?) didn't grease the bearings at all and they were failing frequently. Thanks for giving me a heads up! Sure glad it happened to the ex on a gravel road instead of the last trip it was on which included me driving through narrow, bumpy, under-construction interstate though the heart of Chicago with an expensive and heavy motorcycle strapped to the back. The dealer took care of everything. Rebuilt both sides with all new parts, fixed the fender, good as new.
Needless to say, when I got my 10K equipment trailer to haul my JD2520 I took all 4 hubs apart and greased everything myself right away. My first real use of that was a 2400 mile round trip to TX to pick up the 2520.
Rob
One summer I bought a new 6x10 aluminum utility trailer. Really nice one with ramp gate for driving my JD345 up onto or whatever else I may need to haul. Pulled it around quite a bit that summer because at the time I was mowing several yards and at my gun club. That fall I took it on a trip from MN to IN to pick up a Victory Cross Country motorcycle I bought. That was about 700-750 miles each way. During that trip at every gas or food stop I checked the hubs for heat buildup and they were cold every time. Didn't use it much for the next month or so until I get a call in December from my ex asking if she could borrow the trailer to haul some stuff out to a storage place. We're on pretty good terms so I said sure. She comes gets it, uses it the next day. I get a call: "Um, the wheel fell off your trailer." Huh? I know I checked the lug nuts numerous times since I bought it, including before and after my trip to IN. So I drive out to look at the situation and sure enough the wheel had flown off. Turns out the bearings disintegrated and the whole hub blew apart. Thankfully it happened on a small gravel road just after turning out of a driveway at slow speeds so no major damage. Just bent up the fender from the wheel hitting it.
Being only 6-7 months old I, of course, called the trailer sales place up and told them they had some warranty work to do. The guys says "which model was that?" "Oh, yeah we've had some problems with those." Apparently there was a batch where the axle manufacturer (or the trailer manufacturer?) didn't grease the bearings at all and they were failing frequently. Thanks for giving me a heads up! Sure glad it happened to the ex on a gravel road instead of the last trip it was on which included me driving through narrow, bumpy, under-construction interstate though the heart of Chicago with an expensive and heavy motorcycle strapped to the back. The dealer took care of everything. Rebuilt both sides with all new parts, fixed the fender, good as new.
Needless to say, when I got my 10K equipment trailer to haul my JD2520 I took all 4 hubs apart and greased everything myself right away. My first real use of that was a 2400 mile round trip to TX to pick up the 2520.
Rob
IslandTractor
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Seen on Fecesbook today. Somewhere in MN twin cities metro. I'm impressed that it wasn't popping a wheelie!
What's the problem. That tow vehicle is a Prius F350 Super Duty.