Could have been a bad situation.... Bulldog coupler torn.

[CCOUGHRAN1]

This is on a 2009 model trailer...



I was told by a friend in the trailer business that he sees this often, and they fix it by welding some flat strap perpendicular to the break... I will be grinding out the old coupler, and welding in a new one.

 

[CCOUGHRAN1]

It's only fair to also note, that after I posted this a few minutes ago, I called Bulldog to ask them about a warranty claim, as they have a 5 year warranty. No proof of purchase, no questions asked, they are sending me out a replacement hitch today, and I should have it in hand tomorrow. The lady said they might contact me and ask me to send the old hitch back, but not sure yet... That's some great customer service!

 

[PapaPerk]

It's only fair to also note, that after I posted this a few minutes ago, I called Bulldog to ask them about a warranty claim, as they have a 5 year warranty. No proof of purchase, no questions asked, they are sending me out a replacement hitch today, and I should have it in hand tomorrow. The lady said they might contact me and ask me to send the old hitch back, but not sure yet... That's some great customer service!

Great to hear! Thank you for sharing!

 

[Diamondpilot]

Great customer service. How many times had the trailer been overloaded if at all?

Chris

 

[CCOUGHRAN1]

Great customer service. How many times had the trailer been overloaded if at all?

Chris

The trailer hasn't exceeded it's gross to date, however I am pretty sure I have been tongue heavy several times. I tend to think this is just a combination of moderate/heavy loads and sorry roads 5 days a week for the last 3 years. The typical load is about 5-7k, with the occasional 9k+ load. The trailer stays hooked to a Dodge dually every day, and is run into Houston hauling pallets of steel fittings and flanges to my galvanizing plant. The roads near the plant have heavy big truck use, and they are bone jarring rough... I think that area of the coupler sees a lot of shock load, from the play in the coupler and the rough roads, that it finally had enough. The load that it actually tore on, was 8,000#, pretty evenly distributed.

 

[Depmandog]

It's only fair to also note, that after I posted this a few minutes ago, I called Bulldog to ask them about a warranty claim, as they have a 5 year warranty. No proof of purchase, no questions asked, they are sending me out a replacement hitch today, and I should have it in hand tomorrow. The lady said they might contact me and ask me to send the old hitch back, but not sure yet... That's some great customer service!

It's good they are replacing the hitch, but if it's the "same" hitch, and you plan on using the trailer the "same" way - are you concerned this could happen again?

 

[bcp]

Bulldog has a different model that goes to 15K and has a flange in the location where the crack started.



Trailer Couplers - Bulldog Products

Bruce

 

[Baby Grand]

Looks like the tear started right where the weld to the frame starts.
So the prying load starts abruptly right where the heat affected zone starts.
Something to think about when you weld the new one on.
Maybe bridge the transition with a doubler - like your friend mentioned?

 

[CCOUGHRAN1]

Looks like the tear started right where the weld to the frame starts.
So the prying load starts abruptly right where the heat affected zone starts.
Something to think about when you weld the new one on.
Maybe bridge the transition with a doubler - like your friend mentioned?

That's what I am planning on doing with the new coupler... However, I'll have my neighbor/friend who owns a large fabrication company in Houston do the welding. He's pretty savvy on metallurgy, welding, and fabricating, so I am going to let him make the final call on how he would address the issue.

 

[JDgreen227]

That's what I am planning on doing with the new coupler... However, I'll have my neighbor/friend who owns a large fabrication company in Houston do the welding. He's pretty savvy on metallurgy, welding, and fabricating, so I am going to let him make the final call on how he would address the issue.

May be a stupid question, but how did you notice the separation? If you were doing a routine walk around of your tow rig like we are all supposed to do, good for you. Or possibly you noticed some flexing that was a new symptom? Or did you notice the tear when you were unhitching?
Regardless of how you found the damage, thank you for sharing the picture and your experience.