DON'T HIGHBALL your Trailer Coupler!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ต.ค. 2024
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When I was hooking up my weight distribution hitch for my RV I realized that lifting the ball with the tongue jack provides proof that the coupler is in fact attached to the ball correctly.
You might want to warn people about high hitching their fifth wheel.
I’ve always had the rule you can watch me hitch and unhitch a trailer BUT don’t you dare trying to help. I have a routine that I follow and your help will only slow me down because I’ll go back and recheck everything.
Same rules when I drove semi’s.
I have the same rule for strapping down my loads. People that don't pull trailers have no idea how to tie things down, where to strap, how many straps, etc., because they've never had to discover and deal with those problems while going down the road...
My truck. my trailer. my load. my way if it fails my fault. And every time I stop. get out check the coupler and the drawbar hair pin. found someone pulled it one time stopped for a snack walked past and looked at it some pick pulled the drawbar pin hair pin and took off. Now it's a lock pin 24 7 . everyone has a start phone now don't take much to look up how to or like
This is so absolutely true. I had a friend helping offload a car from my trailer, he did the ramps. Just because of that i made a series of silly (not big) mistakes because my routine got thrown off. I always appreciate help, and I rarely get help. But Im used to operating on my own, and Im good at it and used to it.
Not to mention someone trying to help just screws up your system and makes it much easier to forget something! Been there done that!
How do you high hitch a fifth wheel?
Today was my first time hooking my Karavan Utility Trailer. Wouldn’t you know it-I high balled it and driving around the block it came off. Thank the Good Lord I had crossed and attached my safety chains and it saved my patookie. Yikes- I’ll not soon forget. Thanks for the great video.
Dude I love seeing that hitch, my family invented and sold that hitch for years until we sold the company off to B&W and I’m glad you are enjoying it!
Way cool story; thanks for the history!
@@ChrisACiufo No problem! It’s original name was the QuickDraw hitch system haha.
I was pulling a rented U-Haul trailer from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania back in 1977-ish and my entire trailer came unlocked but the safety chains kept the trailer attached to my tow vehicke. Man, that was scary as hell. Apparently, I hadn't tightened the nut on the bottom of the ball very securely. Man, that could have been one hell of a disaster had the trailer come completely separated from the tow vehicle. Back in those days, I was making Sergeant's pay and I did not have much money. After carefully pulling the tow vehicle & trailer off to the shoulder of the road, then I saw the damage to my vehicle. Fortunately, I was about 300 yards from an auto parts store so I ran down to that store and fortunately the cost of a new ball hitch was not too high. After installing the new ball, I droove to a gas station and explained my situation and they allowed me to use a hefty wrench that snugly fit the large nut to tighten the assembly. Believe me, every 100 yards I was eyeing my trailer in the mirror for anything. Every mild bump on th highway, intensified the pucker factor. I was relieved when I got to PA and prayed and thanked God for His guidance. 50-ish years later, I've never had an issue and now I have much more money for any type emergency and I pray and thank God for sparing me and my family.
I've never highballed a trailer. However I once failed to get the receiver pin through the male and female parts which allowed the mail portion to come out of the receiver. The crossed safety chains saved my day!
You know with the negative disconnected on each battery the way you hooked up the charger, one lead on each battery nothing will charge. If you put the leads on the same battery on each posts with the negative disconnect that one battery will charge.
That's what I originally thought as well, but after looking at how the batteries are hooked up again I saw there was no disconnect on the positive side of the batteries. Power will run through the positive cable from the right battery to the left battery, and with the charger connected to the left battery negative side a circuit is complete, but only the left battery will charge.
He should put a wire between the 2 battery grounds then he could charge both with the disconnects disconnected
What does highball trailer mean ?????
@@darrellrobison2479 having the hitch sit on top of the ball, and not locked onto the ball. Basically, it is just resting on the top of the ball.
@@darrellrobison2479 If it happens to you, then you need to buy new shorts. Robert has the correct answer too.
I've had 2 or 3 instances where whether renting a trailer, purchasing 1 or i let someone hook it up, where they were insulted that I would double check their work, but it was high balled. I figure it's MY truck that would be damaged, not to mention it could cause a terrible wreck. Always double check the hitch!
Yes!
And YOU are the driver. The police will issue YOU the ticket 😉
And YOUR insurance rates will be the ones to rise
I used to work for U-Haul and you wouldn't believe how many customers would bring the trailer back highballed... 🙄 It takes 2 seconds to check man...
I insist someone checks behind me.
My moto is "if you don't check behind me that's your first mistake ".
My trailer has the bulldog type hitch with the slide collar. I lowered the trailer down and hooked up the lights and chains and took off. The load kept the trailer on, but after unloading and going down the interstate at approximately 70mph, I hit an expansion joint in the road, causing it to jump off. Thankfully the traffic was light, and the safety chains done their job!
I was saying that this bulldog style was bulletproof but, yeah, you do have to finish the job and attach it :) Let me guess. You got a phone call right after you set it in place?
I towed an equipment trailer countless times. Always thought it was a 2" coupler. Never really looked for markings saying it was otherwise, never noticed that it was different, never towed any different. One day with the trailer empty i hit and exceptionally large bump and suddenly felt my truck lug down. I thought something went wrong with my truck. I pulled over to the side and got out to look for problems. As I'm walking towards the back i see skid marks following the trailer i get to the back and see the trailer hanging from the chains. The chains and the brake safety did their job. It was at that moment i discovered it was a 2 5/16 coupler. I didn't have a 2 5/16 ball with me so after an ordeal to get the trailer back on the ball (jack wouldn't go high enough without the sand foot extended atleast one pin hole and couldnt extened the sand foot while it was hanging from the chains) i hooked it back onto the 2" ball. I drove very carefully the last few miles to my destination and i immediately bought a heavy dity 2 5/16 hitch. All said and done it was a stupid mistake on my part but thankfully it turned out the best way possible for the situation.
A person never knows how they will mess up but mess up we will. I have separate balls including the 2 inch and a 2 & 5/16" which I can use. I've ordered a new truck which means I may need to buy new hitches to go with the 2.5" or 3" receiver the truck will have. I'm upgrading from a 3/4 ton to a one ton but Ford has changed some stuff for trailering. I might consider going to a setup like he shows in the video.
My dad pulled my uncles boat to our house for my uncle then on the weekend i launched it for him and i asked dad what ball and he said 1 7/8 but it didnt seem right so i looked at it closer. Nope its a 2. I didnt used to have a 2 5/16 that would fit though a heavily wore 3/4 hole drawbar on the tractor so i used a 2 since on property no road use and i did have trl hop off once
I think I have only ever heard about 50 mm ball in Norway/Europe.
50 mm is 0.8 mm smaller than 2" (or about 1/32" ).
They might probaby be compatible, but I wouldn't bet on it.
@@thorbjrnhellehaven5766 they work. That's .4 mm clearance all around, which is well within tolerance. I happen to live in the town in the US that used to house the Luftwaffe's primary fighter training base. There were many German families stationed here for lengthy stays. Many brought their vehicles, and the 50mm ball is interchangeable with 2" couplers.
I use lunette eye/pintle coupler ONLY, on bumper pull. A quick visual and there is no doubt
Yes, I admit that I "high balled" my 30ft camper and drove on some of the roughest roads there is (through Louisiana). 350 miles lucky that my sway bars kept the thing together. I will never do it again! My buddy noticed as I was backing into his yard. Never get in a hurry with this task, I remember it was raining the morning I did the hook up. Glad you pointed this out.
Drove 57 miles with half of it up steep winding roads with my snowmobile trailer and two sleds. Didn’t know it was highballed until unloading the first sled and the trailer shot up in the air.
I was in a hurry once in the rain and dropped the coupler onto the ball without unlatching it. Thank goodness that I caught it while raising the trailer to hook up the WDH bars. I don't even want to think of the damage that mistake might have caused. Now I quadruple check and make sure the ball is seated and latched properly!
I was moving from Fresno to Southwestern New Mexico, driving a 20 foot Uhaul pulling a Uhaul Auto Carrier. My car was on the carrier and full of cargo. A couple miles down the road, pulled into a gas station and noticed in the mirror some SERIOUS drag marks. Don't know how long the trailer had been off the ball, but it was a "fun" adventure getting the two reconnected. Thanks to the safety chains, no damage to either vehicle. Never again!
That is exactly why I use the jack to lift the truck up after everything is locked up. If I can lift the truck back up, then it should be connected properly. Checking underneath is also a great practice. If I end up wearing out a jack someday, buying a new jack is worth not having the trailer come off and having something catastrophic happen.
I can honestly say that I’ve never highballed my coupler. I will admit that way back when I was a newbie trailer tower, I hitched a buddies boat and drove all the way home without the coupler locked. Thankfully there was lots of tongue weight and didn’t hit many big bumps. It stayed on the coupler the whole way home. It sure was embarrassing when I went to uncouple the boat and saw it wasn’t locked!
you lucky guy!
One of my first times hooking up and towing a trailer, I high balled it and it did in fact come off of the ball. THANK GOD it was at a very low speed and thank God again I did know enough to cross the safety chains which did exactly what it was meant to do and cradled the tongue of the trailer and prevented it from hitting the ground and digging in. it was only a very small utility trailer but none the less, it taught me a very important and valuable lesson that I will never ever forget. My wife was also with me and she also learned from the experience. TYVM for the video.
We hooked up our trailer. The hitch went on smoothly. We thought it was too easy and when we pulled out of our driveway the trailer bounced off the curb and off the ball. Good thing it happened right there and not on the road. Dont forget to put the lock pin in
I bought a boat in FL and drove home to PA about 15 years ago. I had found and bought the boat, even took the boat to a buddies house down there and went over the wheel bearings and lights for the trip home. I hitched up the trailer, put a lock on the draw bar and the coupler, and headed home. I did the drive non-stop except for a few rest stops and a few meals.
I get home, a neighbor comes over to check out the boat I just backed into the driveway and he steps up on the back of the swim platform to hop into the boat and the trailer pops up off the ball. The chains stopped it from raking my tail gate but it popped off as if it was never locked onto the ball. I tried every which way to see if it would drop back down with the coupler closed but there was no way. Along the way I had checked the hitch and even climbed into the boat the same way and it never budged. Being a lighter trailer, I even did the manual lift check before leaving, and a few times along the way.
To this day I never figured out how it came off the ball. I figured that there's no way it went 1,500 miles from south FL to NE PA just sitting atop the ball. Especially considering I made two stops off the highway in SC to a buddies place there which meant several miles of dirt roads into his farm. Before I left, I even double checked and adjusted the coupler to fit the ball tighter because I didn't want to hear it rattling around. The ball was greased lightly, and the coupler had a pin lock through the lever to prevent it from coming loose and to prevent anyone from screwing with it when I stopped. I had even given the thing a few good yanks a dozen miles from home when I stopped to get gas and it felt secure.
I also had pulled the outboard off the boat and laid it in the bow of the boat to increase tongue weight, if the coupler was the issue, it likely helped keep it hitched all those miles.
In the end I replaced the coupler on the trailer for good measure, but really didn't see anything wrong. I was really glad it didn't rake the back of my truck when it popped up, (chains would have stopped it from coming off and getting loose on the highway). It was far from my first long trip with a trailer and certainly wasn't my last.
17years old. Pulling a small trailer with two snowmobiles onboard. The tongue severed at the trailer bed and when I looked in my mirror the trailer was pulling out to pass me. I stepped on the gas, upon looking in the mirror the trailer jerked back and went into the guardrail flipping one machine over.
What caused the trailer to jerk back into our lane was the electrical harness hanging on long enough to jerk the trailer before the harness broke and pulled apart. The tongue with safety chains were still attached to the tow vehicle. We righted the snowmobile, jury rigged the tongue onto the trailer and went on to go snowmobiling. Never miss a good day in the bush snowmobiling. Lucky for sure.
@@bobcarlsson4 electrical harness was a true bro. RIP
I was riding with a buddy when his trailer fell off. Forgot to latch the ball. The chains totally caught it, pulled over, a nice cop even stopped to help put it back on the hitch. Not a scratch. It's amazing the trailer made it as far as it did being unlatched.
I haven't driven off with it not engaged, but (thankfully) caught it once before I took off. What I do now is lower the trailer just enough till the receiver locks, then I lower the jack back down again, but just a little bit. If the hitch follows upwards and then the bed of the truck raises with the tongue as well, again (just a bit because I don't want to stress the jack), I'm sure it's locked on.
Love videos like this!
I have not had the mistake yet of highballing, but I always carefully use my finger to check for positive connection. It’s a good peace of mind, I’m glad you mentioned it.
I moved my daughters whole house goods and high balled it all the way to new location. What kind of good luck is that!! Now ,like you I always ck it..
etrailer’s Demco EZ-Latch 2” coupler is now on my boat trailer. After friggin around with trying to get the old style coupler to connect I decided it was time. My gosh what a relief that thing is. Sold me when I watched the etrailer video comparison of multiple coupler types and the guy said all the etrailer employees have them on personal trailers. Sold me again first time I connected. I was like “am I dreaming? Is it really that easy?”
I’d think about redoing the battery connection. With both batteries having disconnects you’re not charging either or as the positive is on one lug and negative on the second battery on the disconnected side. Connect the batteries in parallel, the run the wires to a bus bar and in between run a disconnect to the loads.
Also the smaller ring terminals on the post first and the larger ring terminals on top is recipe for hot wires and possible melted wires depending on load when trailer is loaded up on the jack. Just switch them around.
My wife and I always check each other's work when hooking up the RV, just in case. And if you rent towable equipment from a rental place, always check their work too - I've caught a local place twice now that hasn't done a proper job hooking up; once with me and once with another customer.
Good deal getting your wife involved! She can be a great backup in case of an emergency.
@@IowaKim True! While I do most of the highway driving (she's not 100% comfortable with that yet), she's equally involved in all the rest including reversing and maneuvering the trailer. Always best to have a backup, and someone else double-checking where possible. 🙂
I rented a 25’ travel trailer in Salt Lake City one time. The rental place did all the hook ups and I neglected to check things before hitting the road. After a few miles and some big jolts over rough uneven bridge transitions etc something told me I needed to pull off the road and make sure they had locked down the coupler. Sure enough, they hadn’t dropped the coupler lock and the only thing keeping it on the ball was the tongue weight. It’s a miracle it hadn’t bounced off the ball over some of those rough uneven road transitions at highway speeds or come off under heavy braking!
My favorite hitch is the "Bulldog" hitch. I have 2-5/16 inch ball. The hitch opens up "clam shell" style & a sleeve locks it in place. It's easier to couple since it can tolerate being off center of the ball by up to an inch, & it will center as you lower it onto the ball. No guessing if it's connected or not.
And essentially you can't high ball it since there is nothing for it to "catch" on.
Yes!😳...but caught it with the one more look & check🧐 before hitting the road🤗...the double, triple look is so important & well worth the little time vs what could happen!!🤓
I have had several boats as well as RV’s and if you don’t pay attention it can be very easy to do. Honestly I have never done it myself but have found it with friends who “helped” me hook up. I am not sure who taught me, but I too also put my finger under the hitch to make sure it is latched. That has served me well, just like putting your pinky in the chamber to be sure.
My buddy was towing his 26 ft boat out of marina it’s a steep road that goes over some railroad tracks
He never latched his coupler Down
Thank god for good safety Chains
I have high-balled once, but fortunately, did not actually drive it. The trailer was not level with the truck, so I went back to check, thankfully!
Just a suggestion -- with that fancy power jack you could easily test the coupling of your trailer by raising the jack a little bit and see if the back of the truck lifts or the trailer separates from the ball......again just a suggestion 😀 😉
I only messed up once. But when I worked in lawn care we had a tri ball hitch and I had it turned to the 2 inch side and put a 2⁵/¹⁶ coupling on it. Never lossed the trailer but fixed it once we stopped at a stop sign. Also ever since I moved back to Texas every trailer I've saw so far has the side latch hitch and I love them. Plus it's easier to lock or unlock compared to the ones at tractor supply or other trailer places after the get rust on em
Checking for a hi ball condition is a fear of mine. It’s always a possibility that the trailer may drop and grab that finger.
you can look & tell if it locked or highballed. not complicated.
The way I keep from highballing is when I hook up I always ask extend the jack to make sure the tow vehicle has lifted significantly up indicating I have properly latched onto the ball. I do have a teardrop camper that I constantly have to fight with to get the ball latched on and sometimes released from. I hate the hitch on it but I'm not going to invest in a new one cuz I want to sell the teardrop off and get rid of my headache.
Hey Donk, What do you have to get for your teardrop? Jim
@@jamessheehan1045 Im guessing a new hitch? My goal will be to sell it this summer when I'm back in Alaska.
This is my technique, too.
bought a travel trailer and the tech setting the weight hitch, highballed it and it came off pulling out of the shop, then waited 4 weeks for the repairs. was a little mad for sure. lol his face telling me what he did was priceless though.
I forgot to put the hitch pin in once towing a small 3000lb cargo trailer for 20 miles on the freeway. When I got to my destination, I wondered why the safety chains were tight to the bottom of the hitch for a second... then saw it. The hitch slid about 1.5" out of the receiver and the friction from the chains being crossed under the hitch was what prevented it from sliding out further. Learned a lesson that day about being in a rush.
I’ve helped my dad hitch up our rvs since I was in elementary school. But my buddy got a new boat with a really old trailer and I hooked it up and thought it was hooked. Turned out. A few miles down the road we went over a huge bump in the road and it came unhitched. Thankfully the safety chains caught the trailer and all was ok. All except for my pride. So since then I triple check every time I hitch a trailer.
This issue might be a good one to attach an orange-colored flag which will remind you when loading or unloading to pay special attention to what you are doing.
I used a 2 inch ball on a 2 5/16 hitch!! Let’s just say, I learned my lesson, going through an intersection! That’s when I learned there is a ball larger than 2 inches. Of course, that’s back in my teen years, when I knew everything!! Haha. Great video!
Yup, did this on my boat trailer. Absolute crap my pants moment that I will never forget. I always check now, literally every time.
Years ago, I hooked up my dad's trailer to my F150. He had a tandem axle with each axle being 5500lbs, I believe. The trailer was empty but heavy enough I could not pick up the tongue. I don't know what I was thinking. I had lowered the trailer onto the ball and did not lock the bull dog collar or put the safety chains on. I made it about half a mile down the road before I knew something did not feel right. The trailer felt bouncy. Fortunately, I caught it then and no one got killed.
Yep, my 23ft carrera sport boat. The trailer is triple axle did exactly as you experienced, felt the bump but kept it on pulled over and spent 5 minutes just staring at my mistake and thanking God
I high balled an auto transport trailer once. Moving the trailer empty, it bounced off and the safety chains held it in line. I had to unhitch the trailer to load the moving truck and it was 12F outside with snow and ice when I was trying to hitch the trailer back up. That rental equipment wasn't maintained very well. Tires were low in pressure and the vehicle fuses blew when trying to inflate them with a small tire inflator. It is nice to have my own truck and better equipment now.
2nd time ever towing a trailer, it was a uhaul car hauler. Got to where the car was, went to load the car, and the trailer came off the ball and went thru my tailgate. That was fun.
And the checks to ensure the coupling is engaged is why I prefer a pintle/lunette for my bumper pulls.
I use a double balled hitch because I tow an older horse trailer that is 2” and my equipment and cargo trailers are 2 5/16”. Got in a hurry one day and put the hitch on the truck upside down without realizing it, at least until I hit a dip in the hiway at 65 mph and the 16’ cargo trailer came unhooked. Thankfully I believe in safety chains and avoided a major accident and the only damage was the front of the trailer and my pride.
Always take your time and double check everything before you tow.
Bought a new travel trailer. RV tech lowered it onto hitch when I backed up. I was only towing a few miles home luckily because I didn’t realize I had the wrong size ball on. Made it home without an issue even though I went over some RR tracks. Will never let anyone else hook my trailer up for me in the future.
I had the hitch ball work loose after having some else flip it on the receiver. I had tightened it down with a wrench and cheater pipe. He didn't. Good folks at U-Haul in Amarillo tightened it up with an air impact wrench.
I always check that now.
The current trailer I have needs something. To detach I pull out at the receiver (square section) then wiggle and beat until it comes apart. Always use the electric jack to check for high balling.
Yes i sure have highballed a coupling.Trusted my friend to do it for me. We got lucky. Felt it on the Highway after going down the road for a while.
Was in a rush, because I was in a time crunch, looked like I was go to go, ended up being high balled, lost the trailer. All I can say is thankfully I remembered to cross the chains. At least the trailer was empty, equipment was off because I was going to get the last load of mulch
I did high ball an ATV trailer once. After a few bumps on Pennsylvania roads i stopped to check!. Yikes! I was about to get on an interstate highway. Thank God I had the trailer loaded with a good amount of tongue weight. Like you said, you know it doesn’t feel right and you know you will never do it again.
With a buddy and hooked a 2 and 5/8 hitch to an 2 and 1/8 ball.
He hit a bump and the trailer came off then rolled into a field.
Very lucky nothing was damaged.
High balled my boat trailer in the dark once. Got super lucky it popped off on a 90 degree turn at 5mph in my neighborhood . Always been extremely careful since always let the trailer be a 1/2'" short of hovering over the ball and watch is slide over the ball!
Wow, a guy who collects trailers! How cool is that!
I don't even trust that way. I use the tongue jack to lift it back off until the truck has been lifted several inches. I haul RVs part time, and don't want a mistake.
I did it on a PWC trailer, and noticed because I could hear some extra clanging. Went about 1/4 mile and pulled over to fix it. That was a light trailer so I would always give it a "shake" after that to make sure it was securely on the ball.
Worst part was, I was teaching someone how to set up a trailer when this happened...
Now that I'm towing bigger (power jacks), I both visually inspect that the cleat is under the ball as well as give it a little bit of a lift test.
I had to commend you on something I've done for years, but never saw anyone else do when latching down the coupled.... I'm sure others dothe finger check to make certain that the coupler is locked under the ball! I've done it for decades, literally hundreds of times, and wondered if maybe I was a weirdo! Lol .... I'm glad to see that someone else agrees! Thank you for the video, and Blessings.
Robert, just because you are the "only" one you've seen doesn't make you a weirdo, it just makes you cautious or maybe "persnickety". Have a great year.
Bobby, Remember to use a left hand finger to check so you have your right hand free to jack up tongue if, and when, you get pinched. Ooww
I like the video. Todate I have never pulled away without checking the hitch coupling myslef. I am so scare of the trailer coming off while we going down the road and the damage it could do to other people, I always check myself twice. With that being said, I have made the inspection too fast and not make sure the safety pin was in a couple of times. I worked as a Tatcical Satelite site manager for 20 years (double axel dully, and tractor trailer). I did have one trailer incident with one of the 7 vehicals, but that was not due to improper trailer hitching (whole rig on it's side). While watching others make the mistake. I made a departure check list for each of the teams.
Haven't highballed 🤛🌲, but being i tow a travel trailer most often, I know the ball is caught when I lift back up on the jack a bit to install the anti sway bars
6:20 I did the same thing you mentioned. However thank god it was w/ a lawn tractor & utility trailer.
About 20 years ago, I high balled a boat trailer. I made it to the landing, got the boat on the trailer and was heading home, I looked in my mirror and saw the tongue of the trailer above my tailgate. I let off the gas and let the rig come to a stop on its own. No damage. Ever since that day, after latching the coupler I pull up on the tongue (if it’s a light trailer) otherwise I feel for the coupler to be in gaged as shown in the video. If I stop along the way, I check everything before leaving. Who know if someone was messing with the trailer while your not around.
Picked up my brother's new boat with my truck. They said the hitch was a 1-7/8 but it was actually a 2-inch. Just before the boat ramp the hitch jumped off the ball and the trailer hit my tailgate and put a big dent in it...boy was I pissed.
That is the best looking utility trailer that I have ever seen!
That tongue jack looked really close to the ground I think your first assessment of raising your hitch one notch was spot on. Oh and how many trailers does one man need or is that a silly question??
He must have a "biziness" to keep him in business.
My Dad told me a story about when he had another place hook up the trailer to the truck and hi balled it with no chains. He was driving across a bridge and hit an expansion joint and the trailer passed him and hit a van in the opposite lane. The shop payed for that, but my dad never lets anyone else hitch his trailers since then. It was a wild time.
I had a coupling come off of the ball before and the safety chains saved me! The issue wasn’t the lock or user error. The piece that is attached to the lock (the piece that comes down around the back of the ball) had come loose and wasn’t tight enough. Not something you check very often. It was in place and locked, just loose.
Haven't high balled a trailer myself, but was following a couple that was moving their 20+ foot boat trailer (empty) and when the guy went around a corner and accelerated, the trailer lifted the front just enough to drop off. His wife in the car behind saw it happen and flagged him down with the horn, he didn't realize it was off the ball at that point. I helped him lift it back on and make sure it was locked on. He'd had the trailer a while but still didn't know what to look for when hitching it up. I guess he was lucky he kept the boat in storage by the lake an only planned to tow it to another lake to visit friends or family once or twice a year. (this was his first trip with it).
That Ute has a painfully low tow bar and the trailer is painfully low. When ever I hook my caravan on after I hook it up I crank the A frame up to make sure the vehicle is well and truly hooked on. Works for me.🇦🇺
I started towing recently but I still always get my head low enough to see under the trailer and see if the latch is under the ball and cradling it from underneath (I don't put my head under the trailer itself). My trailer like to fight me a lot on that so knowing that, it's good to go in knowing another trailer might be worse. It is definitely better to check many times so it doesn't come off while driving. It's also good to use some grease. I know it's not necessary but I use bearing grease because it always keeps my balls nice, scratch free, rust free and really shiny when you wipe them off.
My 16 ft. trailer has the Bulldog coupler. When I first used the trailer, I didn't check to make sure it was down all the way which resulted in the trailer popping off as I was going out my gate. I've never made the mistake again; like you, I always check to ensure it is connected properly. The ball is only a 2 inch, but I make sure the gooseneck connector on my fifth wheel is properly set.
It’s a good practice to inspect the coupler before the tow vehicle is in the way, actually getting down and look up into the mechanism. Especially rented trailers, heavier loaded and the more utilized trailers. Look closely at the bolt / pin the latch mechanism pivots around. Proper lubrication in the right areas will make life much easier- you shouldn’t ever have to strike or pry a coupler to get it to open or close. Also double check the coupler size matches the trailer ball size.
I’ve lost count of how many worn or bent couplers I’ve come across over the years, mostly in the equipment rental industry.
2 stories.
1. I've never high balled and not caught it, but I did have the jaws not fully lock onto a semi trailer. I tugged on it and it held, but as soon as I turned out of the parking spot it dropped with roughly 40k pounds in it. It was at P&G in Granite City, IL if anybody cares. Somehow I lucked out and we couldn't find any damage to the landing gear.
2. I think I still lived at home at the time but wasn't there when it happened, but heard the story. My aunt's van broke down and my dad went to the rescue. He figured out when he was winching the van onto his trailer and the back of the trailer hit the ground that he forgot to latch the hitch. Of course they had to roll the van backwards to drop it back down, latched it, started winching it back up just to find out the a full sized conversion van won't fit because of a metal frame for E-track. It's a 16' car hauler, but the previous owner modified it for his needs. It's great for hauling random stuff, and only adequate for most cars. IIRC, they borrowed my grandpa's trailer and had to use a come-a-long to load the van.
I had the same thing happened to me with a three axle vacuum trailer in North Dakota. Hooked up to it gave the tug all was good made a turn thing plopped right off. Now im paranoid when it comes to hooking up trailers I tug the absolutely daylight out of them.
I was moving a trailer for a friend. As I moved off the property, uphill driveway, it bounced off. Yes, I had the safety chains on. I had to back down to level ground and that has never happened again. That was 38 years ago. Instead of using my finger to check, I raise the trailer. If it is connected - the back of the truck starts lifting up. I don't remember the last time that I did not have a good connection on the ball.
My one and only high ball experience was when I let my buddy couple the boat trailer while I was getting gear loaded up... Made it to the end of our driveway when it bounced up and off the ball... Also learned my safety chains were too long as the coupler dug into the asphalt. My buddy and I both learned a lesson that day.
I wonder how many people test the chain length by letting the coupler all the way down ? I never did but intend to check that asap. It seems no matter how careful you are Murphy will drop by for a visit now and then.
Yes I did. I tow a Runaway trailer. I'm new, never towed before. It wouldn't go down any farther, so I took off. As soon as I hit the main road it fell off, and the pipe dragged onto the road. Someone else jammed the pipe back into the slot, but I can never take off the wheel again because I don't know that I'll be able to get it back in. When driving I always hope that I don't go too low lest my wheel hit the ground.
More then competent friend of mine hooked up my car trailer, we drove 30 miles with a car on the trailer (high balled) and 20 miles back (empty) the trailer popped off over a bump. Chains saved it from completely hitting the road and wrecking the jack / coupler.
Lesson learned, always double check or hook your own stuff up.
Yes!!! My boyfriend borrowed my Dodge Ram Diesel pickup to tow a trailer, and didn't tell me he changed the hitch ball. Several months later, I hitched up my small camper to go to friend's house to camp at her farm for a week and my little trailer bounced off the ball and I safely steered it off to the edge of the highway. I was stumped why it happened when I looked at the ball and wondered how come I had the wrong sized ball. Thankfully a nice local police officer helped me by putting the trailer back on and shadowed me to the next exit where thankfully a convenient "has everything" hardware store was located where I purchased the correct ball. My boyfriend got an earful when I saw him next. Lesson-always check your ball size, even if you think it is correct!
My helper never closed the pintle hook latch and I didn't double check. The trailer came off crossing some RR tracks. The safety chains captured it luckily. Never again, I always triple check every thing.
I was tasked with going after a skidsteer about 100 miles away on a twisty curvy road that follows a river all the way. I went out to the shop and the mechanic lined me up and hooked the trailer up. I went to the site to the skidsteer and the guy running it come over and asked Is that a 2-5/16 ball? I said "should be, I had Doug hook it up". Turns out Doug set the hitch on a 2" ball with a hollow tube stinger. Howard loaned me a solid stinger with a 2-5/16 on it. God must have been watching over me that day. I now always check when anyone but me sets the hitch down.
Co-worker had a borrowed trailer decouple when I was behind him a few weeks ago. 2" coupler on a 1-7/8" ball. Bumper mounted. Coupler was latched but the jaw was high. He didn't even know their were different ball sizes. Same kind of guy that goes for #2 Phillips screwdriver on a #3 head screw.
After 30 years of towing I just high balled about 2 weeks ago. I hitched my lightly loaded 12’ cargo trailer, drove 2 blocks to a stop sign and heard a loud metallic thud when stopping. Immediately got out and inspected the hitch, still didn’t notice I was high balled. Drove a 1/4 mile at 45 mph and the trailer bounced off the hitch, swayed terribly, I was able to slow down and pull over only to find the trailer dragging along by the safety chains. One of my scariest moments towing. Luckily my load inside the trailer was strapped and remained undamaged.
got in a rush once and didn't latch the turnover ball into the hitch, but trailer coupler was locked onto the ball. Loaded a truck and pulled the ball out of the socket and caught it by the safety chains. was a very delicate deal to give the slack in the chains to pull away and reset. didn't help it was 2 of us trying to knock everything out so we had both assumed the other had latched it.
High balled once. On a 10' utility box trailer. Trailer was completely empty. Chains on that trailer are plenty strong.
Yes, High-Balling is easy to do. And a stuck coupler to the ball that won't let go is awful.
Grease your ball.
Grease your hitch cup and the mechanisms inside.
Makes it less likely to stick.
I can't recall a time when I've actually towed while being highballed. I've coupled up that way, but have caught it every time I can remember. The latch doesn't latch correctly. There's something "loose" about it, and I check that every time. As many have said, when other people do the hitching up, that's when stuff happens. I ALWAYS run a check of everything before moving, no matter who does the hitching.
Only time I ever had a trailer come off (chains saved the day) was when 1) I was in a hurry and 2) a friend helped me hook up. I NEVER allow those two things to happen now.
When I was a kid we were towing a trailer and my dad had the chains straight (left side to left hookup, right side to right hookup). An officer pulled us over and told my dad they should be crossed so in the event the trailer comes off the ball it will land on the chains and not catch into the road.
With the way you set up your solar panel while having the disconnects off you weren't charging anything.
I backed my truck up to my boat trailer, and let my wife and son connect it. They did not unlatch the coupler, and yep, it highballed. My fault for not checking their work. We were only towing about four miles, and it uncoupled over a bump approaching a stop sign. Luckily we were only going 20 or so, and the trailer did about $200 damage to the truck. Never again. My new Diamond C has a Demco coupler, which autolatches. I may change all couplers to Demco - not expensive and really great.
I never highballed a trailer, never even thought about it. I've just set the trailer down on the ball, and could tell by looking if it was as far down on the ball as it's supposed to be. Only trailer I ever had come off was one the U-Haul guy hooked up for me, and I didn't check. He didn't spin the knob to latch it to the ball. That was the last time I let someone else hook up my trailer.
I am the only one involved in the connection process. That way there is no one to blame but myself. On starting out I will stop and check that everything is secure. If I'm towing lond distances, I check everything at every fuel stop and when I stop to eat. I am in the trucking industry and it is a valuble habit.
A few years back I had the trailer I was towing highball but luckily it did not happen while driving. I was renting a piece of equipment and it came with its own trailer which I was not very familiar with and thought I locked the coupler but turns out I didn't. There was enough tongue weight on the hitch that I did not notice anything while driving, but once I started unloading the equipment and backing it off the ramps the front of the trailer flew up. Thankful it did not happen while driving, but that was the first time and hopefully last time, now I always triple check the coupler especially when I am not towing my normal trailer.
Level is not level unless you are loaded. Unless you have an air assist load leveling system, you should always have an empty trailer riding high on the hitch. That way when you start loading the trainer it will lower the back of the pickup to level and you will not have to worry about the chains or jack dragging or hitting the ground. the ground
Trailer looks like safety orange on the video. Good color.
I always check that my boat trailer is latched... but I did have the hitch detach from the ball over railroad tracks once. It was fully latched. It's the spring-loaded type and over time had backed off. There was no way to know it until it happened. I got home (thanks safety chains!) and tightened the nut on the latch until the ball JUST fit into the latching part before I lower the handle and lock it. Something to keep in mind.
Every man on the planet has high balled his coupler at one point or another. I agree, it’s better to double check it.
If you are in doubt, throw the couple lock and then kick back up too see if it is locked. FYI- checked wheel bearing grease before pulling, factories even the major ones on axles tend to just squirt a couple of shots in just to get it to the dealer. I have checked brand new ones and barely enough grease to cover the bearings. Peace of mind for me so I know they are adequately packed
I found this out with a PJ trailer I had for several years before I checked the grease level. Fortunately the trailer was hardly used but I ended up squirting almost two tubes of grease into four hubs. These days you have to double check everything you purchase and even after being serviced. It’s a bummer but a reality of the current world we live in.