A few weeks ago, traveling up I-75 from Florida, nearing the Cordele, Ga exit, we encountered a stand-still traffic jamb. I noticed some 18-wheelers exiting and turning left. A quick check of the GPS told me that US 41 was about a mile to the west. So what the heck, we got off figuring that we would detour around the problem.
In tow behind us was our 2007 Ford Sportrak, approximately 4600 lbs. on our 10,000 lb. "Hidden Hitch." Just our luck, we encountered Cordele, Ga's version of rush hour traffic. As the car in front of us inched forward, so did we. As we did, I heard a scraping sound of metal on pavement, and felt the vibraton as well. I came to a stop and checked the jacks indicator to see if somehow one of the jacks had dropped, nope. As we started up again, again I heard and felt the scraping. I stopped and looked in the backup camera. There behind us, I saw that the Sportrak was no longer connected to the motorhome! That's right, no longer connected! Luckily, we were on flat ground. I put on the emergency brake and my friend and I jumped out and ran behind to see what the he... What we found was that three of the 6 bolts used to attach the hitch to the right side of the frame were gone, missing. As a result, a weld onthe left side tore right off.
Here's the missing bolts:
Here's the torn weld:
Here's the left side of the hitch, still attached to the motorhome frame:
And finally, here's the hitch that we picked up off the ground and placed in the back of the Sportrak:
This was a perfect storm. That is because the breakaway feature of our BrakeBuddy will only work if the hitch actually stays on the motorhome. So had we been at high speed, well, all I can say is that God was watching over a lot of people that day. Thanks to God getting us off the interstate, no one was hurt. The actual incident happened while standing still on flat ground.
Now I finally understand the meaning of the saying, "Came off without a hitch." Funny now, not then.
You, my friend, are one lucky SOB !! Were the bolts not installed at the factory, or did they just back out ? Robbie
Joeycockerspaniel wrote: A few weeks ago, traveling up I-75 from Florida, nearing the Cordele, Ga exit, we encountered a stand-still traffic jamb. I noticed some 18-wheelers exiting and turning left. A quick check of the GPS told me that US 41 was about a mile to the west. So what the heck, we got off figuring that we would detour around the problem.
In tow behind us was our 2007 Ford Sportrak, approximately 4600 lbs. on our 10,000 lb. "Hidden Hitch." Just our luck, we encountered Cordele, Ga's version of rush hour traffic. As the car in front of us inched forward, so did we. As we did, I heard a scraping sound of metal on pavement, and felt the vibraton as well. I came to a stop and checked the jacks indicator to see if somehow one of the jacks had dropped, nope. As we started up again, again I heard and felt the scraping. I stopped and looked in the backup camera. There behind us, I saw that the Sportrak was no longer connected to the motorhome! That's right, no longer connected! Luckily, we were on flat ground. I put on the emergency brake and my friend and I jumped out and ran behind to see what the he... What we found was that three of the 6 bolts used to attach the hitch to the right side of the frame were gone, missing. As a result, a weld onthe left side tore right off.
Here's the missing bolts:
Here's the torn weld:
Here's the left side of the hitch, still attached to the motorhome frame:
And finally, here's the hitch that we picked up off the ground and placed in the back of the Sportrak:
This was a perfect storm. That is because the breakaway feature of our BrakeBuddy will only work if the hitch actually stays on the motorhome. So had we been at high speed, well, all I can say is that God was watching over a lot of people that day. Thanks to God getting us off the interstate, no one was hurt. The actual incident happened while standing still on flat ground.
Now I finally understand the meaning of the saying, "Came off without a hitch." Funny now, not then.
Check your bolts!
08 Fleetwood Providence 40X
FL-XC
US Gear Braking system
Blue OX towing system
06 Saturn Vue AWD toad
Wife and best friend Martha Baby
SweetPea - 15 year old "Maine coon cat" still mean as ever
Beware of those who point their finger the LOUDEST !
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You, my friend, are one lucky SOB !! Were the bolts not installed at the factory, or did they just back out ? Robbie
Well, I would be thinking that this is one question that may not get answered..
Always checked the hitch and base plate for loose fittings... But sometimes, things just happen...
Im going to check mine when i get it out of the garage to go on my next trip.That looks scary in the pictures.Sure glad everything worked out with no one getting hurt.
Thanks for the heads up. I often check the tow bar, coupler, etc, but not the hitch. Thank the Good Lord that the problem occurred and the cause identified in a safe environment. Take care all.
David
2002 Monaco Diplomat 40 PST Triple Slide
Toad-88 Ford Mustang GT-Stick
David and Jean
Joeycockerspaniel wrote: ... I stopped and looked in the backup camera. There behind us, I saw that the Sportrak was no longer connected to the motorhome! That's right, no longer connected!
Just curious....Where was the towed? Did it roll off to the side, or was it right there, standing behind the MH? In otherewords, did you catch the problem just as the towed became detached from the MH?
Thank God no injuries or property damage resulted from this episode!
This is a good subject to bring to the forefront. I know that I'll be paying more attention to my hitch bolts because of it.
* This post was
edited 08/11/08 09:10pm by mtrumpet *
mtrumpet
2000 Southwind Storm 30H
Ford Triton V10 6.8L
F53 Chassis
Davis Tru-Trac
Henderson Rear Trac Bar
Carquest/Moog Steering Damper
Monroe RV Gas Magnums
Goodyear G670 RV's
Here are a couple of more threads on the subject. This appearers to happens more frequently than most of us think about. Checking the hitch bolts is now a routine part of my checking process when I hook the FROG up. Some folks at the camp grounds kind of laugh until I explain what I am doing and why.
Talk about getting scared..HOLY &&&& ....Coachmen had this happen and recalled 2004 Coaches (Herewego was an almost victim---he came home and found his hitch hanging) .... I check my hitch when I hook up the toad. Do yourself a favor...thank God...period.....
Stuart and Stella Denning
2009 Holiday Rambler Endeavor 41SKQ
Our 4 Bulldogs (Summer, Sully, Sierra and Great-Grandma Demi)
2007 Saturn Vue (TOAD)
Diesel is provided by your safely trained drivers, as pictured below
You are very lucky I am glad to hear there was no injury or damage. The hitch and tow bar bolts should be grade 5 and torqued to specs with red lock tite on the bolt threads. I would also suggest safety cables from the tow bar to the toad frame and possibly from the hitch frame to motorhome frame. I added the safety cables to my towing system after I viewed a post from a guy whose tow bar attachment tore completely free from his frame and went into the ditch. His breakaway protection was attached to the tow bar and never activiated because he was dragging his tow bar.
Motor City Swagman 2000 Bounder 36S
Ford V-10, Banks Power Pack w/ TC,
BrakeBuddy,Davis Tru Trac,Safe T Plus,Aventa II & Xplorer Sport Trac
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