What I saw on the way home yesterday pic

Old560

Member
Looks like the pin fell out of the ball mount
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I had that happen a few weeks ago at a hill top stop sign, pulling my round baler home. Itll pucker you up in a hurry.
 
I had that happen a few weeks ago at a hill top stop sign, pulling my round baler home. Itll pucker you up in a hurry.
 
I had similar happen with my gooseneck and a friend's flatbed truck. He hooked up at my place and drove about 300 miles to pick up a truck he had bought. Just as the front tires touched the ramps the trailer front went skyward. The trailer hitch sat on top of the ball all that distance. That is the only time I had someone else do the hook up and never again. I more than double check everything when trailering.
 
Don't look like he had his safety chains crossed either. Cross them with only enough slack to make a turn. Don't know why so many people don't know how to do safely chains correctly.
 
I only use a keyed pin. Without the key, nothing like this can happen.

....On the other hand, I'd best hope I never lose that key! *lol*
 
I'm surprised U-Haul would allow that out the gate. The only thing I can figure is they picked up the trailer with a different vehicle.
 
I had a locking pin on a small pickup,was pulling a 5 X 8 trailer the pin came out on I295 in Richmond VA, lucky the trailer was empty and the safety chains held.Pin and locking device long gone.
 
Don't know about your pin, but mine holds the key until it's turned to the lock position.

There was one time when I didn't have the locking cap on properly and the key turned, but wasn't locked. Was lucky to catch it then. I can only guess that's what happened with yours.
 
We were turning left at a intersection, waiting for the light to change.

SUV and a camper came towards us and turned the way we were going to go.

Something clicked across the road.

My brain caught a still image of it, and I realized it was the little pin for the drawbar.

We couldn’t catch them or flag them down, they were still going 3 miles later up ahead had gone up a long hill and 55 speeds.

I’ve always wondered how long that lasted, and the out come.

Paul
 
I worked for the Illinois Department of Transportation. I helped a newly married young couple on their way to boot camp in Carolina. They had a U-Haul trailer come unhooked on a rough bridge approach just south of the New Columbia interchange on I-24 in Massac County. The kid was an excellent driver - his little pickup was all over both lanes before he got it onto the shoulder and stopped. Before we lifted the trailer back onto the ball, I unscrewed the latch to allow it to sit down over the ball. The kid was alarmed and questioned why I unscrewed the latch. I showed him how the latch worked and he was dumbfounded - it was the third time they had had the trailer unhook since they had rented it in St. Louis. NOBODY showed them how to hook it up - they just took their money and watched them leave. Good kids - lucky to be alive.
 
I work for the local Deere dealer thru high school and I went to deliver a mower about 50 miles away and bring a smaller tractor back. I took the ton truck with the trailer already hooked up. deliver the mower and stop to get the tractor. When I started to drive the tractor up the ramp it came unhooked. someone had used a 2 inch ball and the trailer was 2 5/16. I blocked the trailer up and loaded the tractor and drove back real slow.
 
One time, I was turning right at an intersection with a camper attached to my SUV.

I made the turn just fine, but when I looked back in the side mirror this wild man, driving erratically, was chasing me down.

As any person would do, I floored it and did everything I could to evade him.

Took me near 3 miles and flying up a hill at over 50 mph to finally lose sight of him.

Unfortunately, through the evasive driving somehow the camper went haywire... yes haywire.

You see, about 10 minutes later, a cute colony of baby rabbits were in the middle of the road and naturally, to avoid the fluff balls, I went right but this maniac camper, it shot left!

The camper, with what seemed a mind of it's own, mowed them all down in horrific fashion.

Then the camper, upon hitting the bank on the other side, turned, flipped and began rolling violently.

As it tumbled like a weed in Texas, it smashed into a raft of baby ducks, sending down flying everywhere.

My wife next to me and my children in the back started screaming and crying, but the ordeal wasn't over.

This psycho camper, in what seemed like an impossible act against physics, flips into the air, turns and as if on a mission, darts 90 degrees directly toward a grove of trees, landing right next to them, upside down, in some tall grass.

Of course, the camper then bursts into flames and as the flames rip through the tall dry grass, tree after tree begin to ignite.

One tree, which would be just my luck, had a nest with the last three baby owls of some species in it, I can never remember the name, but let's just say they didn't make it - least that what I heard on the news that night.

As the fire spread and with my kids balling in the back, down, rabbit fur and ignited owl feathers began raining down on us.

I slowly turned to my wife and said, let's get out of here before that maniac driver who was chasing us shows up.

So we booked it out of there in the SUV and 20 minutes later I reported seeing someone steal the camper. It was a rental anyway and I gave them the description of that guy who was chasing us.

Did I purchase rental insurance? Course not.
Ended up losing everything because of that camper.

My wife? She left me.

My children? I hear they still cry themselves to sleep over the horrors we saw that day.

Me? Aside from the drinking, pills, gambling, depression amd spending time on YT?

Well to this day, when I have moments of lucid thought, I always wonder why that guy was trying to catch us. 😀
 
I was driving home one Sunday morning from picking up some parts. I see what looks like a huge bird coming across the median. Then I realize it is a trailer, a flat bed car hauler. It had came unhooked in the west bound, I was in the east bound, and when it came through the median and up the other side it became air born. Locked up the braked and it hit the car in front of me, a Pontiac Transam with t tops. It literally sheared the top off at the hood line making a true convertible, glass flew everywhere . I expected to see decapitated people, but two heads popped up unharmed, just like in the movies. The guy had forgot to latch the hitch.
 
Last year at HCOP in Rantoul, I hooked up the trailer and loaded a gravity bed and on the tail a John Deere ATV. As we left, I was going out the exhibitors gate and was booking along when I saw a speed bump, I set the brake as we were going over the speed bump and the trailer came loose and smashed into the tailgate. I realized in my hurry to hook it up, I never latched the hitch. DOH!! Luckily, we were not on the interstate.
 
Anytime I've had some one try flagging me down pulling a trailer, I immediately pulled over. There never was a time it was for no reason. Running away hauling a trailer? You either started drinking early or they must have some really bad dudes where you live.
 
(quoted from post at 18:45:53 08/06/20) I only use a keyed pin. Without the key, nothing like this can happen.

....On the other hand, I'd best hope I never lose that key! *lol*

Around here the locking pins seize up solid on the first exposure to road salt, then nothing short of an angle grinder and a stick of dynamite will get them unlocked.

You don't leave the shank in the receiver in the winter either because it will be rusted solid in about a week. I have too many different trailers with different hitch heights (that can't be changed), different balls, and one with a pintle.
 
You are left with a lifelong memory when you feel the trailer unhitch and you see it going wild back there in the mirror. I have had it happen three times. One time was when someone else hooked up the trailer and set it down on the ball with the latch still closed so the hitch was just sitting on the latch instead of settling down over the ball. i was negligent in not checking it over before I took off with it. It was a top heavy seed tender with four pro boxes of seed corn. There was probably $30,000 worth of seed on the trailer. I had pulled it probably 30 miles, pulled into the field lane, discovered I was in the wrong lane and backed it back onto the road. I stopped backing, stepped on the brakes and the top heavy trailer came off the ball, tipped back until it hit the safety chains and then the tongue came back down and hit the ground. The only damage was the wires pulled out of the trailer plug. I had stopped the trailer at the edge of the ditch. If the safety chains would have let go the tender would have dumped upside down in the ditch. Whew!
 

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