I am in shock this could happen on hitch

[Thatdarncat]

Looking at it first on a small cell phone it looked like a cold weld...but that's metal that had crystalized along the weld and the bracket. ..essentially getting brittle...like glass....thats probably junky chinese steel they are using to save a dollar...thier steel specs are probably all over the place...if you the mfg orders 1018 steel you might get 1144, 12l17, maybe even an amalgam of anything...thank your politician who favors globalization, chinese trade and NAFTA. Most western nations approach metallurgy as the exacting science it is...over there who flung dung probably said ahhh just dump some more coal in that retort to get that carbon content up there!

[PackagingGuy]

All good stuff to remind us to be observant of our equipment!

[aircommuter]

Originally Posted by cknsls

I have had an equalizer hitch for about 15 years and it easily has a better part of 100,000 miles on it with out issue. That failed for a reason-either metal fatigue or over loaded hitch weight.

Or the obvious weld that wasn’t penetrated. Just because yours was welded sufficiently doesn’t mean they all are.
The Hensley I welded up for someone had welds with a bead thickness less than the metal and some welds were missing altogether.

[bikendan]

Well, new bar sockets installed:

[sanmarco]

Originally Posted by cboss

WOW! How many miles on the hitch?

Here in Aus I am licensed to certify the mods and installation of equipment such as chassis, suspension and couplings to heavy vehicles. On the visual that I see, it appears that the cracking is above the weld which may suggest a tensile or pre-heat welding procedure issue. Only other thought without x-ray analysis would be that, and hopefully not; that this hitch has been subject to extreme lateral forces which may be experienced in off road conditions.

[AirDave]

Originally Posted by scottnlindsay

We went to a dealer near by. They were shocked too that the weld would break. They called their rep and sent him pictures, the rep was in awe too. They said there is a lifetime warranty on them and they gave him a new one. The rep wanted the old one to send to equalizer to look deeper into why. With the setup, he was all well with in specs. They made sure of that first.

That is incredible! So thankful they made it safely!
That story emphasizes why the things we trailer drivers presume are always fine may not be!

[reevesfamily]

Originally Posted by scottnlindsay

In laws drove 350 miles like this. He noticed it when he went to unhook. Crazy. Anyone else ever had this happen with a equalizer hitch? The weld totally broke all the way around.

Yes. I actually didn’t notice it until we took our then 10 year old camper in for a trade in on a larger unit, and the technician who was making sure the new trailer was set up right on my truck brought me out to look at it. Scared the spit out of me, bought a new hitch on the spot and have had that one ever since. Husky Centerline. The guy said “you would never know how many of these I see”. Was a regular equalizer hitch with the bars and chains and the friction sway control.

[mvoinco]

Originally Posted by scottnlindsay

In laws drove 350 miles like this. He noticed it when he went to unhook. Crazy. Anyone else ever had this happen with a equalizer hitch? The weld totally broke all the way around.

Was used to tow something heavier than it was made for at one time.

[scottnlindsay]

Originally Posted by mvoinco

Was used to tow something heavier than it was made for at one time.

Nope, the tt it was used on before was actually smaller. The dealer said this one 1200/12000 was even over kill for what it was on now. Never should have happened, was not over loaded. If it was they probably would not have warranted it, guessing.

[scottnlindsay]

Originally Posted by AirDave

That is incredible! So thankful they made it safely!
That story emphasizes why the things we trailer drivers presume are always fine may not be!

I hear ya. A few years ago a guy I know was pulling his trailer with two atv's on. Trailer came unhooked and everything went flying. Not going to lie, when I am meeting a truck with trailer or behind one my eyes are watching the trailer.

[ChuckE]

That looks like it was a Cold Weld where the weld looks good but didn’t get enough penetration. I’m surprised it lasted as long as it did. Your lucky.

[nrkmann]

Agree, poorly welded… most likely not enough heat.

[JerryHatfield61]

Would say it looks like too heavy a load... and may have been! But the weld looks like it came apart from the metal... telling me it wasn't burnt in hot enough! I build parts for Nascar and in every wreck all damaged parts are looked over and inspected very thoroughly to find if it causes the accident, or held up in the wreck! The broken part is looked at to see if the break was in the weld( a bad unburnt in weld) or the metal( not to specs or just bad metal). I haven't inspected the hitch and can only go by what little I see in your pics... I'd blame the weld! Or the welder.. given it seems to not have been welded right! In the first place!

[Zixxer2Go]

...but imho, whenever you start seeing rust on parts loaded for towing, it's time to clean up that area (rust remover and sandpaper), inspect for parts integrity or damage, then repaint for some durability.

This may make a strong case for closer inspections...we <are> towing a 7K to 14K "unguided missile" if we see a catastrophic failure we <probably> would have caught with an inspection. Of course, if you did your due diligence, that could happen anyway...in that case, best to make sure you have VERY high insurance limits!

[phillyg]

Good he found it, but it may have been cracked earlier than that trip based on the rust. It could be a bad weld, too.

[Old Top Kick]

Reading some of the horror stories here and looking at some of the pictures, there's clearly a case to be made for periodic non-destructive inspection.

Someone had mentioned destructive testing but that would be counter productive for in service equipment though it does have value in a production environment.

Dye penetration or magnetic particle inspection should reveal all of the defects shown well before they become a serious problem and catastrophic failure.

A careful visual inspection is essential prior to every trip. An annual inspection by an NDI lab would be a good idea.

[dlambers]

It's good to here about the Factories interest in the failed part.
Failure analysis is a key factor in product improvement. Letting them know there is a problem, without becoming a problem yourself, can be a challenge at times.

[Cobraman]

Originally Posted by aircommuter

Or the obvious weld that wasn’t penetrated. Just because yours was welded sufficiently doesn’t mean they all are.
The Hensley I welded up for someone had welds with a bead thickness less than the metal and some welds were missing altogether.

That is an example of poor welding! I welded for years working on the railroad on the repair track and had seen some welds like this due to hurry up and wait tactics that puts pressure on the people doing this kind of work which almost always leads to broken welds. Plain to see that it was a piss poor weld from the git go!

[garywilson]

Another example of why you should attach your breakaway cable to your bumper, and not the hitch.

[Lins]

There was a thread on here a couple years ago about a failed equalizer hitch. Stuff happens. Good timing as I JUST put ours on the bench to clean it, grease it and put it away for winter. I’ll give it an extra good look.