Minor Cracked trailer ball hitch - BAD?

[kdickinson]

First of all - good for you! You inspected a critical component and have taken the step to get input on it. If more people would do that there would be many fewer operator errors that happen year to year. For me it comes down to peace of mind. It's probably the pilot training in me but when I'm towing my trailer I constantly think through my checklist of items that could fail and try to have a contingency plan just in case something happens. The trailer unlinking from the TV is on the catastrophic events list and, while extremely rare, it does happen and when it happens nearly 100% of the time it was avoidable. This defect would be on that list for me and I would count it as "cheap insurance" to spend the couple of hundred $ to replace the hitch assembly. Peace of mind is worth extra time, effort, and cost.

[Larry C]

Regardless, if there is a warranty or not, get a replacement before you go any further. You are looking at an "accident" that hasn't quite happened.....yet! Also, now that you are aware of the problem, it won't be an accident any longer, it'll be neglect...

For whatever it's worth

Larry

[TomKirk]

Yep, it's cracked. There's rust in there too. That means it's been cracked for a while.

Replace it ASAP. You can weld it. But, consider the weld a temporary fix. If the worst should happen, you'll regret it.

Remember, you want performance, not compromise.

Tom

[deadlock]

Call equalizer. I have the same hitch and have had a few questions for them and they've been great. I've even sent them pics to show some wear on the hitch head that I was worried might be excessive, they confirmed it was fine but I did ask about replacement if it gets worse, they said no problem.
I had been curious about other hitches and thought if I had to replace, I might try a different kind but with the support they've provided, I'm sticking with them.

And no, I wouldn't tow with that crack either, the other poster saying it's not urgent is wrong.

[GCinSC2]

While we're just looking at one pic (on my phone anyway) how about trying to see if the ball is tight too. Looks like might be a gap but it's just from the pic not a first hand inspection. Try sliding a piece of paper under the ball and maybe run the tongue jack up lifting it s bit.

If I'm whistling Dixie sorry bout that.

[bradt]

I have heavy duty farm equipment, tractors, mowers and such that get used a lot. Many heavy steel parts welded together. I have seen cracks like this in parts that carry a lot of stress and vibration from covering rough terrain.
There are usually multiple welds that share the load. When one cracks, there is more stress on the remaining welds. My experience has been that whatever circumstances existed to cause the first to fail, apparently also exist in the others nearby, and they eventually fail too. Sometimes I weld over the crack to repair the joint. But in 2 cases I had the crack reappear next to the new weld and the joint failed again.
I would not recommend getting the part re-welded as a repair. Because so much is at risk, I would drive gently and replace the hitch component at the earliest opportunity.
Safe travels!
Brad

[JCWDCW]

It is a weld stress; improper melt between the weld and the base material. Get the head to a decent welder and he can fix it for you. It needs to be ground out, and proper choice of weld rod and heat used to fix it. The rust might indicate the crack has been there for a while or it might be fairly new and recently exposed to rain. Either way if the other side is similar in length you have only about 1/3 of the needed weld holding that bracket to the head. You are close to losing it in my opinion. I would take it to a shop and see what they say. If you get it fixed it will at least get you home. Then you can work on choices.
JCW

[Jacob D]

As an old mechanical engineer and after many years as a plant engineer I would not move my rig with that hitch. I would not take a chance with that hitch on the road. On farm equipment maybe yes, but on a public highway where a failure could be fatal to you or someone else...NO WAY....

My reasoning is that the crack you can see may be half the size of the crack you can't see. The cracks (you indicated there are two of them) may have begun inside the welded assembly out of sight and then propagated to the surface where they became visible. I have seen that happen on industrial equipment. Yes, lots of rust indicates it might have been that way for a while, but rust also spreads into the crack causing further deterioration and you don't want to learn how close it is to catastrophic failure by taking it on the road. I have safety chains on my rig, but I have no desire to test them with a hitch failure.

[hhendrix]

The opinion and advice from Protagonist is probably the worst I've seen on this board. I've had a trailer when the hitch welds failed while towing. It is not a pretty site. I was also the Chief Officer responding to a double fatality accident when the welds on the hitch failed on a horse trailer and the chains weren't able to hold the trailer behind the truck. The trailer became an unguided missile crossing the center line and killing a mother and her daughter. The irresponsible fool towing the trailer told me that he saw the crack in the hitch, but thought he could get it back to his farm and repair it. They now have an overpass there with her name as a memorial.

I don't think I need to get into the rest of the story involving me, state police, the district attorney, more lawyers, and of course insurance companies. Does the term manslaughter mean anything to you?

Just because there is rust in the crack and may have been there awhile (Although no one really knows), it is a clear sign of impending failure. One good bump or tight turn and you very likely could have a catastrophic failure.
Every response here except one has advised you to not tow and get it replaced. If you're in a location away from home, there are plenty of welding companies who will come out and make a temporary repair that will get you home or to a hitch dealer. Good luck.

[xrvr]

Personal attacks are not necessary.

[Wayne&Sam]

You're out west, I'm back east. The chances of me driving behind you are minimal.

Will it fail in the next 15 minutes? Probably not. But that's the kind of thing that would be in the back of my mind every time I towed.

If it was me, I'd replace it ASAP and sleep well.

[Foiled Again]

Originally Posted by avionstream

Personal attacks are not necessary.

AMEN.


If I discovered that crack and was within 100 miles of home, I'd tow my trailer home - at 4:00 am at 30 mph watching carefully for rumble strips and potholes. There are always ways to do things at a reduced risk to yourself and humanity in general.

Paula

[rideair]

I guess the real question is simple, would you want the guy in front of you towing a trailer with a hitch that looked like that with your wife and kids in the car?

You know it needs to be replaced either now or when you get it home. Why even take the chance? Convenience is not always a good reason not to do something right away.

If you plan to wait and travel with it, please post picture of rig, roads and dates you will be traveling so me and my family can stay clear.

Enjoy,

[Trons4u]

Yeah, when you blow it up you can see that the weld is good and holding, but the metal is separating and it's been there sometime looking at the oxidation

[gecko]

You know, there could be a lot of metal failure anywhere throughout your truck or trailer. But this one you can actually see--it's real, and not a maybe. If there was enough force applied to start a crack when all was solid, there will certainly be enough to fail the already weakened metal. That could happen five minutes after you hit highway speed.

Please don't take a chance on potential significant financial loss to yourself, and potential loss to life and limb for someone else on the highway.

Don't wait.

[J. Morgan]

Oxidation like that can happen overnight.

If a person looks at that crack really closely, it seems kinda obvious that the "good weld" on top dose not matter a bit. The hitch will fail on the vertical members.

The metal around the crack is work hardened and will not hold a repair weld for long.


Brevi tempore!

[GCinSC2]

I'm staying out of the weld / crack debate but after looking at your PDF of the hitch, now I'm really curious if that ball was loose now or recently.

To the OP, good luck and tow safely.

[r carl]

Originally Posted by ryandanz

Hi all - just noticed this today - after having traveled the southwest (So. Cal & AZ) the better part of 6 weeks ... not sure if this is new or not, growing or not, (although the same size appears on the other side) ..

Any thoughts?

(image should be attached (apologies for its rotated view (you can click image to see up close) - but there's also a PDF of the image with a yellow circle encompassing the crack - )

You should be talking to Equalizer about it, your only going to get opinions here.

[AWCHIEF]

I would not use minor to describe that crack. Past time to go shopping for a new hitch. This thread clearly illustrates the good and the bad advice available. Park that trailer now and get a new hitch prior to hitting the road once again. Good luck.

[MelGoddard]

Replace it, or have it rewelded, with a doubler there.
ANY crack is a failure!
Every one above, is correct. It's cheap insurance!
Preferably replace under warranty if lifetime warranted.