Check EVERYTHING On Your Hitch

[RangerJay]

There has been a pretty impressive amount of arm-chair accident investigation done through this thread – lots of food for thought – but it would be nice to hear more direct information on the behaviour of the unit just prior to the accident and the follow-up investigation by the right professionals.

This is an accident that seems to go straight to the core of the relationship between the tow vehicle and the trailer - and one where it seems the driving behaviour, the hitch, the tow vehicle, the marriage between the tow vehicle and the hitch, and also the brake controller set-up can – and have – each been questioned.

I – for one – would really like to know more – and do hope that fresh information will be able to contribute more to the discussion.

Thanks,


Jay

[Gene]

The only two 31' trailers produced in the 1990's were in 1998 and fully loaded would weigh 8,300 lbs. The Titan is substantially less. Empty, just over 5,000 lbs. Probably 6,000 plus with stuff, people.

I'm still trying to visualize the rig coming one direction on a 2 lane road, rotating 90˚ in the accident in the relatively short amount of space available. Two lanes would be 24' maximum and very possibly less plus the two shoulders. The shoulders would be narrower in most cases. Total road width 35'-48'.

If this sounds familiar, it is.

Gene

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Brian,

Some reading on the subject.

..... you hit the rivet right on the head, a new quality receiver is very CHEEP insurance....

I used the Reese Tow-Beast V, with a welded 2" insert. Less than $400.

BOB

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f464...ver-54796.html

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f464...les-34603.html


http://www.airforums.com/forums/f464...tch-58202.html

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f464...500-40825.html

Thanks Bob, I will be checking out those links and also availability of that reese hitch at local hitch shops. If I do change my hitch, then of course I want to try to be sure I am changing it for something more substantial and don't just wind up with a different design but no better than what I have!

Mine is definitely the tube type - I'm nit sure if newer GMC's are any better than older ones or not.

After reading this thread I realized I hadn't taken a look at the hitch since our last major cross country trip so did that this afternoon.

The hitch is of course bolted bolted to the frame but involves welding of teh various component parts.

Using a high power flashlight and one of those head strap binocular magnifiers (neighbours must have thought i was nuts!) I examined each and every weld as throughly as I could and to this point there is no evidence whatsoever of any distress, so I need to decide whether to bite the bullet now and change it arbitrarily or watch and wait and change at the first sign of any welds starting to fail.

I guess mine must be a class five hitch as it has a sleeve to bring it down to 2". The sleeve is loose however, not welded.

I have a seven year bumper to bumper warranty on our truck which I assume would include the OEM hitch.

If it started to fail I wonder what chance there would be of GM giving me a credit against a Reese hitch versus just changing in kind, or re-welding. Slim to none I suppose!


Brian.

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

The only two 31' trailers produced in the 1990's were in 1998 and fully loaded would weigh 8,300 lbs. The Titan is substantially less. Empty, just over 5,000 lbs. Probably 6,000 plus with stuff, people.

I'm still trying to visualize the rig coming one direction on a 2 lane road, rotating 90˚ in the accident in the relatively short amount of space available. Two lanes would be 24' maximum and very possibly less plus the two shoulders. The shoulders would be narrower in most cases. Total road width 35'-48'.

If this sounds familiar, it is.

Gene

I don't know if this helps fit them in the road, but if they are rotating horizontally, generally the TV and trailer are going to be closer to 90 +/- degrees to each other than still in line. In other words don't be surprised to see the rear of your trailer out your side window. However at the same time you may be seeing the guard rail out your windshield.

Ken

[pmclemore]

IIRC, the original Chevy/GMC hitch receivers that were found to be weak/ defective were those that had an open cavity above the receiver. Later ones, including mine, have had a plate welded inside that space for strengthening. I also inspect the welds regularly. I'll see about taking a pic tomorrow.

That being said - it appears to me that the factory hitch may not be up to the stresses required long-term for those of us with big trailers. Mine is one of those '98 31-footers, pulled by a 2004 Duramax (lashed up with a haha).

I think I'll take my recently saved travel money and go shopping for a hitch receiver.

As for this unfortunate soul, my money is on the Tundra's hitch failing. I doubt we'll ever hear the results of a thorough investigation because I doubt one will be done. Who is interested enough to pay for such a thing? Even though that is my opinion, I disagree with those that say this thread is meaningless; you never know what you will learn while you are thinking about something else.

Pat

[HowieE]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

I'm still trying to visualize the rig coming one direction on a 2 lane road, rotating 90˚ in the accident in the relatively short amount of space available. Two lanes would be 24' maximum and very possibly less plus the two shoulders. The shoulders would be narrower in most cases. Total road width 35'-48'.
Gene

Gene

Take another look at the pictures. That is a 4 lane road and has close to a 10 foot shoulder on the accident side. Look at the impact on the guard rail where the truck went over it. The impact is almost at right angles to the rail with only one upright bent directly away from the roadway. If sway were involved it is hard to envision how that attach angle could have occurred and the trailer remain in line with the TV.

Another thing we are all assuming the pictures represent the accident as happened without any changes. I mention this as I have to question the strap and chain attached to the lower end of the rear axle of the truck. If that sling was in preparation to righting the truck it would be attached to the top of the axle. Was the truck pulled away from the trailer? There is no evidence of drag marks to support that.

[azflycaster]

This was a Titan, not a Tundra...

[ROBERT CROSS]

Brian,

The dealer really doesn't have a lot of wiggle room when it comes to warranty.
They are allowed to extend the time past expiration, in some cases we would cover the failed part, customer pay labor. If there was good customer service and scheduled maintenance history we had a bit more leeway.
What quite a few of our commercial customers did was purchase the aftermarket replacement which we would install, the customer paying the difference between warranty and customer pay labor, usually less than $50.
He then had the OEM hitch he could for lawn art.

If you have the GMPP extended it should be covered, I would call GM customer service first to find out, some dealers might assume it is excluded.

What year is your TV?

First thing I did when we got the 06 Burb was replace the hitch. The insert was welded in NC.

I've witnessed one hitch failure in 28yrs of Stream'n. Fellow camper backing into his site at a pretty severe angle, when three mounting bolts sheared on the left side of the receiver dropping it to the ground. That was the eye opener that started me on my hitch inspection routine.

On our 95 Burb I went so far as removing it every Winter, Buffalo is not hitch friendly in Winter.

The 06 has grade 8 stainless bolts and I had the TB powder coated so that routine has been abandoned, the bolts still get torque checked every Spring though.

Bob

[Gene]

Howie, it was stated the driver pulled over to let traffic by. That is why I thought it was a 2 lane road. Now that I've blown up the photos again, I see 2 lanes in one direction (accident side) but I'm not sure there are 2 coming the other way. The driver may have pulled over out of the passing lane, or pulled over onto the shoulder. And you are right to mention things may have been moved. We are making lots of assumptions and this is a case of you hadda be there.

Once again, a TITAN, not a Tundra.

I got under my Tundra and I have the tubes too. They look bigger than the ones on the Titan in the photo, but maybe only because I want them to be. The were about 3" diameter. They are welded to a plate which is bolted to the frame member with lots of bolts. They are welded to the hitch receiver. The ones I could see were marked 11, a hardness grade I don't know about. All welds looked fine though where paint has been scratched off, there is some rust on the surface.

Why is square better than round? Even it is better, thicker, bigger tubes may be as good, no?

Gene

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Brian,

The dealer really doesn't have a lot of wiggle room when it comes to warranty.
They are allowed to extend the time past expiration, in some cases we would cover the failed part, customer pay labor. If there was good customer service and scheduled maintenance history we had a bit more leeway.
What quite a few of our commercial customers did was purchase the aftermarket replacement which we would install, the customer paying the difference between warranty and customer pay labor, usually less than $50.
He then had the OEM hitch he could for lawn art.

If you have the GMPP extended it should be covered, I would call GM customer service first to find out, some dealers might assume it is excluded.

What year is your TV?

First thing I did when we got the 06 Burb was replace the hitch. The insert was welded in NC.

I've witnessed one hitch failure in 28yrs of Stream'n. Fellow camper backing into his site at a pretty severe angle, when three mounting bolts sheared on the left side of the receiver dropping it to the ground. That was the eye opener that started me on my hitch inspection routine.

On our 95 Burb I went so far as removing it every Winter, Buffalo is not hitch friendly in Winter.

The 06 has grade 8 stainless bolts and I had the TB powder coated so that routine has been abandoned, the bolts still get torque checked every Spring though.

Bob

Hi again Bob, thanks for that additional info.

My warrantee is the GM warrantee - the last extended warrantee I had was an aftermarket warrantee and it was like pulling hens teeth trying to get them to pay for anything - I had to threaten small clams court twice!

So this time I went with GM! I have only had a couple of very small items so far and they have bee covered with no quibble under the original factory three year warrantee which expires this November - my truck is a 2008 - I am really happy with it, my first diesel!

As mentioned there seems nothing visibily wrong with my OEM hitch welds as of today's inspection except that the pin hole is somewhat hogged out on one side.

I noticed that after the first season of towing and read the threads about an angled pin causing that. I immediately changed for a straight pin and it seems to have stopped the problem getting worse - I wasn't sure whether to try welding and re-drilling the oval pin hole, but so far I have just lived with it and I'm not aware that it causes any problem. I'm a bit nervous about doing any welding on modern vehicles anyway in case I somehow mess up any electronics!

This is certainly an interesting thread and I hope that eventually we get some better insight as to what actually caused the accident, but I suppose we may never know.

Brian.

[Mexray]

Gene...in ref to your question of why 'square' is better than 'round' relating to the frame mounted hitches...

Without any real knowledge of the stiffness of a square tube VS a round tube, mathematics will tell us that, for example, a 3" round tube has a circumference of about 9.42" (C=pi x d)...

A 3" sq tube would have a circumference of about 12"...

Assuming both types of tubing are welded completely around their circumference, to their frame mounting plates, we're looking at about a 27% greater welded length with the sq tube VS the round...

Also, the areas where the square hitch receiver 'socket' is welded to the crossmember in the center comes into question. A question remains in my mind as to the effectiveness of this connection when the sq 'socket' is welded to the round crossmember - additional reinforcement may be required that again may not have the same amount of welded 'length' when comparing the two types...

I'm not an engineer, but in my 20+ years as a parts man at a Kenworth truck dealer, I never saw anything but square (or rectangular) crossmembers in HD applications...

'Square' to 'round' to 'square' members just doesn't make a lot of sense to me in HD frame applications - especially in the hitch area where they are subjected to the many strains of twisting, turning, and frame flexing during typical towing usage...IMHO

As Huey Lewis says - 'It's hip to be square"...

[Mexray]

After reviewing the accident pics again, the thought occurred to me that the 'round' crossmember is used in this application so the 'tube' could be easily bent in a shape to allow clearance for the under mounted spare tire...

Also, the greater amount the tube is bent 'backward', the more leverage is exerted on its attaching points...but that didn't appear to matter in this instance, as the tube remained welded to the frame attaching plates...

Using square tubing would have required a different approach, and additional expense, no doubt...

I hate to bring it up, but I believe this tubular type hitch construction was developed to be less expensive to manufacture...

Testing done on the hitch may have shown it was strong enough to perform normally for the weight ratings of the vehicle - but as we've seen here, not strong enough to survive the stress of a 'rolling' trailer...

I guess you really can't fault the vehicle/hitch mfg. for the hitch failure under extreme circumstances - However, if there is a hitch available that's of heavier construction to handle higher loads, it may be a good idea to investigate what's available...IMHO

[ROBERT CROSS]

Gene,

Here's a visual on mexray's mathman explanation.

This is off my 06 3/4 Burb, notice how the arms and receiver box are mounted/designed and welded, , all GM HD receiver's are the same, 'cept 08 and up Burbs. (as of 09, when I retired)

Bob

[SteveH]

In that immediate area of Texas Hwy 16 the road is actually a three lane (turning lane) with very wide shoulders I would estimate to be 10' wide on each side. The trailer covered one shoulder, the Southeast bound lane, and the center lane, leaving the Northwest bound lane open for traffic to go around. So that tells you how wide the road is right there.

We got to the scene just before the wrecker was hooking up to the Nissan to turn it back on it's wheels in preperation for loading on the flat bed for removal. The pictures show both vehicles as they came to rest. I wanted to get more detailed pictures of the hitch and attachments, but the Department of Public Safety officer decided we should leave.

The one picture shows the Hensley hitch disconnected from the ball hitch, and hanging from one of the WD bars. Don't know what Hensley calls them, but the rods that go from the hitch head back to the A frame of the trailer were both torn loose from their attachments.

[SteveH]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Gene,

Here's a visual on mexray's mathman explanation.

This is off my 06 3/4 Burb, all GM HD receiver's are the same, 'cept 08 and up Burbs.

Bob

Robert,

I know I've said this before on this forum, but what you don't and cannot show in your pictures of your GM receiver hitch is the cross member that is in the bottom of the bumper the hitch is also bolted to. This means the hitch is supported by two cross members, which will add considerable load capacity and strength to the hitch, and means the pictures don't represent an accurate visual representation of the strenth of the hitch.

[Splitrock]

Post #37 says the rig was westbound and ended up over and on the eastbound shoulder/guardrail. Just to clarify that the accident didn't start in the same lane it ended in.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by SteveH

Robert,

I know I've said this before on this forum, but what you don't and cannot show in your pictures of your GM receiver hitch is the cross member that is in the bottom of the bumper the hitch is also bolted to. This means the hitch is supported by two cross members, which will add considerable load capacity and strength to the hitch, and means the pictures don't represent an accurate visual representation of the strenth of the hitch.

Steve,

It doesn't add much strength when the welds fail below the bolts.
you see the mounts in the pic's of my 06 above, and how their bolted here.

I guess we differ on what we consider good design and execution.
I can only comment on what I have experienced personally. We replaced at least two a year, one year six, for cracks around the round tube and box mount and weld failure.

Bob

[SteveH]

Robert,

I'm not saying that GM did not have a problem with their hitches, and that none of them have failed.

What I'm saying is your two pictures, one of the GM hitch off the vehicle, compared to the other aftermarket hitch which does not utilise the bumper cross member, is not a fair and accurate visual comparison, IMHO.

[SteveH]

Now that I'm home, on the big 'puter, and off Wi-Fi, here are the rest of the pictures I have.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Steve,

Point well taken...

The Tow Beast does not have/require the bumper support mounts.

there are no photo's to visualize in this post.


Bob