My Nightmare Came True

[michello]

My husband and I have a 71 Sovereign. Though we have owned it for three years it has been a project this whole time. In other words, never camped in it and we have limited towing experience around town. We were bringing Tiffany home from her final major trip to the repair shop 40 miles away. We went the side roads (not the highway) and went over some railroad tracks and bumps that bucked us around a bit. We were taking a right turn when the horror happened. She fell off the hitch! My nightmare came true!!

She scraped along the road on the post, putting a huge gouge in the asphalt and came to a stop. Other than a broken chain link there was no damage.

A good Samaritan stopped and took one look at it and said "That ball is too small, it's 1 7/8 you need 2 inch." What?! This is what Uhaul sold us when we put a towing package on our Chevy Van 2500/3500 and we had been using for a almost a year. It has a two in drop. We happened to have a 2 in ball with no drop that came the trailer. He put it on and we made it home.

I am very scared to tow this thing again. I can't believe we spent three years fixing it and now we don't want to go out. Visions of a trailer pulling us to our deaths prevail. How do we know if this is set up right? How do we know if it is safe? Can anyone help us?

[DaveMc]

Yikes! Pictures of your set up will help. Double check that ball size, I thought they were all 2 5/16”

[michello]

Will do, Dave. Thanks.

[CaCraig]

My ‘71 Sovereign is 2 5/16”

[cgseanp]

1968 and below used 2”. Either way, 1 7/8 too small. Did the Uhaul place actually look at your trailer when they sold you your trailer hitch?

[Bill M.]

2 5/16”. Safety chains crossed under hitch. Breakaway switch hooked up. Battery in trailer and trailer brakes working. Brake controller. WEight distribution hitch. Once you get it all together you will be fine. Shortcuts can have nasty results. Uhaul was a bit remiss but you need to know the basics.

[DKB_SATX]

All the 69+ trailers use a 2 5/16 ball I believe, as mentioned above.

When you get the right-sized ball, if you want to reassure yourself that the hitch is connected well just hitch up the trailer and lock the coupler. You should then be able to lift the tow vehicle significantly using the tongue jack, where your original ball from U-haul would just let the trailer lift off. One of the tricks thieves use to take a trailer that just has a padlock through the coupler latch is to use a small ball to carefully haul the trailer off somewhere that they can cut off the padlock at their leisure.

[Foiled Again]

I know you must feel rattled to the core, and all I can offer is the sure experience that it will get better.

This was an OOPS! not a tragedy. The shiny side stayed up and it all happened at low speed. Theee may be some damage to the A-frame or the hitch lock but it can be fixed.

I notice you have been a member for a while but rarely post. Please jump on in, ask and learn. And get together with other RVers, Airstream or otherwise. The Airstream community as a whole is kind and loves to share knowledge and aid the clueless. I am a case in point... a genuine expert (AKA "a former drip now under preasure"). Look for a local rally or simply ask to see if anyone would like to meet at a local campground and share a meal or two.

Pancake breakfast? Aunt J, butter, syrup, and sausages will bring a dozen people. Mimosas for breakfast? 50.

[overlander63]

1969 and older Airstreams use 2" balls, newer generally uses 2 5/16". The exception I am aware of is the first gen Basecamp, which uses a 2" ball.

[brick1]

Don’t tow until you confirm a 2-inch or 2 5/16 inch coupler
brick

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by brick1

Don’t tow until you confirm a 2-inch or 2 5/16 inch coupler
brick

The ball size should be stamped on the coupler, usually near the tongue jack base.

[Hittenstiehl]

Now that you've had your nightmare you will learn and fix the errors and be fine.

U haul usually is well informed and capable but clearly something went wrong here or they were misinformed on some information. If they are not a well-qualified shop do not go back there. Find a very good local RV place and give them the information about what happened. They can help get you set you up with proper towing equipment and show you how to hook the chains, brake controller and all of those things.

[Bobbo]

As you just learned the hard way, there are different size balls and you need to be sure you are using the right size. I have a utility trailer that is 1&7/8", had a tow dolly that was 2", and have a TT that is 2&5/16". I have all three size balls. (I don't have anything with a 3" ball, although they DO exist.)

[joshjack]

You are definitely overreacting quite a bit. If you took a microwave dish that called for 2 min and cooked it for 10min, you wouldn’t be surprised that it was totally burnt up and inedible. And you wouldn’t be terrified to cool again, just next time you’d follow the directions closely.

Same thing here. Not all hitch balls are the same size. Bigger, heavier campers and trailers require bigger balls (no pun intended) and the hitch won’t lock down on anything smaller. You got lucky the first few times and got lucky your trailer wasn’t badly damaged this time around.

Check, recheck, and tow on!

[michello]

I feel so much better, thanks to all of you. I have such vivid dreams that to have one happen in real life, well, you saw the result. You have given us so many things to check for and new knowledge. I can't thank you enough.

For what its worth, the link below may go to the photo. I can't figure out any other way to do it. We don't know how to hook up the chains on the left of the picture. It seems like there is some piece missing.

[paddle whisp]

I have a ‘71 overlander 2 5/8” coupler.
I’d go to Walmart and buy a 2 5/8” ball and see if it will fit in your coupler.
You should be able to use your drop hitch by changing to the correct sized ball.
I have had to replace several coupler locks, and it was pretty easy.
www.vintagetrailersupply.com
I have restored 9 Airstreams and have made lots of mistakes, but it does get easier.
Happy Trails

[TruckerFritz]

don't blame yourselves.. there's a bit of blame to pass around here U-Haul the seller and whoever walked by your truck before you hooked up.. the 1 7/8 is so small anyone seeing it would have said something.. also don't be shy about asking around the campground, or wherever you find yourself.. as you can see in these forums, almost everyone likes to be asked AS questions...

[Paprika]

"I have a ‘71 overlander 2 5/8” coupler."

Did you mean 2 5/16"?

[kendrick.l.j]

It sounds like you got incredibly lucky. No one was hurt and apparently little damage. Now you know better. Do some homework and make sure you have all the right parts and pieces before you go out again. Has your knowledge increases your confidence will come back. Most folks are very willing to share knowledge. You may want to look into weight distribution- anti sway hitches. Even if you choose not to buy one the process of learning about them will help you understand how to correctly and safety hitch up and tow.
There are lots of you tube videos out there, some are better than others but again it’s just another way to learn more. Hang in there. It does get easier.

[GammaDog]

Michello: Sorry to hear about that. Good news... you had a rare experience and one that you shouldn't expect to experience again now that you've tapped the vast AirForums brain trust! As the saying goes, none of us is as smart as all of us.

I'll throw in another thought. I did a google search on "aurora co RV service" there are a bunch of businesses around you that support rv'ers. I do not find that surprising. We've camped in Colorado three of the last four years. It seems to me that the large, itinerant RV fleet that lands here in Florida from December through April heads your way next. Perhaps you want to call two or three of those companies and see if someone will go over your rig and make sure it's set up safely and properly. Only you would know if a few bucks spent that way would buy you peace of mind and restore your confidence in towing.