1951 Flying Cloud coupler

[safari57]

I believe I have an original coupler on the front of my '51. It's got a short snout on it and does not seem to cover the hitch ball as completely as those on later trailers. My '58 Silver Streak has the same coupler. Are there issues with these older couplers that I should be aware of? It does seem to work fine, but because it has a "turn up" at the front I'm just not sure it latches to the hitch ball as well as a later model coupler would. Don't want to be heading down the highway with an unsafe coupler. It does have a hole for a bolt to hold the latch from lifting.

Thanks,
Barry

[85MH325]

Barry, I've had a number of trailers with the old coupler. The part in front looks scary, but it's very secure. The part you have to be concerned about is wear in the 'latch' (the cylindrical and angled bottom part of the mechanism you flip down) in the back of the coupler that locks the coupler to the ball. I just acquired two '53 Flying Clouds (one for a friend) and towed them 200 miles and 450 miles respectively with the old couplers. There is no way (that I know of) to replace just the coupler lock mechanism. The jack was bad on my Flying Cloud, so rather than mess with grinding off the rivets and then trying to retrofit a new jack, I had the entire coupler replaced with a 'bulldog' style coupler. The coupler AND jack came to an astounding $55 from my local RV parts store, and I gave a welder friend $75 to cut the old one off and weld the new one on. If you suspect you have a worn coupler, replacement is the answer.

I had a fiberglass trailer with a worn coupler when I picked it up last spring and it jumped off the ball on me at 65mph. NOT a fun experience! Unfortunately, I DIDN'T do my own ritual testing when I picked it up as I was in a hurry... I knew better, and left anyway...

The only way I know of (and you should do this each time you hook up) to test your connection is to jack the tongue up with the coupler locked. The rear end of the car should rise smoothly a few inches with the trailer tongue when you raise the tongue jack. If the ball slips out of the coupler, it's time to park it until you can get the coupler replaced. As long as they stay connected, you're fine.

Roger

[safari57]

Thank you Roger. I tried the jack test tonight and it holds tight. Got under and had a look and the wear is minimal. It actually looks like at some time it has been replaced or rebuilt.


Wow, 2 '53 Flying Clouds. With one Airstream and one Silver Streak in stock I think I've hit my wife's tolerance level for the moment.

Again, greatly appreciate the info on checking the coupler.

Barry

[juel]

thanks for the info. on the hitch will check it out. BOB N JUEL