Ever have a trailer jump off the ball??

[Buckshot4900]

Yep, just about three weeks ago.
As luck would have it I was right in front of the Terrell Police Dept on Hwy. 34.
Was pulling my 20’ trailer headed to get a load of plywood and coming off the end of the bridge there’s an annoying dip.
But….it was my fault for not checking to see what size ball I had on my truck. A 2 5/16” hitch WILL come off a 2” ball.
Luckily I had my chains crossed so it road on them till I got it stopped.


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[Dale Moser]

Luckily I had my chains crossed so it road on them till I got it stopped.


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THat's a great point. Keep your safety chains crossed, and short enough that they will cradle the tongue of the trailer if she comes loose. It always saves damage, could save your high dollar SXS, or could save a life.

[Rubberdown]

My boat has those accordion style steel cables. They won’t make it if the trailer comes off. I keep saying I need to put chains on there.

[doright]

Once when I was kid i was helping my dad move two bulls from one section of the ranch to another. We hadn't been on the highway long before the bulls decided they didn't like each other anymore and went to fighting. The trailer turned over and luckily it came off the ball instead of turning the truck over.

[DRT]

I had one of my crew leaders lose a trailer. Fortunately he was still in plant, it jumped a curb and it rammed the building.
He was a CDL driver who let his helper hook up the trailer and put a 2&5/16s hitch on a 2" ball. I was grateful it wasn't on the street.
He never forgave me for writing him up but in the end the driver is responsible for the load.
I've seen it happen multiple times on the streets and highways. It's BS that it happens.

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[justhrowit]

Happened to me last summer. I participate in farmers markets for my farm. One morning, heading north on 35 around Red Oak I went over a bridge with a big bump and had a 8’ utility trailer pop off. Thought I blew a tire. Sparks flew all over the place. I was in the left lane and made my way over to the right when I realized it was off. Had two full freezers and a generator had on the trailer. Major pucker factor. I ended up replacing all the parts to the coupler. I probably just needed to tighten the bolt down, in hindsight, but got it all done just in case.

[meathunter]

I had a cattle trailer with my show pig pass me one time. Ran into a fence and flipped. I had to load my pig into the truck to get it to the show.

[W-O]

We had a guy loading a trackhoe on a trailer and the ball came off. The tongue made a nice hole in the tailgate and came back out. The operator froze and we were able to guide the hitch back on the ball. We did a little investigation. When the trailer was hooked up we checked and the hitch matched the ball and it did not come off when the trackhoe was unloaded so the hitch connection was not the problem. Between unloading and loading the truck had been moved and the person who moved it did not set the parking brake. Without the parking brake set the truck rolled forward and ramps rolled up and no longer supported the back of the trailer. Always set the parking brake. I tried to talk them into making a patch out of a coke can to pop rivet over the hole but they didn't like that idea. It was a bulldog hitch and I had to take the pin out to get it back onto the ball.

[deerwatcher51]

I have not, but once a buddy and I pulled a travel trailer from Porter to Madisonville on the bumper with a 2” ball, because we didn’t realize it was a 2 5/16”. [emoji15]

It’s amazing we didn’t kill someone or ourselves.


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Had this exact same experience. A friend and I bought a travel trailer together for the lease. We ask the guy we bought it from what sized ball he used and he told us two inch. We hauled it from LaGrange to Brenham and from Brenham to Uvalde with nothing but tongue weight keeping it on.

[Lynn21]

10 ft long trailer, went over a railroad track the trailer came off jumped a ditch went 50 foot across a concrete parking lot rolled up 5 feet and stop from the front window of a beauty salon , and it was loaded down with deer stands and deer corn.

[sr1209]

Was hooking up my boat at an uneven part of my driveway not too long after I bought it, the boat was mostly level, the truck was parked at a bit of an incline. I closed the tongue latch and locked it, then went on to finish loading my stuff. Must have thought something wasn't quite right when I latched it because I went back and kneeled down to look at the underside of the tongue and ball, the underjaw was on top of the ball. Still not sure how that happened, but lucky I caught it before pulling out of the driveway. I always confirm the ball is engaged now after latching.

[Lone_Wolf]

Big hole in parking area at Waco Cattle Auction, and it was dark. Just dropped off some goats, and hadn't turn my lights on yet and didn't see the hole, knocked the cattle trailer right off the ball, and I had to eventually get my front end re-aligned on my old 2002 tundra. Messed the Jack up on the trailer too, if I remember correctly. Trailer hit the chains and then hit my bumper. Wife was not happy with me. She didn't see the hole either.....

[spread5150]

We forgot to latch the trailer once. Drove mule on trailer and seesawed. Inch dent in tailgate. I learned that day to double check. I learned here to let your buddy drive his truck if you can

[Dave W]

I had to load my Jeep which wasn’t running onto the trailer. So the smart guy I am parked the truck and trailer on a downslope. Well I let one one the other guys on the lease hook up the trailer. I don’t know whether he put the pin in or not. Anyway I pushed the Jeep and got a full head of steam going, probably too much. When the Jeep hit the ramps the Front of the trailer comes straight up and the the Jeep pushes that spikey looking hitch and spears the middle of the tailgate.. it left a 3’ hole right in the middle of a Platinum tailgate. But I did get the Jeep loaded.

[Slicefixer]

Yep.....once.....no damage....

My uncle was driving to our annual fish camp.....about age 70 at the time. He was a very @n@l sort so his lil 15' camper was like an OR.....meticulously clean. He was driving down the interstate, in the middle of nowhere E TX...... decided to change lanes....felt a lil bump......looked up just as his lil prize camper was nose to nose and pulling away. He instinctively hit the brakes on his truck.....and watched his lil rolling Hilton gradually depart the road, then the shoulder, then into the grass, only to watch it explode as it hit the berm of an overpass. He said all he saw was flying boxer shorts.....lol