Why Would a Trailer Hitch Come Detached From the Ball During Travel?

Updated 08/27/2020 | Published 09/23/2009

Question:

My wife was pulling a trailer with a horse in it and for some reason the trailer came off the ball. I had never heard of this happening until it happened to her. The ball is a 2 ball for a 2 coupling. How did this happen? I could see it if the locking collar was NOT in place. Any comments on this??

asked by: Marshall L

Expert Reply:

When you mention locking collar, I am led to believe that you might be describing a hammer blow-type coupler, like our part # BD028288. This type of coupler has a collar that would slide up, securing the jaws of the coupler in place over the trailer ball. This collar is secured by a safety pin. If the pin is missing, this could explain why the coupler is coming open.

If you have a standard latch-type coupler, it is possible that the latch mechanism is worn out or damaged. Depending on the manufacturer of the coupler, we offer some replacement parts with which you might be able to repair the coupler. You can view all the coupler repair parts we offer at the following link.

expert reply by: Mike L

Jacob J.

8/5/2020

My skylark came off my hitch and chains did not hold up to that. I am searching for this tye of problem and solutions to submit to the insurance company. Thank You.

Chris R.

8/14/2020

What type of information are you looking for? Are you saying that the trailer became unattached and the safety chains broke as well?

Jacob J.

8/15/2020

@ChrisR trying to figure out why my sky lark did this as the chains did not hold up and I did change out my hitch to the new aluminum hitch which had been very dependable. I had a front tire blow out which cause it to shake back and forth and before I knew it off my hitch and went so electric brake did not stop it and the S hook on the chain straightened

Jon G.

8/27/2020

@JacobJ Oh wow, I hope everyone is alright! Typically when a tire has a blowout it's typically because it is old/worn out, has been damaged from hitting curbs, or the max speed was exceeded and there was enough heat build-up that it couldn't handle the pressure. Sure there are other reasons too like debris in the road or the bearings not being greased properly which causes a LOT of heat build-up, but the ones above are the most common. If the trailer shaking back and forth was violent enough I wonder if that caused the latch on your trailer coupler to come loose and then if your safety chains weren't rated high enough that would explain them failing. I'm not sure how any of this can be proven but those are my thoughts on that kind of a scenario.