Dumb dumb dumb!!!

[The Money Pit]

I was going to take my trailer to a relatives house so they could use it to take some stuff to the dump and as I was backing up I hit the coupling/ball mount on the trailer and bent it by accident. The bad thing was that I didn't notice it and lowered the trailer to the ball and thought everything was good to go and when I pulled out of my driveway the thing came off the ball and bent the ball mount all to he**! Man, I feel so stupid! The really bad part is it's not even my trailer and I am a responsible person and take good care of other peoples things. Is there a way to fix it? Of corse I'm going to pay for the repair, but I feel like such an idiot because it could have been prevented so easily!

 

[Charles (in GA)]

need pics

Charles

 

[rsanter]

depending on how you damaged it, you may just grind off the welds (or unbolt it if that is how its attached) and replace the thing
might not be as expensive as you think

pix please

bob

 

[The Money Pit]

Ok, looks like I hit it pretty good. I cracked the stupid thing. Looks like it's going to have to be removed and replaced.

The wood is for the perspective because it's supposed to be level. The second pic shows the crack from me backing into it.

 

[RacerX]

I agree with rsanter, it's going to have to be replaced. Grind off the welds, you can buy another at harbor freight or tractor supply. and weld a new one in. That crack happening that easy give me an uneasy feeling. steel shouldn't crack that easy.

 

[jake00]

how fast did you hit it?

 

[ephotrod]

ITs not the end of the world and it won't be to bad. Go to the local trailer shop buy a 2 in bulldog cupling and ask for a quote to weld it on. I did the same thing to one and went to a welding shop and had it replaced with a better cupling.
Josh

 

[e-tek]

Once you fix it 'better than new' it'll just be a funny story and you'll get to borrow it again!

 

[nissan_crawler]

If you cracked that backing up, you just did somebody one hell of a favor if you ask me.

 

[The Money Pit]

I didn't hit it that hard. Maybe 1/2 mph. Though the trailer was stationary and is loaded down with several hundred pounds of countertop and other misc. trash. The thing is, I can't get it on the hitch ball to take it anywhere.

 

[KenS]

The thing is, I can't get it on the hitch ball to take it anywhere.

Since it bent so easily, you can probably bend it back into temporary usability by C-clamping a 6-foot section of heavy pipe, a spud bar-- perhaps even 2x4-- onto the ball mount and bending it back. Just be sure to tow the trailer empty to the welding shop.

 

[Palmetto]

You are not dumb! LOL...That trailer is just a POS. I do that all time to my stuff, and it just scratches the paint! That trailer looks brand new. I would consider taking it back to the place you bought it. That should not happen that easily!

How many miles are on that trailer?

Be happy that this happened at the house. Think about what could have happened had you been loaded down, and on the freeway! God works in mysterious ways brother!

later
Phillip

 

[Aceman]

I'd pay a mobile welder to come out and fix it if you don't have the equipment to do it. No way would I try and bend it back and drive it across town with a cracked hitch like that. Some things just aren't worth the risk....

I bet it'd only take the welder an hour or so to grind the old one off and weld the new one on.

 

[rsanter]

I have a hard time beliving you did that backing into it slowly...
it must have had previous damage or stress or something.
most of the time we find the trailer by 'brail' unless you have someone guiding you

bob

 

[kbs2244]

Aceman has the idea.
The welder guy can grind it off and replace it in about 1 1/2 hours.
If he supplies the new one it might cost you $10.00 more than if you buy it yourself, but he should feel more responibilty for the job if he supplies it.

 

[aczr2k]

Bend it back, hook up the chains and take off, its not going anywhere.

 

[GSSFC]

Bend it back, hook up the chains and take off, its not going anywhere.

Trailer looks fairly new to me, if everything happens as you say it did, I think the MFG needs to step up to the plate and help fix it. I would equate the events you say similar to getting it stuck in a rut and tugging it and having the same results. Definitely a defect there of sorts. What does the rest of the trailer looks like? I have never seen a coupler crack like that, did you have the right size ball?

Tim

 

[Bevis]

Duct tape will hold that.... I've back into some trailers faster than that (not on purpose) and have never seen one cracked like that.

 

[The Money Pit]

I'm not sure what cracked it. It could have been from the small impact when I backed into it. I really DIDN'T hit it all that hard. Or it could have cracked when the coupling came off the ball and got lodged between the hitch and coupling assembally which is when it bent all up. Either way, it was a dumb mistake and I learned from it. I dropped it off tonight in case there was a lot of traffic in the morning. I didn't need a lot of attention while towing it. I knocked out the piece that locks down on the ball so it would fall onto the hitch then put a tie down strap over the tounge and ball nut to get it to the shop which is only 4 miles from my house. I'll talk to them about what they will do to fix it and get pics up after I pick it up on Friday. The trailer probably has less than 1500 miles on it. It's a nicer trailer than most. It has LED tail lights/turn signals and LED front marker lights.

Oh, and Philip, I did think of God having a hand in it. It happened for a reason. I may not know what it was/is, but I'm not going to question the big man upstairs!

 

[Aceman]

It's a nicer trailer than most.

Really?

It makes you wonder if something as important as the tongue is flimsy enough to bend/crack like that from a low speed impact, what's the quality like on the other noncritical parts of the trailer?

I know I've bumped a lot of trailers in my time and never bent one, let alone cracked it....

 

[rowbow41]

I can not believe that you did all that damage. There is old marks on that coupler. That baby has been damaged before. !/2 mph speed is not going to do that kind of damage, maybe the trailer came from china.

 

[nissan_crawler]

I have a hard time beliving you did that backing into it slowly...
it must have had previous damage or stress or something.
most of the time we find the trailer by 'brail' unless you have someone guiding you

bob

Same here, back up until the coupler hits the bumper and pull forward 6". A 1/2 mph bump wasn't the main cause.

 

[KenS]

I did think of God having a hand in it. It happened for a reason. I may not know what it was/is, but I'm not going to question the big man upstairs!

Then again, sometimes accidents just happen.

Eccl. 9:11

 

[700jfm]

That looks like it's been jack-knife one or two times to me.

 

[The Money Pit]

Yeah, I'm not exactly sure what kind of damage it had before I dinged it backing up. It's been passed around to 2 or 3 people before it got to me. I did see that there were some older bump marks on the front of the coupling. I need to drop the bad habit I have of barrowing relatives stuff and just buy my own. I'll get it back either Friday or Monday. They said if anything, the cupling will be better than before.

 

[jay50]

sounds like that trailer was purchased from harbor Fright....LOL

 

[Bevis]

barrowing relatives stuff and just buy my own.

Same here...my Mom n law has a trailer that was given to her. It stays at my house, so I take care of it...problem is my Bro n law comes to use it, has ripped every light that I put on it off x 3, cut 2 of 4 new tires, and torn 2 plugs off it (flat 3 wire and 7 wire plug)... Now I just remove my good lights when he comes to get it, and have taken my 4 new tires off and put the 4 bad tires back on. Now I keep the coupler locked, and the key is in my truck...

 

[russlaferrera]

Go to the store and "rent" a 10ft 4X4. You should be able to spring it back into specs to tow it to a repair place.

IMO it looks like the trailer frame was twisted by running into a ditch, off road? With a large amount of weight in the trailer the twist point is at the tongue.

 

[Junkman]

Yesterday, 11:35 PM
I'm not sure what cracked it. It could have been from the small impact when I backed into it. I really DIDN'T hit it all that hard. Or it could have cracked when the coupling came off the ball and got lodged between the hitch and coupling assembally which is when it bent all up. Either way, it was a dumb mistake and I learned from it. I dropped it off tonight in case there was a lot of traffic in the morning. I didn't need a lot of attention while towing it. I knocked out the piece that locks down on the ball so it would fall onto the hitch then put a tie down strap over the tounge and ball nut to get it to the shop which is only 4 miles from my house. I'll talk to them about what they will do to fix it and get pics up after I pick it up on Friday. The trailer probably has less than 1500 miles on it. It's a nicer trailer than most. It has LED tail lights/turn signals and LED front marker lights.

Oh, and Philip, I did think of God having a hand in it. It happened for a reason. I may not know what it was/is, but I'm not going to question the big man upstairs!

Today, 09:50 PM
Go to the store and "rent" a 10ft 4X4. You should be able to spring it back into specs to tow it to a repair place.

IMO it looks like the trailer frame was twisted by running into a ditch, off road? With a large amount of weight in the trailer the twist point is at the tongue.

You miss a lot of important details when you don't read the whole thread before posting....

 

[Vicegrip]

Man that almost looks it was from turning too sharp and binding the trailer against the hitch. Good advice. Have it cut off and replaced.

 

[Vicegrip]

Jackknife. Did you loan it out to anyone and not look it over when it came back perhaps? good that you got it replaced.

 

[700jfm]

Jackknife. Did you loan it out to anyone and not look it over when it came back perhaps? good that you got it replaced.

That's what I'm talking about.

 

[The Money Pit]

Man that almost looks it was from turning too sharp and binding the trailer against the hitch. Good advice. Have it cut off and replaced.

I think that's what happened. I beleive it came off the ball before or as I was pulling out of the driveway and then made a sharp right to head down the street and that's when it got all twisted.

I do feel better about it since posting. Mainly because it looks like it had been nailed a few times before and this last bump pushed it past it's stress point. It was beginning to get dark and I couldn't see the damage before I pulled out. Small price to pay for a life lesson.

 

[The Money Pit]

Ok guys, I got the trailer back today. Here are a few pictures. It was only a little over $100 to fix. 70% was labor. I'm glad it's over and I will be much more careful when barrowing things.

 

[The Money Pit]

Ok guys, I got the trailer back today. Here are a few pictures. It was only a little over $100 to fix. 70% was labor. I'm glad it's over and I will be much more careful when borrowing things. Thanks for the input guys!!!

 

[RacerX]

Glad it worked out! a little $$ out of pocket, but you did the right thing.

Now, just be able to convince everyone else that borrows stuff to do the same.

Anyway, you'll rest easy knowing you did the right thing

 

[musgofasta]

Nice pink toe-nail polish there, Mr. Money Pit!

Nice looking trailer too.

 

[The Money Pit]

Nice pink toe-nail polish there, Mr. Money Pit!

Nice looking trailer too.

Thanks!

BTW, that's "Mrs. Money Pit" feet! I'm convinced the metal was stressed and when it was tapped by the hitch it cracked. Oh well. It's fixed and done with.

 

[55dude]

they are all "mrs money pit"