Horse trailer falls apart in wreck on highway

[LCDR]

Having a few days to look at the pictures, I question the ball hitch on the truck. Those three-ball utility hitches obviously have no drop or rise. I have rarely (really never) personally seen a bumper pull horse trailer that didn’t need a drop hitch on a a full size pickup truck to sit level or just slightly trailer-nose-up.

As the owner of two bulldog coupler trailers, both of mine need 8 inch drop hitches to place the coupler parallel to the ground. I also have one of those three-ball mounts on my tractor that I use to move my trailers around the farm. The bulldog hitch trailers, and my third trailer with a different style coupler do not seat well on the ball if there is much of an angular relationship between trailer coupler and the ball mount.

I usually tow these days with a GMC 2500HD truck, but even my Lexus SUV needs an 8 inch drop hitch for my trailers to sit optimally. Does anyone know what towing vehicle was being used?

[PopPopcorn]

I would think more along the lines of further keeping the nose of the trailer from hitting your truck back window if your trailer disconnects. I know short chains will do so but I wasn’t sure if crossing them would matter.

[Simkie]

The emergency trailer brake should keep the trailer out of the back window.

I would be concerned that attaching the gooseneck chains in a way they’re not intended to be used is risking failure of them. Which would be bad news.

[Demerara_Stables]

@Simkie

The emergency trailer brake should keep the trailer out of the back window.

I am not sure my emergency brake cable is short enough to keep the trailer out of the back window. It’s a coiled cable and came stock when I purchased the trailer brand new. I attach it to the rear tie ring in the bed of my truck. I like to attach the emergency brake to something other than what the chains are attached to in case the failure is at the ring that the safety chains are attached to, then I have another layer of protection.

[endlessclimb]

Nearly all safety brake system cables need to be shortened from factory length. You need to play with it to make sure it will engage if the chains engage. It can be clipped to the same spot as the chains, really. If your coupler AND where your safety chains attach fail at the same time, you probably just snapped your truck frame in half and have some more issues at hand.

[Simkie]

@Demerara_Stables

I am not sure my emergency brake cable is short enough to keep the trailer out of the back window. It’s a coiled cable and came stock when I purchased the trailer brand new. I attach it to the rear tie ring in the bed of my truck. I like to attach the emergency brake to something other than what the chains are attached to in case the failure is at the ring that the safety chains are attached to, then I have another layer of protection.

Setting up the emergency brake properly and attaching it to a spot that will allow it to engage when needed is certainly a much better solution than using the chains improperly and risking that they snap.

All this stuff serves a specific purpose. Use it as intended, and if you can’t, fix THAT. Don’t just wing it and try to guess how to make the pieces you have perform a function that they’re not designed for.

[Demerara_Stables]

@endlessclimb

If your coupler AND where your safety chains attach fail at the same time, you probably just snapped your truck frame in half and have some more issues at hand.

I hear you, but the more layers of protection I can have (safety chain ring + chains, coupler, tie ring + emergency brake), the better.

@Simkie

Setting up the emergency brake properly and attaching it to a spot that will allow it to engage when needed is certainly a much better solution than using the chains improperly and risking that they snap.

It would definitely engage if the truck came unattached from the trailer because of coupler + safety chain failure. I will take a look at it and see if it can be shortened or get it replaced, to keep the trailer out of the cab of my truck.

Why do you think the chains are being used improperly?

ETA as an aside, I really wish trailers came with manuals like cars do. I’ve been hauling for over 20 years and I’m still learning (important safety!) things. Plus the manufacturer never tells you when you need to have the trailer serviced, or what to check on (brakes, bearings, floor) when. Seems like a real miss. If I’m still learning after all this time, the new trailer owner has no chance. (As evidence by this thread maybe)

[endlessclimb]

@Demerara_Stables

I hear you, but the more layers of protection I can have (safety chain ring + chains, coupler, tie ring + emergency brake), the better.

You clipping it to the rear ring in your truck bed is doing the exact opposite of what it should. If the coupler fails, the trailer slows down, putting MORE slack in the cable that should be getting tighter and preparing to engage.

[endlessclimb]

@Demerara_Stables

ETA as an aside, I really wish trailers came with manuals like cars do. I’ve been hauling for over 20 years and I’m still learning (important safety!) things. Plus the manufacturer never tells you when you need to have the trailer serviced, or what to check on (brakes, bearings, floor) when. Seems like a real miss. If I’m still learning after all this time, the new trailer owner has no chance. (As evidence by this thread maybe)

They do come with manuals, and there are countless resources on this. “not crossing your mind” is not a valid excuse to not do maintenance on a moving vehicle that is housing our horses in very precarious situations.

Anything with wheels will never be set and forget.

[Demerara_Stables]

@endlessclimb

You clipping it to the rear ring in your truck bed is doing the exact opposite of what it should. If the coupler fails, the trailer slows down, putting MORE slack in the cable that should be getting tighter and preparing to engage.

That makes sense. I just wish there was somewhere else to attach it that wasn’t putting me at risk for a single (double if you’re counting the coupler) point of failure. The option was the front or rear tie rings - I chose the rear for no specific reason, but it sounds like moving it to the front isn’t a great option either.

[endlessclimb]

If you insist on doing this, which is not really how it’s supposed to be used, I’d rather clip it to the front than the back. Your cab will stop the trailer. Your tailgate will not.

[Simkie]

@Demerara_Stables

Why do you think the chains are being used improperly?

Because crossing the chains in a gooseneck isn’t how they’re designed to be used. They’re not designed to catch the coupler.

Why do you think using them like that isn’t an improper use? Use them how they’re supposed to be used. That’s what they’re designed for. This is not the space to be making stuff up because it “seems” safer to you. Be safe by following the directions.

[Demerara_Stables]

@endlessclimb

“not crossing your mind” is not a valid excuse to not do maintenance on a moving vehicle that is housing our horses in very precarious situations.

Absolutely agree, and I don’t want it to come across like I don’t get maintenance on it regularly - I do. But it would give me piece of mind to have a manufacturer’s recommendation for maintenance intervals, not just getting advice from (very educated!) people on the internet or barn acquaintances.

Mine is an Equispirit and did not come with a manual. Maybe it was forgotten when it shipped - I’ll reach out to them and ask.

[Demerara_Stables]

@Simkie

Because crossing the chains in a gooseneck isn’t how they’re designed to be used. They’re not designed to catch the coupler.

If it wasn’t clear up thread, I just learned why they are crossed in a BP and I won’t be crossing them in the GN (the only trailer I have) anymore.

[endlessclimb]

I’m sure they have something. Even my ancient Featherlite that I owned for a brief moment had a manual with it.

Absent that, just take literature from any other trailer. The intervals are by and large the same.

[Demerara_Stables]

@endlessclimb

If you insist on doing this, which is not really how it’s supposed to be used, I’d rather clip it to the front than the back. Your cab will stop the trailer. Your tailgate will not.

Fair enough. Maybe if I get a manual from Equispirit they will have a suggestion, they do seem to care a lot about how their trailers are made and why.

[Demerara_Stables]

Well I’ll be damned… Guess I’m calling them today.

[endlessclimb]

I’d like to be clear about one thing - the cable can be in the same spot on a gooseneck because the chain hooks and the ball are already two separate bits.

For a bumper pull, the cable MUST be attached to something other than the receiver, because that’s all one unit (receiver tube and chain hooks). Should it fail, the whole kit and kaboodle will be careening down the road with no brakes activated.

[Demerara_Stables]

@endlessclimb

I’d like to be clear about one thing - the cable can be in the same spot on a gooseneck because the chain hooks and the ball are already two separate bits.

For a bumper pull, the cable MUST be attached to something other than the receiver, because that’s all one unit (receiver tube and chain hooks). Should it fail, the whole kit and kaboodle will be careening down the road with no brakes activated.

That makes sense, and probably why I transferred this habit to the gooseneck.

Speaking theoretically though - if you were to have a chain hook or something similar in the bed, right next to the chain hooks used for the safety chains - wouldn’t it be better to have an extra layer of protection so that if the coupler and safety chain hooks fail, the emergency brake is still attached to something solid that will cause it to engage? I realize we are taking about one in a million chances here, but humor me.

[ChocoMare]

Tom & Neva Scheve wrote that “bible” of horse trailer maintenance & service. As you know, they’re also the designers of the EquiSpirit horse trailer, formerly with Trail-Et & Hawk. It is THE manual to have.