Gooseneck Hitch/Ball WARNING - DrawTite

[Big MAK]

If you have rails in your bed and the draw-tite plate with gooseneck ball as your gooseneck hitch -- WARNING -- it WILL come apart eventually. The only thing holding your ball in place is a little C clip at the base of the ball. Even if you are careful about vertical load that clip will eventually snag the lip on the bottom and pop clean off. Then the next bump you go over will seperate your trailer from your truck.



Ask the crew that helped save my butt at the pull in Platte City. Went over a little ditch in the parking area; enough to lift the trailer slightly; and ker-pow big hole in the bed.



Went to investigate and were looking for the nut that came off and WT? just a CLIP? The gouge on the bottom side of the plate where the clip caught before popping off indicates it came off while rotating (not vertical lift) and the minor bump is just where we seperated.



Thank god it was in a parking lot.



And it punched thru a clear spot in the bed (nothing under it! missed everything!).



And there were EXCELLENT diesel head welder GODS there to help -- Hey Nathan and Justin and everyone there that pitched in -- the Nebraska/Missouri/Kansas crew -- you guys ROCK.



It landed on the security chain going thru or it would have dropped until feet touchdown or bed rails; whichever came first.



So many things to be thankful for!



But Draw-Tite is going to catch some heat. If they won't work with me my insurance company will be sucking their blood dry.



I believe this to be a very good setup now that it's welded solid top and bottom to the plate. So if you have it -- weld it!

 

[NVR FNSH]

Pics please - I'm not following.



Brian

 

[Big MAK]

Imagine if you will...



Instead of that big nut and lock washer holding a trailer ball in place you replace it with a little 1/16 inch thick open ended clip.



There ya' go!



Now add to that the fact it is not a stationary mount so it's rotating under load... with an open ended clip and up to 25,000lb load...



Defintiely a bean counter decision no way that looked good on an engineers table!!!!



I'll post some pics of the hitch when I get home. Unfortunately we field repaired it and I don't have a 'before' pic.

 

[ndurbin]

WOW! That was luck having it happen in the parking area!



I had an accident last year with my gooseneck attached. Completely jack-knifed my rig and it stayed coupled as the ball was welded to the channel iron. Ended up bending the channel iron, but the ball held tight. My current set-up is a B&W turnover ball unit (not the whole hitch), with the sleeve welded to a new piece of channel iron flush with my flatbed. Only thing I dislike about this set-up is the 3/8" to 1/2" rod used to hold the ball in place, hopefully it won't snap over time as it gets older.

 

[bmoeller]

Man, that sucks. Glad you weren't going down the road. Could've been MUCH worse.

 

[lmills]

Mark- did this happen to the new rig? :--)

 

[HBarlow]

Big MAK,



Thanks for that warning. I have exactly that setup and remember looking at the C clip once and wondering if it was secure. I decided to trust Draw Tite but maybe I was too generous. I think I'll pull the gooseneck plate off and get a local welder to weld the ball to the plate.



Harvey

 

[wtfd6]

I have one of those also. Im sure they only used a clip for clearance issues. but that is no excuse.

mark

 

[Big MAK]

Yep ... the new truck!



Posted pics in my reader's rigs the album 'trailer - trucks'. I can't get them reduced to low enough quality to link into the thread.



I feel stupid for not more closely inspecting it. I assumed there was something else besides that little clip holding it. The lip of that clip will eventually catch causing it to pop off. If nothing else; a year or two of rust and it'll grab enough to come off.



IMO they should have a nut welded in the body of that plate so you can bolt the ball down into the plate then no clearance issues and as good as any other hitch ball mount out there.

 

[Turbo Thom]

I would think the reason for the clip, is easy removing of the ball. I see now, it's works. But that's too easy. With a nut it would be removeble. Now that it's welded you know where it stands. I always worry about that happening going 65. Bad day.



. . PrestonL. .