ANYONE EVER HAVE A BALL MOUNT BREAK
 

this makes 3 of them I have had break in the last few years. china made steel maybe???? luckily this time I was driving my Kodiak 5500 and only pulling an 18' flatbead with heavy chains and it was empty. I couldn't even feel it but my eye caught it swaying in the mirror. this mount was pretty new also.

I'd be sending a picture of that to Reese. That kind of stuff can be deadly.

I don"t go for dropped ball mounts for heavy chit.
They can flex and break...
I would call the manufacture and get his take....JMO
I would be upgrading the whole hitch to a class 5 and a load distribution deal..:2cents:

Uh-oh, that looks like the same one I've got right now.:eek:

Whoa, that's scary to think about.

Reese is moving most production to Mexico.

Get a B&W hitch made 5 miles down the road in Humboldt KS. Owned and made in the USA.

http://www.turnoverball.com/products...ableballmounts

SCAAAAARRRRRYYYYY And people always tell me I worry too much :eek::eek:

Like Troy said, straight is safer (no angle welds)...my 10K 2 5/16 bar/ball weighs about 18lbs or so.....they are straight piece of steel stock.

I'd stick to USA made if they are breaking.

on my 2 5/16 mounts, I use a 20000lb mount and a 30000lb ball. but this is just a 2" one and because of the height of the truck I have to use a drop mount to get the tongue down a bit. but one of the others I had break was the straight 20k / 30k combo forged steel. ( I was using it on my f450 pulling a 42' trailer )
I guess I have been very lucky that nothing tragic has happened. thank god for this.

One Memorial Day around noon I saw a boat sitting on top of it's own tow vehicle in the ditch.
Bad way to start a summer.

I know of 2 that have broken, and 1 was a Reece.

Never seen that type of carnage.

Hard to tell by the picture - but possibly you were using a large bore mount, with a small shank ball ? Or small bore mount and small shank ball.

You probably already know - but in case not - you want the large bore mount and the large shanked ball for highest capacity. They make 2 sizes of bores and shanks.
Some places might limit your selection.

Glad you didn't have any damages or consequences.

It's the new (lazy) design. They have taken metal off the top and bottom in the shape of a six point nut so the ball can act like a second wrench to tighten and loosen without two wrenches. Thin spot in the metal will break every time.

2 motorcyclists (in 2 separate accidents a few years apart) were killed by runaway trailers on the highways. Scary stuff, indeed.

Yes - except mine was one of the big cast weight distributing ball mounts (for the load leveling bars).

I had just towed from Detroit to Atlanta and parked in my pit spot. I was visiting with my buddies when we heard a loud "bang", like something had fallen over in the trailer. We looked around and didn't see anything - until I started to unhook the trailer. One side of the casting had fractured all the way through.

So - instead of making test passes on Friday - I spent the day chasing a ball mount so that I could get home on Sunday night.

K

With all the hauling you do Gary I'm amazed you haven't switched to a 5th wheel.

That's scary!

Concur
 

Yep, time to buy a more HD version.

Being the 3rd one, I'd be looking at possibly over torquing of the ball hitch on installation. Though admittedly I'd expect the threads to snap before the hitch, but compression then twisting do strange things.

For heavy hauling a gooseneck or fifth wheel are the only things I use. Bumper mounts get a ton of strain with a heavy haul, and 20 feet between the ball and the trailer axles is a bunch of leverage. If the 2 are on different planes and the swivel of the ball gets into the point of a bind there's going to be a tons of force on that hitch. The part of the hitch with the hole in it is the weakest link of the chain and where it will break first.

Beside that a fifth wheel,or a gooseneck tow much better on the interstate at speed, no sway or wiggle like a bumper hitch has, no need for an equalizing hitch either.

After looking some more it probably broke from fatiage ...flexing. It broke at the thinist area...through the ball mount hole. With all the start & stop of heavy loads it would have to flex some by back and forth forces on the ball......over time it says "I quit!!"..Just my opinion..
Get a Class 5 LD hitch and be safe ...It's plenty HD and adjustable (within reason) for height..plus gets rid of a lot of jounch...no bucking bronco..;)

Not like that, but Keefer had his entire hitch break and lower all the way to the road. Very close call.

actually this mount has very little use (notice the name tags are still clean and readable) and it is the cheapest of the cheap and lightest duty I use. I personally think this is a trend that has something to do with a cheaper quality of steel. I have been towing for 37 years and I do a lot of towing with multiple vehicles. my 42' trailer has over a million miles on it (yes over a million put on by me). I never had any problems with anything breaking until the last few years. as for the fifth wheel and goose neck , I have those also but don't like them because I use my beds.

Lost a 18 foot car trailer this spring going down the highway at 65. Safety chains save the day. Lucky the trailer was empty. All my fault. 25/16 coupler, 2 inch ball. Dumb mistake.

Speculation
 

I'd theorize that the break STARTED because of one of two facts:

Either it cracked because the hex-shaped, wrench-eliminating impression under the ball had a SHARP CORNER or corners and would not have cracked if there had been NO impression. Cracks, in my experience, practically ALWAYS start from a sharp corner or edge. Like the edge of that hex....

Second is because of the lock washer happening to line up with the thinnest area of the hitch: Take a look at the lock washer on your ball. Was the split right at the edge of the break? Maybe that could have caused the initial damage that then cracked due to stress?

I've many times wondered, when my kids tell me to stop backing up while turning because the trailer is getting too angled, what would happen if I had the power to just keep moving the trailer sideways if/when the rail and the bumper touched. Maybe this type of breakage?

I'm really glad no-one was hurt and that no cars were damaged. I think you're very lucky that it broke when there was no load on the trailer.

I'll be checking ALL my various hitches (half a dozen) this weekend - it's just easier to replace them if there's any question. And, if I replace them, NONE will have that indentation to hold the hitch ball's base while tightening. I'd rather use a big old wrench.

My hitch for the enclosed 24' trailer is one of those big monsters with the load equalizer/stabilizer setup. I better check it, too. :)

Could be a matter of inferior steel for sure...Overkill on a hitch is good...;)
Your'e no rookie when it comes to towing but I'd be replacing that puppy..JMO
That had to be scary.....

I was in Walmart the other day and they sell Reese hitches, looked at the country of origin and guess where they are made?......................:D

Same as many other name brands that for the sake of a dollar they're made in China. Reese was a trusted name in trailer hitches, but I'll be looking elsewhere for hitch products for my own vehicle from now on.

I'd be curious as to what their (Reese) opinion is of why the hitch broke.

And one more thing about 5th wheels and using your bed, mine have an inverted 5th wheel and the only thing in the bed is a 2 inch pin the fifth wheel is on the trailer so the bed is fully usable. They also make a pin that will recess flat into the bed when not in use, so there is a way to haul with a 5th wheel and still use the bed fully. You just have to mount the 5th wheel to the trailer.

Here's an article on how a guy changed over his camper to an inverted 5th wheel and a picture of the pin in the bed: http://rvtravel.com/blog/jerry/label...l%20hitch.html

This baby is made in the USA....if you blow up pic 2 you can read label..
Been toating a 9K loaded trailer around for 10 years now..now cheap steel here..damn thing weighs about 25 lbs or so..

I've got 2 Reese 2" ball mounts like that and never have had a problem with them. Had them for 15 years.

I bent an ACME brand hitch when I was stopping at a stop sign with my unloaded boat trailer. Definitely opened my eyes....

what a lot of you are saying kinda validates my point. you mention having them for many years, yes back then the steel was better quality and probably made in the usa. I am convinced the quality has been reduced in the last few years.
I replace my ball mounts on my heavy stuff at least once a year as I worry about them getting reduced in size from wear and letting the trailer pop off of it.
as for the inverted ball, yes I have that on my trucks that I pull the goosenecks with, but when I say I use my bed, I mean constantly there is not room for a hitch in it.

I hear ya on cheap steel. My point is there is no bent plate steel to make a dropped ball mount in my hitch.
This is forged/cast item. No flexing.
Believe hitch would bust off truck first before this breaks.
Just saying. :2cents: