Broken trailer hitch

[spyderwoman]

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=127944&stc=1

This is what happened to my hitch as I was traveling back from the Keys. As I was getting ready to get onto a four lane highway, my trailer separated from my bike across two lanes of traffic. The hitch had broken at the welds. Thank goodness there was no oncoming traffic and the trailer scooted across the four lane into a turning lane! Beware of the welds on any hitch, but this is an aftermarket hitch. Not sure of the manufacture, bought it used.

[Copperman]

Holy crap!!! Good thing I have a BRP hitch.

[pitzerwm]

Thanks for the heads up, just checked the BRP hitch, there is no welds there, but one thing to realize is that the chain holders are on the part that broke away. You were lucky for sure.

[Bfromla]

:yikes::yikes::yikes:nojoke:gaah::dontknow: Please do find the name & share:thumbup: With us. Being that it was used :lecturef_smilie: Will not point blame. Glad no other major damage or injuries:2thumbs: For our guess work do you have any pics of it before it broke?

[spyderwoman]

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=127956&stc=1

No no pictures before the break . But here is a picture of the temporary fix I made to get me back home . Held up good for over 400 miles .

[pitzerwm]

Clever and quick thinking on the fix. In addition to the Name of the manuf. Used or not, there shouldn't have been that kind of failure.


Did the weld break or the weakened metal by the weld?

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Glad you were made out OK......could you possibly post some more pics....like the part with the BALL turned so we can see the other side where the breaks are.........Thanks .....Mike :bbq:

[ARtraveler]

Glad you got through that okay. Nice fix for the journey home. :bowdown::bowdown::firstplace::firstplace:

[spyderwoman]

I will get some pics tomorrow of the bottom side .

[Cruzr Joe]

This does not look like any Spyder Hitch that i have seen.


Cruzr Joe

[Tango]

Not the first time I have heard of an aftermarket hitch breaking at the welds. :yikes: Tom :spyder:

[Chupaca]

Agree with the above . it is scary epecially with the backup (chains) going with it...:yikes: Never seen that set up but the patch job is better than the original...:banghead:

[Bob Denman]

This kind of makes you want to think that BRP knows a little bit more about what they're doing, than they often get credit for...

Glad to hear that you made it home okay! :thumbup:

[Fatcycledaddy]

That is why I went with the Show Chrome hitch. it is one piece of 1/4" thick steal bent into the proper shape and reinforced for the ball location. I didn't like the looks of the welded joints to make the angle changes on most of the other hitches out there.

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=127980&stc=1

[PrairieSpyder]

This kind of makes you want to think that BRP knows a little bit more about what they're doing, than they often get credit for...

Glad to hear that you made it home okay! :thumbup:

:agree:

Spyderwoman, did you have just happen tools and parts with you to do that fix? I travel with some zip ties, but not that other stuff.

[Brentc]

Dodged a bullet there! Glad your ok, and made it back in two pieces....

[trikermutha]

Love to see the back view and underside view.

That looks like a 3 piece hitch welded together but hard to tell completely by the pics.

Man that must have been scary..:yikes:

[jaherbst]

You get what you pay for. Unknown to many, Cheaper is not better nor does it usually come close to the OEM equipment. This was just another example of that. Buyer beware!

Jack

[billybovine]

This looks like it.
http://www.canamspyderforums.com/market/data/23/hitch_8.JPG

Looks like it was made by a company called Mel's Monster Garage. It was advertised in 2008 as the first and only trailer hitch available for the Spyder. The company appears to be out of business.

IMHO If anyone has and still using this hitch. I would change it out for another one. In my thinking it is just not built to take the stress of vertical movement in a unsprung application found on the Spyder.

[Bob Denman]

I think that they also made the first of the oversized front sprockets also...

[trikermutha]

It is a 3 piece design.. That thing must flex the metal with that design to cause the failure we seen.

[spyderwoman]

It was actually my husbands RT that the hitch was on . He was actually 1.5 miles from a Home Depot in Albany Ga. were he got the parts to fix it and they loaned him the drill so he could repair it in the parking lot .
Billybovine was spot on with the hitch in hIs pic . We purshased it in 2009 , used , we put it on my GS . Anyone using this hitch should really have it checked at the weld lines or to be safe , replace it .

[H2O]

It appears the boomerang shaped piece with the hitch ball is thicker material and the formed side pieces are thinner material. In a weld like this, proper control of the amount of heat being applied to the thinner material is very important as the heat affected zone in the thinner material can make it more susceptible to fail. Also, the side pieces are formed at an angle and the weld attaching the boomerang is taking any stress applied sideways on the hitch. There should not be very much sideways stress, but after a lot of miles getting banged around with the weight of the trailer, it could add up.

The main thing is you are OK and nobody else got hurt.

John

[murphybrown]

BUT gives me much assurance that my getting the OEM BRP trailer hitch was definitely the right decision for me. Again glad all is well with your "experience". :yikes:

[Fatcycledaddy]

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=127988&stc=1
Very thin metal tube welded together.
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=127989&stc=1
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=127990&stc=1
Thin metal tube welded together.
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=127991&stc=1
One solid steel piece.

I am not saying that anyone here did anything wrong, and I am glad all turned out OK with no injuries.

IMHO.....After reading this post I have debated whether or not to add this reply.
I see that people now thinking that the BRP factory hitch is the way to go and the life saver. Look closely, it is manufactured with the same thin metal sidewalls as the one that failed, and the ball area is thin metal welded onto the then metal tube rails. It could be why the tongue weight is limited to 40 pounds with the factory hitch, anything more than that could be detrimental to the hitch, not to the Spyder.

That is why I personally chose to go with something heaver and one solid steel piece.
All I can say is BE AWARE of what you are buying, make sure you are to exceeding its designed usage.
Inspect your hitch, hitch bolts, and ball every time before you start to pull anything.
Listen for any excessive or strange noise as you ride. With the solid link as BLUEKNIGHT911 has talked about in many post, you will have no hitch chatter or noise, not chucking or bouncing, and if you do hear any noise you have a problem starting.
Grab onto your trailer tongue and try to lift it up and down at every fill up to make sure it is still secure.
Stay safe!

[Bob Denman]

VERY fair! :clap: :thumbup:
Do the research, and know what you're buying! nojoke

[spyderwoman]

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=128020&stc=1http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=128021&stc=1http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=128022&stc=1http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=128023&stc=1

Here re are the pics of the bottom hitch with the ball on it . It is a 1/4" thick steel and the arms that extend from the swingarms are 3/32" thick ...sticker on the inside arm is Mel's Monster garage ..as another post reads , when welding to metals with that different thickness , caution needs to be taken with the weld ..

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I have a suspicion that where it broke was not a WELD, it appears the metal itself cracked from fatigue......The heat needed to weld it to the MUCH THICKER flat stock could certainly have been a factor......But I'm not sure the pieces were of the exact same metal to begin with.......It's interesting that some of the surfaces have rust and some DON'T , this Failure was occurring for quite so time !!!........Of course I'm looking at a picture ( and you did very well with the PICS :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: )........I weld and it is rare that the weld ( itself ) breaks, also I have never seen COLD ROLLED STEEL break like that ---- CAST , YES ......Thank you for the Pics .....Mike :bbq:

[oldgoat]

The rust along the weld tells a tale of a failure over a period of time.

Glad no one was hurt.

[trikermutha]

There is no support on the bottom of the hitch. That metal was flexing and fatigued to cause that to break off.

Throw that POS in the garbage and get a hitch that is structurally sound so that will not happen again.

Glad nobody got hurt..

Be safe!

[Deer Slayer]

That is why I went with the Show Chrome hitch. it is one piece of 1/4" thick steal bent into the proper shape and reinforced for the ball location. I didn't like the looks of the welded joints to make the angle changes on most of the other hitches out there.

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=127980&stc=1+1, love mine. Tough bugger. I never liked the look of the BRP hitch.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

There is no support on the bottom of the hitch. That metal was flexing and fatigued to cause that to break off.

Throw that POS in the garbage and get a hitch that is structurally sound so that will not happen again.
Let me toss out a weak defense of the guy who designed and built it. Keep in mind this was back in 2008 when the Spyder was new, and not very of them were around. I'm sure no one was anywhere near as aware as we are now of the hard bouncing forces the hitch experiences. On a Goldwing or Harley that design would be adequate. My Goldwing hitch was nowhere near as rugged as the Spyder Show Chrome hitch, which is the same basic design as the one I have.

That doesn't excuse the poor design, but I think it explains why it exists.

When I had the trunk module off my RTS I looked to see how easy it would be to make a hitch that hangs from the frame rather than the swing arm. It could be done but it would be a more complicated design and would take longer to install because you would have to take the trunk module off. For a dealer install I'm sure the cost would be north of the current $500 + for the BRP hitch.

[pitzerwm]

Yes, we all agree that it was a poor design and execution, but it did last 7 years. It looks like it was well used. Look at the major car manufactures having to recall brand new cars because of a bad weld or something. This is a reminder to get to know your bike/car/stuff when it is working right so that when something is wrong you realize it. Someone above suggested that you check the hitch/connection every time that you stop for gas. I had not thought of that myself, but will do it now. I also take my FOBO sensors off my bike and put them on my trailer when I am towing the bike, that has already saved me a tire and maybe a wreck.

[retired1]

Back in '09, I had a Mel's Monster Garage hitch, but mine had a reese type receiver. I didn't remember that mine was welded.:dontknow:

[jaherbst]

Well without getting to far off subject let me share a true hitch story with you. Several groups of us were riding back from Sturgis on our Harleys about ten years ago to Tucson. One of our leaders was hit with a small utility trailer that had about 30" sideboards. It had departed its tow because of a broken Hitch and was traveling in the oncoming lane. It hit the leader and caused all kinds of hell but no one else was injured. After the accident we were all trying to help the rider but no one was able to find him. The trailer had traveled about a 1000' and wound up in the gutter.

After about 10 minutes we found him, believe it or not in the trailer. He was badly injured but survived after numerous surgeries and a lot of pain. Lawsuits ensued, the bike was totaled and he had a lot of trouble with the insurance company.

Just a note to remind that hitches are important and not to be taken lightly. It can cost you or someone else a life.

Jack

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

In a GWRRA training video on trailering, the comment is made that the single greatest cause of trailers coming loose from the tow vehicles is the failure to pin the clamp in the closed position.