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Something to check


Saguenay Bill
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My family came from Indiana for Christmas gthis year.  With all the snow we have the 2nd oldest grandson wanted to ride one of our snowmobiles as he had never been on one before.  So I hooked up the trailer to the Avalanche and pulled ahead far enough to open the back door.  I didn't latch the ball down as I only have to pull it ahead 30 feet,  After unloading I backed trailer up and tried to jack the ball off the hitch.  As I raised the trailer up the truck came with it.  Put heat on it, still wouldn't come loose.    After trying for a few minutes and lots of cuss words I had my son and grandson jump up and down on hitch, the trailer would come up off ball enough that I could pull out from underneath it .  Took coupler off trailer and this what I discovered was left of the part of the coupler that latches onto the ball.  From this year forward the coupler will be removed yearly, cleaned and greased.  Just never though of doing maintenace on this before.  Live and learn. 

Coupler.jpg

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5 hours ago, Cnc said:

That is darn near rusted through on one side, better to find that the way you did than towing down a highway.

 

4 hours ago, MichiganRev said:

Just put new couplers and chains on both trailers last week.  Glad that happened to you at home and not on the highway.

I am so glad it happened in my yard.  Never gave the coupler a thought before this.  Out of sight, out of mind.  That's why I posted.  Don't want one of QR family having a problem for the price of a $30 piece that can be replaced a simply as the coupler.

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6 hours ago, Saguenay Bill said:

 

I am so glad it happened in my yard.  Never gave the coupler a thought before this.  Out of sight, out of mind.  That's why I posted.  Don't want one of QR family having a problem for the price of a $30 piece that can be replaced a simply as the coupler.

Well I got a story to tell but I will skip a lot of the details. The moral of it is:  Don't take anyone's word that anything on your trailer is done correctly when loading, check your self. We loaded my disabled sled onto my trailer by hand with the help of some guys I did not know. As we got it on and the bed tilted back down, one of the guys said I got the pin, and picked it out of the back of my pick up where I had put it. Never gave it another thought, and was busy clamping down and covering the sled. Off I drove and cruising down the highway the truck felt like it was being pushed around by wind, looked in my rear view mirror just in time to see the trailer swerve, try to pass the truck as I slowed them do a series of rolls first flat on the sled second ejected the sled in the middle of the highway and the third sent the empty trailer into the bush. The draw bar was still attached to the truck! We determined the pin had never been put in properly which was quickly lost and allowed the the tilt mechanism to twist back and forth  till it snapped. $3000 damage to the sled and $800 to the trailer. Thank god there were no cars anywhere around when it happened. Not that it gets much use, but I inspect my trailer each fall and as I said NEVER assume someone trying to be helpful has done something correctly.

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2 hours ago, NHTOM said:

The road salt gets up under there and never gets washed off cause the top of the ball hitch acts like a roof. Good find Bill! That would have been ugly popping loose about 20 miles from Letape at minus 30.

My exact thoughts as I was taking it apart in -10F temps in my yard.  At least I could go in and get warm, not like standing on 175

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  • 2 weeks later...
8 hours ago, Gman said:

Bill, I just wanted to thank you again for your help at the Delta this past Saturday,  the use of your private garage was a life saver.  You do a great job. Thank you for all you do

Mike

Mike the Delta management are very accommodating to snowmobilers.  I went thru the same thing Sunday with another snowmobiler who had the same  problem as yours.  Glad we could help and  hope to see you again.

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  • 8 months later...

Because of this thread I checked mine today, glad I did it was worn to a nub. I estimate 30,000 + miles on trailer it’s a 2008.

 

86F80DCE-A276-4B9B-92F0-E9E6FCACE25D.jpeg

Edited by Phil 1
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