Check for stress cracks!!!

[rainjer]

If you are using a bolt together trailer, please check the rear cross member the tongue attaches to for stress cracks.

While down at the Dam gathering, I notice my tongue looked bent. I looked under the trailer but did not see anything wrong. I drove home 610 miles and it seemed ok. When I went to unhook the trailer from the Jeep, I leaned on the tongue box & the whole trailer went down. When I crawled under the trailer and looked, I found this crack at the rear if the tongue..



Here is what it looks like out of the trailer.



The only reason it did not break on all the way is because there was a 2 X 4 in side the cross member that supports my under floor storage.

Upon further review, the the piece is cracked around the hole on the other side of the tongue also. I will be replacing this piece and will be adding an addition cross member about 12" in front of this one.

Jeremy

[Gerdo]

WOW! Awesome catch. I'm glad it held untill you got home. It's a good thing to do a full check of your frame as part of your regular maintaince.

[chorizon]

Awesome catch indeed. You got lucky. Beef it up (and the opposite side, too!) and you'll be fine. I really don't like the channel I used for my tongue, and fully expect a fail-point there (knock on wood!). Hope for the best prepare for the worst!

[wannabefree]

I've just got to ask, where did you get that trailer, HF, Red Trailer, or some other? If I'm pulling a time bomb, I would like to know

[rainjer]

The trailer is from a local store but it is similar to the red trailer.

Jeremy

[wannabefree]

Probably comes from the same reliable manufacturer used by HF and those other guys, though. I suppose vigilance is the best policy. Thanks for the quick response.

[hunter535]

Good eye rainjer. Happy for you that nothing bad happened on the highway.

Good lesson learned. I will check my frame periodically after seeing that!

[Rigsby]

That is one of the reasons why i build my own from thick wall box section,
Glad you caught it in time, nothing worse than seeing someones pride and joy binned

[High Desert]

thats the kind of thing that makes you a little sick in the pit of your stomach when you realize how far you just drove

Glad you made it home safely. A good reminder to all for sure

[Dan & Julie CO]

can you show a picture of the location of the crack on frame?
I can't tell if it is on the left or right side,dead center on 1st crossmember or second crossmember that would put me at ease where to look
My hf trailer doesn't have tongue extension through center it is a foldable conversion.

and another question I am new at this. does having a tongue extension going straight back transfer the weight from sides to center? does this create a pivot point for the frame to flex left to right easier? all the weight in one spot. where's our local engineer thanks for bearing with my questions.
Glad you are safe that is the most important question answered,
you guys sharing this info can save a lot of grief thank you

[Dan & Julie CO]

Did I just kill the thread?
oh No !!! Death by thread

I must have the Pig flu

[rainjer]

It is in the center of the 2nd cross member. Here is the frame.




Jeremy

[Dan & Julie CO]

Hey thanks rainjer the reason I asked the question is that I have seen a few
trailer mods that included changing the tongue from HF style hitch to the square tubing straight back, looks like yours came that way from factory
I read all the stories about tongue failure and I'm trying to avoid any short comings thanks again Newbie in transition

[angib]

It is in the center of the 2nd cross member. Here is the frame.

Interesting. This is a variant of the problem with the Tractor Supply frames which have bent at this same cross-member - bending is a short-term major overload, whereas your fatigue crack is a long-term minor overload.

It's surprising to see this as your trailer has the two diagonals that look like they contribute to the strength of the tongue - did the trailer come that way or have you added them?

It's another sign that the strength of a single-tongue, or a Y-tongue, may be limited not by the tongue but by what it's bolted/welded to. And it's a reason why I prefer an A-frame because it connects the coupler directly to the side rails without using a cross-member.

Andrew

[rainjer]

The angled pieces are original but I moved them forward when I put the longer tongue on. The tongue is 18" longer than the original. I move the angled pieces forward 12". They originally attache at the 2nd cross member. The way the tongue is attaches is there are 2 pieces of angle that run from the 1st cross member to the 2nd cross member. The tongue bolts in between them.

I think I will need to put longer angled pieces on and extend them back to the 2nd cross member again to help carry the load.

Jeremy