Hitch Safety

[Deb]

In October we hitched up the camper and headed down the road to Charleston, SC for a few days. We made a stop at Camping World in Myrtle Beach. Allan hit a pot hole in the parking lot - and the camper came crashing down on the bed of the truck.

We have hitched up hundreds of times, but this one time Allan forgot to lock the latch on the hitch. We replaced the bed of the truck, and there was no visible damage to the Big Horn. We pulled the camper to FL in Dec for our annual visit of three months. We noticed a little separation on the molding - we calked it and thought all was well. On our way home we noticed that when the Big Horn was hitched to the truck there was a gap in the molding big enough to insert your finger into. And when the Big Horn was unhitched the gap went away. We took the Big Horn to an RV collision repair shop as soon as we got home (Wilmington, NC). When the outside skin was removed we could see the damage. The steel frame was cracked and all the spot welding joints were cracked. The crash also broke all the screws in the front basement area. This shop did a fantastic job of repairing our Big Horn. We had no idea what the cost would be, pleasently surprised at $1150.00.

We just wanted to warn everyone to check and double check the lock on your hitch before pulling down the road. We were blessed that this wasn't catastrophic - it certainly could have been.

Deb

 

[bsummit]

Glad everything work out for you. Like you said it could have been a lot worse than it was.
Bill

 

[RubiconAg]

Deb,
Thanks for the advice, the graphics help too. Thank god we haven't had to use ours yet but the $350 investment for a Bed Saver seems like it would be well worth it.

I'm curiouse though, our hitch on the trailer from the day we bought it has "flexed" when hooked up. I wonder if we should be concerned?

 

[rick7t7]

Glad to hear you folks are okay and found the damage before anything else happened. I'm glad I have purchased a bedsaver also. We have a B&W companion hitch, and it seems that it would be nearly impossible to not lock the hitch, but if it can be done, I can do it, so I got the bedsaver. Now I've got to install it before the next trip. If nothing else, the peace of mind will be well worth the cost.

 

[MROPE]

Hi , Newbe Here . Was Wondering After Reading Your Posts , What Is A Bed Saver ? Do They Work ? And Where Can You Get One . Thanks For Any Info. Marv

 

[jbeletti]

Marv,

Bedsaver is a product now owned by Blue Ox. Here's a link to the product.

It is a safety device that bolts to the hitch in the bed of your truck. Should for any reason, the king pin on your trailer's pinbox ever become uncoupled from the hitch in your truck as you pull away or as the trailer rolls back, the idea is that the Bedsaver will capture the king pin and support the trailer. This means the trailer will not fall on your truck or roll back and take out your tail gate etc.

I had one on my Reese/Draw-tite hitch. Nice item to have. They finally make one for my Curt Q5. Thinking about getting one.

They are sold at many places. Here's one.

Jim

 

[truknutt]

Here's one a little cheaper and with the right hitch you get a cooler, too!

JC Whitney

I bought mine from them and had it installed within 10 days.

Sorry Jim....don't see one listed for the Curt Q5. To use a Seinfeld-ism, "No cooler for you!"

 

[jolar3329]

I always use a padlock on the hitch. This also prevents someone else from unhitching you.

 

[jbeletti]

TN,

You're right - not listed for the Curt Q5. I swear they came out with it this year as I'd seen pics of the installation as well. Now it is no longer listed. Hm...

Larry,

The Bedsaver is more of an "oops, I wasn't fully or properly hitched" item. Or "oops, I thought I put the landing gear down before I pulled the truck out" item. Saves the trailer from dropping on and crushing the truck bed.

 

[truknutt]

JB,

On the Blue OX Application Guide, there is a Curt 20K listed.

Is this the same as the Q5?

 

[Forrest Fetherolf]

Here's one a little cheaper and with the right hitch you get a cooler, too!

JC Whitney

I bought mine from them and had it installed within 10 days.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
trucknutt..........Wow..........10 days to install, those 8 nuts/bolts must be hard to turn or your wrench was to short. Just kidding.

Forrest

 

[jbeletti]

TN - No, the Q5 is different.

Forrest - speaking of turning a wrench, Butch (gmc) and I ended up putting Larry's JTs on the rear.

What would a rally be without taking the time to do trailer mods?

Jim

 

[truknutt]

Here's one a little cheaper and with the right hitch you get a cooler, too!

JC Whitney

I bought mine from them and had it installed within 10 days.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
trucknutt..........Wow..........10 days to install, those 8 nuts/bolts must be hard to turn or your wrench was to short. Just kidding.

Forrest

No sir,

Couldn't lure that Teamster up the driveway until I found just the right combo of pastry & flavored coffee!!! They've gotten all uppity since they started wearing those little shorts with their uniforms!!

Dave

 

[Forrest Fetherolf]

TN - No, the Q5 is different.

Forrest - speaking of turning a wrench, Butch (gmc) and I ended up putting Larry's JTs on the rear.

What would a rally be without taking the time to do trailer mods?

Jim

Jim B...."at-a-boy." I have requested Santa Claus bring you this for Xmas to assist with your rally good deeds.

Forrest