mfi sx230 2004 trailer came off the hitch on the highway!

[marcin]

I got the boat and the trailer about 3 months ago. I went to drop the upholstery of to have it redone. Make long story short the hitch disconnect from the ball at 60 mph after i hit couple of pot holes . I'm happy the chains held the boat. The only damage i have is to the bumper of my truck thank god. Did this happen to anyone?

I was using 2 inch ball. As recommended by mfi. I was 99% sure the latch was locked properly. I also i had a lock through it. Im scared to go back the shop to have the upholstery reinstalled. I'm scared to drive with that trailer anywhere did anyone have that issue?

 

[Big Shasta]

Yikes. That would really stink. Glad it wasn't a major accident.

I remember reading someone else had this issue. I don't have an MFI trailer but isn't there a bolt that adjusts the tightness of the latch onto the ball? Maybe it's come loose allowing too much slack.

 

[Icatfish247]

Glad no one was hurt, locking down the trailer is one of those things to check almost an unnecessary amount before pulling away. Not to insult your intelligence but one thing to ensure is that the "coupler lock" locks around the ball. If you back the truck up an inch or 2 too far, when lowering onto the ball it will push the bottom piece up and usually still lock without securing the trailer. A good eye test is to verify the hitch ball is right up against the hole in the middle of the trailer coupler. I know my MFI trailer has this hole.

 

[smthng]

I remember reading someone else had this issue. I don't have an MFI trailer but isn't there a bolt that adjusts the tightness of the latch onto the ball? Maybe it's come loose allowing too much slack.

That would be me... Mine popped off on the way home the day I bought it. That became an interesting day. @marcin It sucks, but don't let it ruin your impression of the boat. The previous owner or dealer probably didn't know about it either and you just got unlucky on the way home. It's an easy fix if you didn't damage any of the trailer components... Mine destroyed the braking system when it impacted with the hitch, but fortunately it didn't hit anything on the truck.

It was exactly as described by @Big Shasta ... there's a big nut under the trailer tongue that tightens up the "clamp" portion of the trailer that grabs the ball on your hitch.

Attach it to the vehicle, latch the trailer lock on top, crawl underneath it and start tightening the nut. You'll see the clamp tightening against the ball. You don't want it tight, because you won't be able to engage the clamp from the top. You just want it "tight enough". I would give it a few turns then latch and unlatch the trailer lock. Repeat until you feel resistant on the latch but can still engage it fully. Pull the tow vehicle backwards and then forwards a couple of inches and try the latch again. If it still feels good, verify you can see the ball clamp is still clamped enough and call it done. Inspect the next few times you go out to be sure. I then plan on checking it every month or so.

I'll do a write up and pictures of this as soon as my concrete dries enough to park the boat on. Apparently this is something everyone should check periodically.

 

[Bruce]

I had it happen with an equipment trailer once. In that instance I had not fully locked the rusty tongue onto my ball.

I believe that you have a galvanized cable coming out of the front of your trailer. It is a breakaway cable for the brakes. If you place it over your ball before hooking up the trailer it will activate the trailer brakes if the trailer comes off of the ball and gets behind you.

After you adjust the tongue you could use the jack to test the fit. Jack up the trailer with the tongue locked to the ball. If the back end of the truck starts lifting you are good. If the tongue comes off of the ball then it needs to be tighter.

 

[Ronnie]

I had my trailer disconnect from my tow vehicle a few years back. The safety cables did their job and the total damage was under $100. I'm glad to hear that your damage was not bad either. The tow truck driver in my situation said that 99% of the time on calls like this more than one tow truck has to show up, the highway patrol has to close part of the highway and the trailer and boat are usually totaled, sometimes the boat is strewn across the highway. In my situation it was user error. Everything was hooked up correctly but the tongue and ball were in front of the locking pin on the hitch / receiver, it didn't come apart until I was 30 miles out doing 60 on the freeway.

I'm not judging you because accidents/shit happens, I know from experience (been towing things around for over 25 years) but it sounds like your incident was caused by user error as well, yours. I advise you not to let this one bad experience keep you from trailering/ boating. That is get back on that horse as soon as you can but add another step to you pre-trailering check list. That is, Try and lift the trailer off of the ball before you drive off. You can do this by hand or use the trailer jack.

On a one time basis, to see if the trailer and ball are set up properly consider inserting the tongue / drop down and ball into the trailer while the former are detached from the tow vehicle. Than put some weight (e.g. Stand on) the other end of the tongue. If it doesn't drop out of the trailer it's probably set correctly but if it's still to loose for your liking it won't take you long to tighten it up.

Now, if you don't mind, please elaborate on your situation. How did you recover? Did you put the trailer back on the hitch or did a tow truck get involved? Got any pics? I'm asking because I'm curious and because your answer may help me or others who faced with the same situation in the future.

 

[marcin]

Thanks for all your input i didnt take any pictures Of the incident because i was on the left lane of 3 lane highway with no shoulder avaliable. We humped the boat back onto the hitch good thing my friend was with me to help me get it back. My back still hurts im just glad i didn't get rear ended. I was already 5 minutes from my house so we just threw the trailer back on the hitch and limped home. One steel cable almost failed.

I'm really considering getting a new trailer sincethe trailer needs new brakes and shocks. I would like to get it in shape as soon as possible

 

[dan144k]

I tighten the nut under the ball latch about 1 turn every year or two. I can tell it is loose when ball latch lock is too easy. They do lossen over time on all trailers.

 

[Bruce]

@marcin, where do you boat? Is it in salt water? Is the trailer painted or galvanized?

My guess is that you are looking at around $3500 to get a new aluminum trailer.

If you only boat in fresh water and keep your current trailer I would consider installing galvanized electric drum brakes. Doing so would avoid the hydraulic components that may need to be replaced and give you a smoother ride.

 

[marcin]

I'll be using the boat in both salt and fresh water. My trailer is galvanized steel with the hydraulic breaks (they don't work all rusted out) do you know where i can upgrade the breaks and the springs get parts from mfi or go with aftermarket?

 

[Ronnie]

Glad to hear you were able to handle it without the highway patrol or roadside service getting involved which tends to elongate the experience and sometimes costs you more.

Here is a link to my story on yjb. Pics are on page 2, story starts on page 1.

http://yamahajetboaters.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=59119&hilit=averted&start=15

I think it would be cheaper and logistically easier to refurb your trailer than replace it. As for the safety cables, one of my went under the trailer as it disconnected so it was ground down until it broke. I replaced them with chains so that I could vary the length (the trailer is tongue is not supposed to touch the ground if it becomes detached from the ball, it is supposed to sit on and be suspended by/at the intersection of the safety chains/cables, that is why you are supposed to cross them). However, in retro-spect if I had chains instead of cables the floating trailer tongue would likely have damaged the back of the tow vehicle if the cables were shorter or now if the chains don't allow the tongue to drag on the ground.

 

[OperationROL]

Just a great reminder to always use that pin. I had someone tell me that I was "dramatic" because no one is going to steal my trailer. I told them that I was not worried about theft, but the locking pin would ensure the pin stays in.

 

[Zarrella]

@OperationROL
Locking pin will do nothing if the sleeve that butts up to the underside of the hitch ball is out of adjustment.. He also stated that he had it padlocked. @Ronnie said it best. Hook up a hitch ball to the trailer without connecting to the tow vehicle. This is a great way to ensure proper adjustment of the hitch lock down mechanism.

 

[Bruce]

I'll be using the boat in both salt and fresh water. My trailer is galvanized steel with the hydraulic breaks (they don't work all rusted out) do you know where i can upgrade the breaks and the springs get parts from mfi or go with aftermarket?

There is no need to use MFI parts. MFI builds the frame but everything else is sourced from other vendors.

http://www.etrailer.com is a popular vendor of trailer parts.

I would verify the condition of the inside of the galvanized tubes. If the frame of the trailer is solid then I would rebuild it.

Also what is the condition of your axles? You can buy complete axle, brake and hub assemblies which you may find faster to install than rebuilding the brakes.

It will not be cheap to rebuild all the trailer components that you need to but I would guess that it will be less than half of the cost of a new trailer.

 

[OperationROL]

@OperationROL
Locking pin will do nothing if the sleeve that butts up to the underside of the hitch ball is out of adjustment.. He also stated that he had it padlocked. @Ronnie said it best. Hook up a hitch ball to the trailer without connecting to the tow vehicle. This is a great way to ensure proper adjustment of the hitch lock down mechanism.

You are right. I guess I did not completely read everything.

 

[Ronnie]

On a related note, a few years back a coworker of mine was on the jury for a criminal case. There a guy was trailering his boat while under the influence. The trailer detached from tow vehicle and blocked the road, someone crashed into the boat/trailer and died. The drunk trailer boater was found not guilty because he did not hook the trailer up to the tow vehicle, his storage facility did.

I was told that The storage facility ended up in the hot seat and settled on a subsequent wrongful death claim. So if you ever wonder why the storage or marina workers won't hook your trailer up to your tow vehicle this could be the reason.

 

[marcin]

View attachment 21659 Thank god this is the only damage i caused. I did exactly like you guys said i tighten the bottom bolt it feels more snug now. I also bought new chains.

 

[marcin]

My trailer brakes are pretty much gone. And I'm sure i need axels as well. I can do work myself im pretty handy with tools. How much you think it will cost me in parts? I'm not going back on the road until the trailer is 100%

 

[Big Shasta]

My trailer brakes are pretty much gone. And I'm sure i need axels as well. I can do work myself im pretty handy with tools. How much you think it will cost me in parts? I'm not going back on the road until the trailer is 100%

I caught a glimps of your Tundra. Sign up at www.tundratalk.net if you're not already on there. Same username for me there. Might be able to get ahold of a new bumper from someone going aftermarket.

 

[MOA_Chaser]

I'm gonna piggyback on this thread as I have the same year trailer, a 2004 MFI. Does anyone know for sure if there is supposed to be a breakaway cable on these, and if so can you post a pic? I don't think mine has one, and if I should, it's missing.