Thank you Tony. Yes, Tony, I was lucky.

The problem was that the chain, which I think was somewhat original, was under the drawbar. So when its hit the ground the link that was welded to the bar has snapped. 1/2 the link was still welded flat to the bar, if that makes sense. The new one has been welded to the side of the bar.

Although the van is light, I am thinking of getting a second chain added, before I make another long trip, so I can cross them over for added safety.

Yes, Greg, it is on the cards. 

Yes Blaze, a new ball wouldnt hurt, I do have one at home.

J.

-- Edited by Jamjar on Saturday 7th of September 2019 09:49:25 PM

A relative of ours ended up towing just an A frame along the hwy.
The rest of the caravan ended up in a roadside ditch.
He was doing 100kph at the time.

The chap who welded the new chain on took two links of it, but said it most likely wouldnt make much difference and anymore removed would have been too short.

The photos show where the chain was and where it is now. There isnt a hole for a padlock on the hitch.

J.

sandsmere wrote:

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Could have been a whole lot worse Jamjar. 

I,m glad you got away with so little damage.

---

 Thank you, Sandsmere. Yes, luck was going my way. As I saw her heading into the grass I saw the angle increase and thought she was going to roll. My thoughts were that this was going to end up on Grey Nomads, as one of the many rollovers.  

I will get down and look under it, thanks for the tip Alan.

I was speaking with a lady in the caravan park, this morn, and she said that friends of hers had their caravan disengage when they went over a bump too fast and it was locked on.

I didnt hit any bumps and feel that it was the wind that lifted her.

What I dont understand is given that the drawbar should have hit the road, how did it end up travelling to the left and up an embankment? Why didnt it just stop on the road? To travel the distance it did, wouldnt the drawbar have remained in the air?

As an aside, I am using apostrophes, but when I submit the post they have disappeared.

J.

Jamjar wrote:

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A bit of drama for me, today.

 I have the insurance where you select which months youll be on the road. As Murphys Law would dictate September is one of my off road months.

Now I am comfy at the Narrandera Caravan Park for 2 nights. I thought it would be tempting fate to chance another trip on the Newell, on a Sunday, when all repairers are enjoying their day off. 

---

 Hi Jamjar, Glad yo ar all ok but that would have been a scary moment.

I too have a similar policy and it lets me select say 3 months or whatever I want if not using the van.  But All I need do is make a call and pay for any pre-selected month and its all good.

Nothing wrong in having no insurance if the thing is safe in a shed, (apart from Fire damage of course). But there is no way I would take to the road without making that call and taking that additional months insurance.

 

But yes... it is easy to be wise after the fact.

My first concern is the weight on the tow ball or seemingly lack of it. I have seen vans arrive at camp with the van not locked down to the tow ball. They got there simply due to enough weight on the tow ball. Just lucky though.

Me, I would check the A bar and install a new hitch. Also a new tow ball to be on the safe side. Just saying....

dieseltojo wrote:

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Jamjar wrote:

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A bit of drama for me, today.

 I have the insurance where you select which months youll be on the road. As Murphys Law would dictate September is one of my off road months.

Now I am comfy at the Narrandera Caravan Park for 2 nights. I thought it would be tempting fate to chance another trip on the Newell, on a Sunday, when all repairers are enjoying their day off. 

---

 Hi Jamjar, Glad yo ar all ok but that would have been a scary moment.

I too have a similar policy and it lets me select say 3 months or whatever I want if not using the van.  But All I need do is make a call and pay for any pre-selected month and its all good.

Nothing wrong in having no insurance if the thing is safe in a shed, (apart from Fire damage of course). But there is no way I would take to the road without making that call and taking that additional months insurance.

 

But yes... it is easy to be wise after the fact.

My first concern is the weight on the tow ball or seemingly lack of it. I have seen vans arrive at camp with the van not locked down to the tow ball. They got there simply due to enough weight on the tow ball. Just lucky though.

Me, I would check the A bar and install a new hitch. Also a new tow ball to be on the safe side. Just saying....

---

It wasnt scary really, as I just thought I had a flat tire. The commodore handled it extremely well. The trip was unplanned, as I got a call to say that my mother was dying, in Victoria. I looked at the insurance and it was right for August when I left. Didnt even register that I would be returning in September. However, I wasnt aware that you could call and add the month if need, so will be on top of it, should it happen again. 

Yes, she is light, so not much weight on the ball I expect. 

If the coupling became unhitched and it was locked on correctly as stated then really, there is a very strong chance that the coupling and ball assembly are faulty or worn out.
The van could, once again, come off while travelling one kilometre let alone the distance from Narrandera to home or the extra 40 kms to get it registered.
While remedial work to a chain may help if it happens again, it could still happen and you could kill someone.

Regards

Rob

Brenda and Alan wrote:

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Jamjar I have one occasion where i coupled up and locked the hitch. When I walked around doing a final check I noticed from the side that the hitch seemed to be sitting higher than normal on the ball. When I rechecked I found the coupling was not down over the ball but was locked sitting on the ball.Because the coupling was locked it could never drop  even with gentle movement. I now make a point of ensuring the coupling is properly seated before locking it.An easy problem to miss when looking down over the coupling, but noticeable from the side. It is only a distance of 20mm.

Alan

-- Edited by Brenda and Alan on Sunday 8th of September 2019 09:26:36 AM

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 I think this is the best post to date. Thanks Alan.

The van in question has a atm of 750kg, exactly the same weight as my first van I built 2016. The light drawbar down weight of up to 80kg is so light that it makes that mistake of the hitch not getting all the way onto the ball less noticable and very possible. If you have 250kg towball weight the hitch has that weight to help it onto the ball. With only 60 or 80kg its less likely to get "home" and down weight on the ball is the only thing towing the van.!

 

This is why, when the tow truck guy jacked up the hitched up drawbar the hitch/ball remained attached, the hitch was fully in the ball.

 

As others have said the hitch, post such an incident needs replacing for piece of mind and getting the chain issue sorted is a no brainer.

 

This threads most value comes from Jamjars goodwill in making it public. Many readers here will now check their hitch for being faulty, look horizontal to ensure it's all the way into the ball and relocate the chain attachment if located under the drawbar. Such safety can be life saving so thanks Jamjar.

Tony

 

 

Jamjar wrote:

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I will get down and look under it, thanks for the tip Alan.

I was speaking with a lady in the caravan park, this morn, and she said that friends of hers had their caravan disengage when they went over a bump too fast and it was locked on.

I didnt hit any bumps and feel that it was the wind that lifted her.

What I dont understand is given that the drawbar should have hit the road, how did it end up travelling to the left and up an embankment? Why didnt it just stop on the road? To travel the distance it did, wouldnt the drawbar have remained in the air?

As an aside, I am using apostrophes, but when I submit the post they have disappeared.

J.

 

Maybe the camber of the road made the van track off to the left, the drawbar must have hit the road to break the chain weld.

Have seen a boat trailer come off the towball as it went around a corner, made a nasty dent in the tailgate, chains looked a bit long.

Glad you are all good Jamjar, aside from your punctuation marks.

Cheers Bob

---

 

Hi Jamjar,

Glad to hear things went well considering.

Just my opinion though, I would never use a padlock instead of a D shackle as I have seen padlocks unlock if you put pressure between the brass housing and the looped pin.  They pop the lock.

In respect of your missing quotes, if you are using an iPad or iPhone this is prevalent.  To get around it on these devices, hold the quote button down till the sub menu comes up, then select the quote in the middle.  It should be ok then.

Kevin 

Sorry Jamjar,

I must have misread it.

How did the quotes go?