Fastjack

[alanaker]

Bad news from the Fastjack racing team. They were involved in a T/A last night in Falls Church, VA and the race trailer went over on it's right side. Shawn and Ken are o.k. They're re-grouping today, and preparing to head back north with the race trailer on a flatbed, leaving their tow vehicle in VA for repairs. I'm sure Shawn will update as soon as possible.

[Fast Jack]

never made it to Ocoee

Repair Durango.........$8100.00 New enclosed trailer $3750.00 calling Oconner to order more new boats....priceless... we will be back, 2 new (not wet yet) boats got hurt !! 1 is being repaired the other replaced The merc motors got scratched up a bit, and one yamato gave up its tank. the truck and trl are insured , and I hade some coverage on the boats under my homeowners policy. Any one ever see a hitch fail at the cross pin that holds the clamp thing that closes under the ball? ( shelby 1501 model ) Sorry to the guys that I had parts for , I can ship them if you stilll want them .... Shawn

[Bill Huson]

bummer . . .

If you're talking a standard flip-up lever to open hitch -- No, I have never seen the safety pin that goes thru the hole in the lever fail. That pin has practically zero load on it - all it does it keep the lever from popping up from bumps or vibration. Tell the truth I've towed many, many miles without even stuffing a pin thru that hole. If you're talking the bolt/spring thingy that holds the actual hitch ball clamp in place, yes, I've seen those fall off because the nut on the bottom wasn't tight enough, or the nyloc insert on the nut had been used up. Very rare.

Much more common, someone forgot the latch the hitch at all. Had that happen a few times, but the result was trailer jumps off hitch and tongue drags or gets cradled in the safety chains, which should be crossed to form a cradle. Ease of gas and slide over to the side of the road, go very gentle on the brakes and if you have runoff room let the dragging trailer stop you. Never had one flip. Course, the Durango may be a wee bit shy on wheelbase for a good stable tow. I used a Ramcharger for a couple years and that was a twitchy beasty, went to a full size van with a longer wheelbase.

Anyhoo, hope you get everything fixed or replaced with no hassle. Hope you get back in action soon.

[Fast Jack]

Ocoee oops

the part of the hitch that failed was a horizontal pin that is inside the coupler, it allows the clamp to pivot up and down, the latch had a bolt thru it, and we have towed over 6000 miles last year with no problems, I also have a Ramcharger , the Durango is a full size with a 7600# tow rating, the hitch failure of this type is the first I have ever seen, I tow customers boats all summer , and repair their Boats and trailers . I have seen bent, crimped, smashed and broken hitches , but never one like this...

[Bill Huson]

Hmmm ???

Must be a different hitch mechanism than I use. The clamp on mine has a vertical bolt through it and the clamp sorta free pivots and hasa beefy spring around the bolt to adjust the tension via the nut on the bolt. Standard Valley 2" hitch thinger. Were you using load level bars? I used those once on a heavy enclosed trailer and they were buggers to hook up, but I can't recall if they put extra stress on the actual hitch or not.

So you crunched in Falls Church, VA? That's about 6 miles from me. If I'd known I coulda helped you sweep up the pieces!

[pro350hydro]

Were you using load level bars? I used those once on a heavy enclosed trailer and they were buggers to hook up, but I can't recall if they put extra stress on the actual hitch or not.

I use load leveling bars on my enclosed trailer. They actually lift the rear of the vehicle, but also produce a downforce on the ball. Could not see a trailer coming off the ball with leveling bars unless installed wrong.

Just my 2 cents

[TPLACE31]

Did the trailer cause the accident or did it break loose as a result of the accident? What was the make and size of the trailer?

[Fast Jack]

Trl

The trailer coupler came loose during an evasive lane change, a car moved into the space that was in front of us and got on his brakes, I moved left ( rapidly) to avoid a rear end crash. The marks on the ground from the trailer showed it came loose then. I got the truck headed straight and the swaying trailer hit the Jersey barrier and climed up on it , and rolled on its side. Trl was a 12x6 enclosed with 3 boats and 5 motors in it. I had never had a problem with this rig .I called the manufacturer and they offered me a discount on a new Trailer, and they want the hitch back...fj

[Dave Young 94-N]

Bummer

Shawn,
Glad to hear you and Ken and the crew are OK. Sad to hear the news. Awful lot of work and expectations for a nice time down the tubes.
My advice is to not give the hitch assembly back to the trailer company until you check with your insurance underwriter claims handler. They may want to have it checked out for subrogation purposes against the manufacturer of the hitch, trailer etc. Send lawyers guns and $$$$
Give me a call if there is anything I can do to help out.
Dave

[Mark 72@E]

Welcome to Traffic in the DC Area

The trailer coupler came loose during an evasive lane change, a car moved into the space that was in front of us and got on his brakes, I moved left ( rapidly) to avoid a rear end crash.

They do the same thing to tractor trailers here also, although usually no one lives to talk about it except the truck driver.

I consider it a good day when fewer than 3 people try to kill me on my commute to and from Washington, DC every day.

I'm looking forward to the peace and quiet of boat racing...