Hitch Problems

Cyclonic

I guess not really a problem with the hitch itself, but a very bad thing happened today, but at least it happened in the best possible way.

We were headed out to Shenandoah River State Park to camp the night with other T@B owners and, after stopping for fuel locally, my hitch failed as I was leaving he gas station.  I hit a bump on the way out and heard a sudden thud followed by a grinding sound.

The hitch had broken away from the frame in on both sides leaving it bowed down.



A passer-by helped by towing the T@Bpole into a parking lot and we phoned a friend who happened to be very close by.  We were able to hitch it to his truck and take it back home.

We were all kinds of lucky today.  I can't imagine what would have happened had we been on the highway at speed when this had happened.  Also lucky that our friends were close and easily able to come over and help.

The metal of the frame is literally blown out.  The hitch itself is fine and very stable.





I inspect the hitch somewhat regularly, but I am usually looking for wear on the bolts.  I never saw any cracks in the frame that would indicate this could happen.

Now we are trying to decide if we want to fix it or just start looking for a new tow vehicle, since the Escape is now north of 100K too.

dmerzbac

Happy to hear this happened at low speed and that y'all are safe. I've never seen anything like that where the frame is ripped apart.

Nomad

Wowzer - You are lucky it happened when it did !
Is that a factory tow package or after market?

Sharon_is_SAM

Oooo, that is scarey!  You live where they use salt on the roads?  

Ratkity

Very very scary!! Again, as others have said, I'm glad it was at low speed, you and you T@Bpole are ok, but um.. da vehicle? That's frightening. There are receivers that are 2", but are still rated at only class I-II. A class I is usually a 1" (the little one for bike racks and light things). But I have seen 2" receivers that are not rated much higher than a class I. 

That said, if your Escape was rated for the poundage you are pulling, plus I don't see any obvious rust at all, then that BUMP was just enough to cause that fatigued metal to rip. 

I think you have two options:
1. If you are totally in love that vehicle, go find a GOOD welder to see if there's a way to reinforce the area to put the receiver back on.

2. Get a new tow vehicle with factory receiver. 

Just recently, I had a recall on my 2015 GMC truck receiver - they wanted to look for cracks on it because of a couple of failures - someone at the factory put the wrong class hitch on the tow package vehicles (still a 2" receiver)!!  My truck passed (thankfully!!).

Glad you are ok. I think you deserve a new TV. So does the T@Bpole!!

Sharon_is_SAM

Cyclonic, new TV means new Tab 400 maybe?

hymie

Glad to hear that everyone is ok! Scary stuff...

Cyclonic

The hitch is an aftermarket installation, and is rated at 400/5000, plenty for the T@B.  It was installed by a skilled mechanic that I trust and knows what he is doing, and according to manufacturer recommendations.

The failure is in the TV and its uni-body construction.  It is not actually a frame that it sits on, but a sheet metal tube and that is what failed.

The same friend that helped me out in getting it home is a very good welder.  He thinks he can reinforce it and fix it, but I think we have decided that we can budget a new TV and are looking at used pick-ups.  I would not ant to have a failure again in a worse situation.

Ratkity

@Cyclonic, I didn't know the TV was a unibody construction. Glad to hear you have a friend who's a welder and thinks he can reinforce. Some of the used pickups are good deals. The newer ones (like mine) seem to have more issues with the entertainment system integrated with the engine control module. The software is a mess. Also, Ford has an all aluminum bed, GMC and Toyota and Honda have gone to composite beds *sigh*. Look at trucks before 2012-ish with the tow package?

ericnliz

Cyclonic, WOW!  Nathan, we are glad to hear first of all, no one was hurt! "Things" can always be replaced, folks, well..not so much. I'll bet when you stuck your head under there you were totally shocked to see what had happened. Scary stuff. Thank goodness the T@Bpole is ok as well. 
My personal opinion on tow vehicles is this: get one with a factory tow package. Right from the get-go they know what you're going to use the vehicle for, and that's what they are built to do. We have two 1/2 ton trucks we use for tow vehicles, and you really can't go wrong with a truck, not only for the towing capabilities, but for the storage capacity for camp gear as well. I think vehicle brand is a personal thing, and a little research goes a long way in choosing a vehicle period. When we bought our Avalanche, I looked a various vehicles for about 2 months, and compared a LOT of not only brands, but models within brands as well, ie: 2wd versus 4wd, club cab versus standard cab, V6 versus V8, 1/2 ton vs 3/4 ton, and everything in between. All in all, I can say I have been extremely happy with the Avalanche for several reasons. Versatility: locking storage boxes on either side on the top side of the bed, hard cover [3 piece] for bed to help in inclement weather, and capability to use one, two, all, or none. Rear window removes, rear seat folds down for full size bed capability for hauling larger items. 4 door [not cramped in rear seat for adults]  for when we have more than 2 folks along. Automatic 2wd, 4wd high and low. 5.3 liter V8 for power, hill climbing, and towing capability, plus decent gas mileage for a V8. Extremely comfortable ride for a truck. [ We were pleasantly surprised on this one!] I know there are various brands that offer similar capabilities, so shop around. Only other word of advise is that when you decide, and, or narrow it down to two, or three, go on-line and check for recalls, or problems and see if those issues are continuous, or taken care of after being addressed. At any rate, glad to hear everyone, and everything is still mobile, and good luck with your search for a "new" tow vehicle.

ericnliz

Oh, and by the way...Thank God for good friends! Glad you had some handy to help you out.

ronin718

Wow, those were not very pretty pictures!!!  What a way to have a gorgeous weekend rained upon.  Glad to hear you didn't experience a total loss.

You've seen my TV, so you know what a Tacoma can do.  Ours came with the factory tow package, to include the beefier power and coolant options.  Of course, if you go with a crew cab, you may never tow with a baby-Ute again. 

Estancio

What information is in the Escape manual regarding towing limits?

Cyclonic

Estancio said:

What information is in the Escape manual regarding towing limits?

My particular model is rated at 3500.  But it does not say if that is or is not with a factory tow package.

ScottG

Have you notified Ford and sought their feedback? I'd be curious to hear their take on it.

The 2012 Escape V6 is reported rated to tow 3500lbs when equipped with Ford's Class II tow package. I wonder if/how Ford's hitch attaches differently.

Cyclonic

I have and I have also reached out the the hitch manufacturer for their opinion.

TabberJohn

It isn't quite clear from your pics where the after-market hitch was attached (4 points or more?).
From the looks of the failure it seems the hitch was rocking and flexing a bit while towing and eventually metal fatigue occurred.
Perhaps that model Escape lacks the reinforcement necessary to handle attachments without flexing under load.

Geo

Nathan,
This is very concerning for all of us with unibody built tow vehicles !

Has anyone heard of this situation on other brands / models that are unibody constructed ?

We have a Honda Odyssey that is a unibody and is rated for 3500 lbs. 
This scenario shakes my confidence ! ! ! 

ericnliz

No matter what type vehicle/hitch you may have, uni-body, or otherwise, it's a really good idea to inspect the area where the hitch installs as well as all the bolts for stress and tightness. I've had to replace bolts on my old '72 truck twice because they were just plain old, and I didn't feel comfortable with the amount of rust on them. Used grade 8 nuts and bolts to replace them, with flat and lock washers for extra security, and peace of mind. In this case, mine attaches directly to the frame.

Vikings

Examination of photos suggests the only attachment points were at both ends of hitch.  Many receiver hitches will have two additional attachment points at the center of hitch near the 2 inch sleeved receiver which would increase strength and reduce up/down flexing.   Mine does and I suggest others should seek out this type of hitch.   Geo, yours might and if it does you should be confident in it's 3500 lb ability.
Maybe the pictured hitch was overloaded at some point...ie more tongue weight than it was rated for.   Once the flexing began the end result was perhaps inevitable.   

irvingj

Wow, that IS scary! Glad you were going slowly when it let go!!

Going along with Viking's observation: Out of curiosity, what's the longitudinal distance between the rearmost attach point (the one that failed) and the center of the ball when it's in place? It looks like there might have been some pretty serious force-multiplication going on there due to a rather long moment arm.

I notice that on my Jetta wagon, also unibody, that distance is about 12" or less... and all attach points still look very solid-- but I'll be checking on that more often. Thanks for the heads-up to all of us who tow.

TabberJohn

TabberJohn said:

It isn't quite clear from your pics where the after-market hitch was attached (4 points or more?).
From the looks of the failure it seems the hitch was rocking and flexing a bit while towing and eventually metal fatigue occurred.
Perhaps that model Escape lacks the reinforcement necessary to handle attachments without flexing under load.

As others noted the distance between the ball mount, weight on the tongue, and attachment points are all contributing factors.
If only attached at two forward points there would have been some flexing under load and the wire-coat-hanger-effect would eventually factor in.
The differences between a 3500lb factory installed hitch (integral to the chassis) and an after-market hitch can be substantial. 

Cyclonic

Well, after talking to a few different people and doing some research, in the end really I am at fault on this.  While the V6 engine of the Escape was more then capable of towing the T@B, due to the unibody construction, unless it had an integrated hitch, this was bound to happen.  Expensive mistake that could have ended very, very badly, so I hope others learn from it and don't make the same mistake.

In the end, this weekend we did go out and get a new TV, a 2013 F150 FX4, 3.5L V6 with 365 HP and factory hitch.  This will be more then capable of towing the T@B well into the future, and it matches too!



Hmmm, thinking about adding a red pinstripe to the T@Bpole to match too.

Verna

NICE!   

dmerzbac

That is a great looking ride!

Airliner

Beautiful truck you have there!

dsatwork

Very nice....well done

Geo

Nathan said:
"Well, after talking to a few different people and doing some research, in the end really I am at fault on this.  While the V6 engine of the Escape was more then capable of towing the T@B, due to the unibody construction, unless it had an integrated hitch, this was bound to happen.  Expensive mistake that could have ended very, very badly, so I hope others learn from it and don't make the same mistake."

So all unibody vehicles with after market hitches are suspect ?
So only integrated hitches from the factory are really safe ?

Please share some of this research you refer to.

Ratkity

OMG.. beautiful replacement TV!! RIP to your Escape. It did its job well and kept you safe (along with a stadium or a full choir of angels). May all your towing and parking experiences be smooth and camping time enjoyed to the max!!

PS... your TV is now longer. Watch for the tree or post across from your camp site as you driver's side turn into your site.

skwhee

You and T@Bpole should be able to make it all the way up our road next visit! 

ericnliz

Nathan, Nice choice! Good lookin' rig!