Hitch Failures

[rickeieio]

The recent chat about the Comfort Ride hitch has me wondering.....  Is hitch failure more common then we realize?

I think it might be enlightening if we see what troubles have been experienced, and what the solutions might be.  This way, we know what to look for to prevent catastrophic failures down the road.

Edited October 1, 2020 by rickeieio

[DanZemke]

Hopefully, the failure rate for all of your choices is so small, that there will be few responses. Still, a wise query than could benefit many.

Thank you for asking for responses on a public forum.

Edited October 1, 2020 by DanZemke

[Darryl&Rita]

Voted as a TS failure, the pins wore to the point where replacement was obviously needed. Not a catastrophic failure situation, but one easily picked up by a quick inspection.

[SuiteSuccess]

16 minutes ago, Darryl&Rita said:

Voted as a TS failure, the pins wore to the point where replacement was obviously needed. Not a catastrophic failure situation, but one easily picked up by a quick inspection.

Interesting.  Roughly how many hours/years of use?

[Darryl&Rita]

16 minutes ago, SuiteSuccess said:

34 minutes ago, Darryl&Rita said:

Voted as a TS failure, the pins wore to the point where replacement was obviously needed. Not a catastrophic failure situation, but one easily picked up by a quick inspection.

Interesting.  Roughly how many hours/years of use?

Unknown. It came with the truck, when we purchased it. The previous owner is unavailable to ask, but I'd guess a few, given the farm background. The replacement is holding up well, with liberal use of FluidFilm prior to every use.

ETA: Binkley heads have a known weakness with the fore/aft pivot pins, and no way to properly lube them.

Edited October 1, 2020 by Darryl&Rita

[mr. cob]

Howdy All,

My first HDT, came equipped with an "EZ-Floater hitch, nearly the same as Trailer Saver.  It was setup with a Binkly head that unbeknownst to me at the time as I had no knowledge of such things had badly worn pins where the head pivots. 

After I became aware of this problem, "I" made new pins and installed them it was when taking the head apart I saw what "I" think was a major design fault in that there was NO WAY to effectively lubricate those pins.  I have no idea how many miles the hitch was used before I used it, I used it for about 5,000 miles before I knew there was a serious problem. 

After I made and replaced the pins I towed with that hitch another  40,000 miles it was in fair shape when I sold the truck but it was only a matter of time before those pins would have to be replaced again.

Dave

[rpsinc]

Has anyone thought about making lubable pins for those pivot points?  Seems that it would not be that hard to do with a lathe and drill press, unless I am missing something.

[SuiteSuccess]

Anyone know if the ET Super Binkley or Comfort Ride have lubrication points?

[SuiteSuccess]

1 minute ago, rpsinc said:

Has anyone thought about making lubable pins for those pivot points?  Seems that it would not be that hard to do with a lathe and drill press, unless I am missing something.

Chet (NeverEasy) did it with an old Binkley head for RandyA I believe.  

 

[mr. cob]

Just now, rpsinc said:

Has anyone thought about making lubable pins for those pivot points?  Seems that it would not be that hard to do with a lathe and drill press, unless I am missing something.

Howdy rpsinc,

The problem really isn't the pin itself, its that the way the head is made there is no support given to the pin other then the four places it makes contact with the head, these four places are only about an 1/8 of an inch wide. that being the case oil or grease really has no place to stay in place it simply runs down the side of the four places where the pin makes contact.  Its hard to put into words but if you ever see the underside of a Binkly head it is very obvious.

Dave

[mr. cob]

4 minutes ago, SuiteSuccess said:

Anyone know if the ET Super Binkley or Comfort Ride have lubrication points?

Howdy SS,

Comfort Ride, has easily replaceable if ever needed, synthetic no lube needed bushing at all wear points.  I keep an eye on my Comfort Ride hitch and after two years of use have had no problems of any kind to include the need to lube or replace bushings.

Dave

[rpsinc]

Sounds like perhaps steel pins and perhaps a flanged bronze bushing application?

[mr. cob]

Just now, rpsinc said:

Sounds like perhaps steel pins and perhaps a flanged bronze bushing application?

Howdy rpsinc,

A person could bore out the steel head pin openings and install a bushing, however as the bearing surface is so small only an 1/8 of an inch wide the bushing would soon wear out.  When I had my Binkly head apart I looked at it and could see a way to fix the problem but it involved way more machine work  and welding then "I" though it was worth. 

In MY opinion, the Binkly head, as it is currently designed is a CONSUMABLE part that will in time need to be replaced as any EASY repair other then just replacing the pins involves way more work and money then it would cost to buy a new one.  Even when replacing the pins in time the head itself will wear to the point where to really repair it will cost more then a new head.  At $100 LOW end to the average $150 per hour shop time it simply isn't cost effective to repair some products.

Dave

[rpsinc]

9 minutes ago, mr. cob said:

Howdy rpsinc,

A person could bore out the steel head pin openings and install a bushing, however as the bearing surface is so small only an 1/8 of an inch wide the bushing would soon wear out.  When I had my Binkly head apart I looked at it and could see a way to fix the problem but it involved way more machine work  and welding then "I" though it was worth. 

In MY opinion, the Binkly head, as it is currently designed is a CONSUMABLE part that will in time need to be replaced as any EASY repair other then just replacing the pins involves way more work and money then it would cost to buy a new one.  Even when replacing the pins in time the head itself will wear to the point where to really repair it will cost more then a new head.  At $100 LOW end to the average $150 per hour shop time it simply isn't cost effective to repair some products.

Dave

I understand. I dont think it those terms as I have a big shop with the equipment necessary to do things like that, so it often is a matter of finding the time to do it rather than a shop to do it.

[SuiteSuccess]

11 minutes ago, mr. cob said:

Howdy rpsinc,

A person could bore out the steel head pin openings and install a bushing, however as the bearing surface is so small only an 1/8 of an inch wide the bushing would soon wear out.  When I had my Binkly head apart I looked at it and could see a way to fix the problem but it involved way more machine work  and welding then "I" though it was worth. 

In MY opinion, the Binkly head, as it is currently designed is a CONSUMABLE part that will in time need to be replaced as any EASY repair other then just replacing the pins involves way more work and money then it would cost to buy a new one.  Even when replacing the pins in time the head itself will wear to the point where to really repair it will cost more then a new head.  At $100 LOW end to the average $150 per hour shop time it simply isn't cost effective to repair some products.

Dave

Where can you purchase a new head if one were needed?  Googling not getting any hits.  (I don’t need one but would like to have reference).

[mr. cob]

1 minute ago, rpsinc said:

I understand. I dont think it those terms as I have a big shop with the equipment necessary to do things like that, so it often is a matter of finding the time to do it rather than a shop to do it.

Howdy rpsinc,

I am setup to weld and have some small machine tools, worked in the trade for over 30 years so I could do it but to ME it just wasn't worth the effort.  For most folks who don't have the skills or tools to do the job, replacement is the only economically viable solution to the Binkly problem as it is now designed, again just MY opinion.

Dave

[rickeieio]

Back to the survey, it would be interesting to know how many of each brand of hitch is out there.  I'll do a walk around at the National and try to formulate a rough guess.

It's interesting that while the TrailerSaver is viewed as an inferior hitch, and certainly has wear issues, I've never heard of a failure.  And there's a LOT of them out there.  But, that's part of the reason for this survey.

 

[Darryl&Rita]

2 hours ago, SuiteSuccess said:

Where can you purchase a new head if one were needed?  Googling not getting any hits.  (I don’t need one but would like to have reference).

Any Holland dealer.

[SuiteSuccess]

48 minutes ago, Darryl&Rita said:

Any Holland dealer.

Thanks.

[phoenix2013]

Holland never made these available directly, they utilized national distributors like Nuera to sell them through their outlets. Several years ago they moved their production of Binkley heads to China and stopped making them available to competitors of Trailer Saver. Most other hitch manufacturers of hitches and heads, B&W, Curt, etc., have the same policy and will not sell you a head alone. The Binkley patented latch system, has "re-appeared" (since the patent expired) on several hitch heads for ET hitches, B&W and Comfort Ride. The ET head has composite bearings on swivel shafts, these don't wear out and don't require greasing. The square ET head is a direct replacement for Binkleys in ETs and has been adapted (with little "tweaking") in other hitches (like TrailerSaver).

[phoenix2013]

Keeping "in the spirit" of the thread topic, here's the ET failure as documented by a customer in 2011.

In heavy traffic customer performed an emergency "avoid maneuver" and pulled over into emergency lane. Unfortunately a Greyhound bus behind them did exactly the same at the same time. An impact into their 40 foot Newmar totaled the Newmar an demolished the ET. The hitch did manage to stay together and keep the Newmar back and attached, there was no damage to the truck. I asked for more detailed pictures which the customer provided. The upper front shaft sheared which allowed for the platform to tip up and shear through the stop plates.

What kept things together was the redundant bottom set of dogbones and shafts.

Note that the bottom dogbones held in spite of being subjected to a force that bent dogbones made from 1 inch thick and 2 inches high material (steel)

I analyzed what I saw and what I didn't like and immediately proceeded to redesign things to make them "Greyhound proof". Customer insisted on having another ET and what he got  was the first example of ET Gen 2

Note the massively beefed up attachments for the front shafts. As far as the stop plates were concerned, I followed the moron approach (more-on) that GeorgiaHybrid advocates, the material used to fabricate these went from 1/4" steel to 1/2" steel. Furthermore, I offered owners to update hitches under warranty to Gen 2 and for a very reasonable fee do the same to the hitches out of warranty. I only know of one Gen 1 ET out there, I had "discussions" with the owner (you know who you are) but he just doesn't want to part with it, "it's fine". Why the special attachment? It's the seventh ET ever made and it is stamped with a serial number "007".

ETs have been steadily improved over the years (mostly for easier manufacturing purposes), the latest Gen 6 were redesigned to pull rigs close to 40K in GVW, this one I believe was either Gen 3, or 4

Going around sharp corner on narrow country road, the road bank let go dropping the trailer.

I replaced the hitch, I wanted it in my shop to take it apart, completely. The trailer was totaled, the hitch was perfect.

 

Edited October 2, 2020 by phoenix2013

[GlennWest]

The incident with the greyhound is what made my mind up concerning an ET Hitch. 

[geodog1]

One must be made aware of the fact that the "Binkley" head was originally designed as a head to be used on "Yard Tugs" not as a road hitch.

 

JMTCW

 

ShortyO

[SuiteSuccess]

13 hours ago, phoenix2013 said:

Holland never made these available directly, they utilized national distributors like Nuera to sell them through their outlets. Several years ago they moved their production of Binkley heads to China and stopped making them available to competitors of Trailer Saver. Most other hitch manufacturers of hitches and heads, B&W, Curt, etc., have the same policy and will not sell you a head alone. The Binkley patented latch system, has "re-appeared" (since the patent expired) on several hitch heads for ET hitches, B&W and Comfort Ride. The ET head has composite bearings on swivel shafts, these don't wear out and don't require greasing. The square ET head is a direct replacement for Binkleys in ETs and has been adapted (with little "tweaking") in other hitches (like TrailerSaver).

So I looked on Young’s site and couldn’t find them as a separate product but they will sell just the head if needed?

[phoenix2013]

Carl, they are in the process of redoing their entire website ("at my direction"), work in process. But they will sell you just the head if you want, last time I heard $725 plus shipping. I used to sell them for $800. Are your swivel pins really, really loose? From what I remember Binkleys were doing very well on ETs because the anti-chucking built in (the dual dogbone system),  reduces the banging on the pins significantly. If they are just slightly loose, they still have a lot of life left in them. 

Mark Shelley and I designed the new head way back in the beginning because he had almost 30 K trailer and he wore out the Binkley in 13 months, in a TrailerSaver, which is notorious for doing this (lot of chucking). But I didn't offer these for sale, except as a very expensive option, because the only way I could make these was to take the jaw system out of a new Binkley and transfer it into the Super Binkley. I kept using the regular Binkleys during that time. Once it became obvious that Binkleys were going to be not available, I had to invest in tooling to make my own jaws, that's when the switch occurred to the new head exclusively. 

Talk to Brian Fairchild at PopUp 620-4312805, tell him you talked to me, he'll take care of you. Tell him you need the entire head with the bottom swivel. The head and the swivel are now two separate pieces, as are the swivel shafts.