Hitch ???

[Ooshkaboo]

As I approach 80 I decided jumping on the bumper was more of a spectator sport......so I changed out the coupler for a Bulldog. I prefer to make my equipment do what I want it to do when I want it to!


Yes 80 you should be careful, falling can be a huge setback.
For me its just another reason I’m getting a fifth wheel.
The bumper pull trailers I own for my work don’t have near the weight of a camper and still one must be careful.

[rbryan4]

After years of following all the 'tips' such as loosening and adjusting the jaw underneath, making sure to grease it up good, backing up or pulling foreward slightly, etc, etc - all to no avail - I just got a collar locking coupler. Problem solved.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Ooshkaboo

The trailers I’ve had all have a nut right inside the underneath of the latch that can be adjusted for a proper fit.

This is not that design of coupler; in this "yoke" design, the jaw which moves under the ball to latch it is not adjustable and doesn't need adjustment.

[Bobbie54]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

This is not that design of coupler; in this "yoke" design, the jaw which moves under the ball to latch it is not adjustable and doesn't need adjustment.

Ha, I was just coming in to post and ask that very question. My problem seems to be that that jaw gets into the wrong place and since the driveway has a slight downhill slope I can't wiggle trailer or truck enough to get it right unless I'm on the level. I am going to try lubricating it again as it looks like there is some rubbing on the jaw part where it contacts the ball.

[Hollybee]

Originally Posted by TTMartin

After going out to my trailer and looking at the hitch I agree that it appears as though the hitch is bent where Brian indicates.

Attachment 55956

Here are some photos of the coupler on my trailer.

Properly closed
Attachment 55955

Hitch partially open
Attachment 55954

As you can see in the last photo when the hitch is partially open the tabs should be slightly closer to the trailer. On your hitch the tabs are further away from the trailer. This indicates that the hitch is likely bent where Brian shows in his photo.

It looks like someone tried to muscle the hitch open and bent it there. The hitch should actually never require force to either open or close.

Usually the problem with opening or closing the hitch is the ball is being pushed back towards the trailer by the tow vehicle.

After you get it repaired if the hitch doesn't freely open, don't pressure it, since your trailer wheels should already be chocked if your unhitching your trailer, just pull your tow vehicle slightly forward, this will take the pressure off the locking mechanism and it should loosely lift open.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Looked at it again..looks like yours, right up til 'properly closed' when the tabs dont drop into the 2 slots.. I guess if grease and prayer don't fix it, a trip to a trailer shoppe is next. Ps me off tho bks my old Casita had a better tongue latch system and..... we never got a factory intro bks of covid.
Thanks for all the replies fellas

[Bobbie54]

I don't see how it could be bent if it opens and closes fine without the ball in it.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Bobbie54

I don't see how it could be bent if it opens and closes fine without the ball in it.

The latch on top has nothing to do with whether the jaw slides to open (release the ball) or to closed (capturing the ball). Even the yoke doesn't have to come down for the jaw to close - it is just there to come down and hook around the front so the jaw can't slide open without lifting the yoke. The latch is the final step: it just fits into the notches to block the yoke from bouncing up, and can be pinned so the yoke can't come up.

The (likely) bend in the latch just keeps it from working as intended... the coupler can still open (even if you don't want it to) and close.

[Bobbie54]

OK, here's how mine works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpdTUjlTqmI

I hope the link works. The piece that the yoke thing is hinged to has to slide forward (I believe it is doing that as the piece inside the couple is moving to cradle the ball. So it moves easily with no ball there. Mine at least does not move easily unless the ball is in exactly the right position.

[lostskier]

Thanks for this thread and the recommendation for a bull dog hitch. As previously stated, jiggling is usually necessary to hitch/unhitch. I usually just put forward pressure on the hitch and that works best and seems to seat/unseat the ball. And jumping up and down on hitch is usually mandatory to unhitch, LOL. I'm only 62 so still limber enough. But when the TOW vehicle isn't far enough forward, no amount of jumping gets it off the ball.

[Greatboatz3]

I am totally unfamiliar with the ETI coupler, I haven't received my trailer yet. I do recall a new owner having a similar problem on the day he picked his trailer up. Neither he or the delivery driver could make it work, ball or no ball. This was maybe a month or 2 ago. From what I recall after a Call to ETI Dustin sent him a video of where to strike the coupler using a 2x4 and a hammer. There was some joking on the forum about carrying a sledge hammer around with them. I would have loved to see the video. Maybe that is what is need to correct the coupler being bent. I would hope ETI would at least try the couplers before they left the shop, especially with so many issues reported.

[RangerMan]

I just regard the moving around a bit as part of my hitch/unhitch process and accept it.

Move forward (after chocking the wheels) a bit to get on the ball and the small indents seated and reverse the process to unhitch.

If this is the worst problem I ever have, I'll be happy!

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by Greatboatz3

I would hope ETI would at least try the couplers before they left the shop, especially with so many issues reported.

They move them around the yard with a fork-lift that has a ball on the tine. Don't know how they would do it otherwise.

[tractors1]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

They move them around the yard with a fork-lift that has a ball on the tine. Don't know how they would do it otherwise.

I do the same with my John Deere tractor, but there's no need to actually latch the ball if I'm just moving it around on a level surface. Tongue weight keeps it on the ball - so if the yoke was bent, they wouldn't notice it.


I bent my yoke just as described by backing up too far when trying to hitch up and the sledge hammer method worked fine to fix it.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Bobbie54

OK, here's how mine works.

I hope the link works.

The link worked for me
Thanks, that's an excellent illustration of how this type of coupler works.

Originally Posted by Bobbie54

The piece that the yoke thing is hinged to has to slide forward (I believe it is doing that as the piece inside the couple is moving to cradle the ball. So it moves easily with no ball there. Mine at least does not move easily unless the ball is in exactly the right position.

Yes, the part underneath which slides forward is the jaw which cradles the ball, and the purpose of the yoke on the outside is to keep the jaw in place after coupling. If the ball is not in the right place (the usual problem is that it is not far enough forward into the front of the coupler socket, past the lip on the bottom) then the jaw can't move forward enough to drop the yoke and engage the latch.

[Bobbie54]

I did find that lubricating that jaw (and everything else) helps. The last two times I've managed to hitch up on the driveway despite the slope. It's still a little sticky but better than it was.

[VanB]

I could be mistaken, but it appears the coupler is bent on the forward edge.

[wxguy]

Aha! so its called a yoke hitch! I”ve worked with several trailers in my 65 yrs but never had one of these till we got our Escape 17A last spring. What I relate below is based only one example, our 17A.

We have spent over 100 nights in the 17A, but have driven it less than 7000 miles. We are inveterate boondock campers and over 90% of our nights have been well off paved highways. While this camping style optimizes solitude and natural beauty, it often results in sub-optimal spots to drop the trailer. This latter issue sometimes makes for challenging hitching and unhitching experiences.

We really hate the 17A hitch coupler but have made peace with it. It boils down to a geometry problem, the ball and the coupler must be perfectly aligned, which is often hard to achieve. We have developed workarounds for several situations, and this irritating issue has faded away for the most part. Here is what we found/did.

The fundamental thing is that the hitch ball really needs to be in the front end of the ball receptacle. If not, the ball seems to hang up on the coupler jaw and not drop fully onto the receptacle. Two things help a lot. First, I hold the latch open as far it will go as I lower the trailer onto the tongue hitch (electric hitch jack). This probably withdraws the jaw maybe 1/8” more at most, but it seems to make a real difference.

The other thing is that I try to have the ball a little to the front (about 3/4”) of the “ideal” location. As the tongue descends, the front edge of the receptacle lands upon the edge of ball, and there is enough slop in the combined system that with further lowering, the receptacle captures the ball and the latch easily closes completely, with the yoke completely down.

Still, in some cases, the yoke won’t go completely down. Pulling forward a few feet and then revisiting the yoke always seems to work.

For unhitching, I find that once the yoke is up, Lifting the back of the truck (Tacoma) about 1.5” with the tongue jack almost always releases the ball, as the truck settles back into its resting state. Raise the tongue a couple more inches and drive away. (This technique seems like it would be hard on the tongue jack, but you are just lifting the truck a small bit off its equilibrium spring state.) My electric tongue jack is hardly fazed. Be careful of possible pinch hazards.

Getting the yoke/latch up can be a problem, but once again make sure the ball is in the front of the cup. Every once in a while, if the ball is exerting a fair torque on the cup (e.g.a great trailer landing spot, but iffy approach) the yoke won’t clear. I always carry a few pry bars and a 4-lb hammer. A few gentle nudges (and only gentle nudges) with the bar almost always solves the problem. If it doesn’t, time to start over. Don’t do anything to damage your hitch assemblies, or you might create a new and very real problem.

As for greasing ball or hitch internals, this van create a real grit trap. It starts out to be lubricating, and ends up being abrasive. Perhaps no problem if you stay on paved roads, but a real issue if you get into the back country, especially red dust of the Colorado Plateau.

And yes, the yoke in the picture looks bent on the leading end. I can see that this could be a confounding problem.

[lloydjdorsey@gmail.com]

Excellent tutorial, wxguy. Alaskans have a way of figuring things out. thanks.

[Bobbie54]

Mine has a slight bend but is just the lip; the shape of the ball part is unchanged.