Off the Ball - connection issue

[DT6]

We finally picked up our Escape 19 last month ( June 2019) that was finished last December. Our Escape came OFF the ball shortly after pulling out of the parking lot where the transfer takes place across the border in Washington.

The hookup process they showed us at the factory was that once the latch goes down and the cotter-pin goes through the hole, you are hooked up and ready to go. I watched the Escape employee who drove it over the border while he hooked it up to our truck. He said the same thing, the latch is down and the pin is through the hole, so you are good to go.

Well, not so fast. Shortly, about a mile or so out of the parking lot the trailer tongue came off the truck hitch-ball just after we rounded a corner at a 4-way stop. Even though the latch was down and the cotter pin was through the hole and it looked okay, the trailer tongue was not securely attached to the ball on the tow vehicle hitch. So the only thing keeping the trailer attached to our truck at this point were the safety chains and without the tongue attached to the ball on the truck hitch, the trailer jack started dragging on the highway.

We are fortunate that we going fairly slow (under 30mph I think) when the trailer detached, and I remembered to not slam on the brakes and let the trailer bring us to a stop as much as possible. Needless to say we were pretty shaken up. It was a scary situation at first as my wife had to get out in traffic to direct people/trucks around, while I'm trying to figure out how I can get the trailer attached and hoping someone does not plow into the back. Fortunately several good samaritans helped. One individual stopped and helped me get the trailer/truck moved so I could detach the chains from the truck without cutting them, and two Washington State highway construction workers who stopped on their way to work helped my wife continue to direct traffic around us. We were finally able to get the trailer back on the hitch. We were barely able to do this and I was wishing I had a pair of bolt-cutters or a hacksaw to cut the chain, but in the end we did not need to. By this time of course, we were past the end of the day, so we carefully made our way to our planned campsite.

We called the next day to vigorously complain (okay, we were livid). This was hooked up and blessed by their guy, I was just watching, and he followed the same process as the factory orientation. At first, the company rep sounded a bit defensive and stated that they have never had a hitch failure and didn't bother to ask if we were okay until later in the conversation. At that point we told him we wanted the option of returning it for a complete refund - after all, if they cannot successfully hook it up how am I supposed to have confidence that I can? At that point Escape offered to take the trailer back with a full refund if we wanted.

This offer actually helped us feel better about the situation, and after further discussion we all agreed that it would be best for Escape to send a qualified staff member down to Washington to inspect the trailer for damage and to make a recommendation.

The next day (day three of ownership), Trevor drove down from Chilliwack and after a thorough inspection it was a minor miracle that no damage had occurred, although the jack skid plate showed a lot of scuffing. Trevor and I probably attached and unhooked the trailer from the tow hitch about three times to make sure it was normal. He was very concerned, and it showed in how much time he spent looking at everything. We felt good about everything after his inspection and went over a new procedure to ensure the hookup is solid. Going forward, Escape will not longer tell everyone that the hook-up is good if the latch goes down and pin goes through. The new process I discussed with Escape is that once the latch and pin are in place, lower the jack to ensure both the trailer and car/truck hitch both rise together and don't separate. It only takes a minute or so and is wort the effort for safety.

We feel extremely lucky to have gotten thru all of that without any issues, it could have easily been so much worse. We are now down in Oregon and fortunately we have not had any towing issues since. Whew!