trailer couplers

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volaredon

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Need some parts. I have a MARVEL 2" A frame coupler on my utility trailer. I think it is worn out. Had it come off the ball and the coupler smacked my tailgate a couple times.... (came off 3 times total, no new dents the 3rd time) Lever fastened, and padlocked.... had a matching 2" ball, but the ball is a but rusty. the last time was going a whole 15mph, on freshly laid gravel.
Coupler is welded, so I really don't wanna cut it off so I can replace.... would rather just find new guts for it, if possible. Yeah I searched (well via Bing anyway) and came up empty on this brand. Found 1 "hit" and that company was out of stock. I think this is an old company, could they be defunct? I'm looking for the coupler guts.
I know I didn't have my load centered ideally, but that's because the deck on the Kubota I was moving, is too wide to go between the fenders// so I had to carry it farther back, than I'd have liked to....didn't mind having to go slow, didn't bother me. I made it back to where I picked up the tractor (my son's house) after I did what I needed, without issue. tractor didn't budge on trailer deck, even when "nose up". good thing for tie straps.
My son +me are ~400 lb combined, we both had to get on the tongue, and were able to pull it back onto the ball each time. I only went about 8 miles on back country roads (minimal traffic) 16 miles total there + back.
not only that, but I blew up one of my Ariens tractors as well..... got it well used, no idea of # hours. Had a Kohler KT19 series 1. (which are known not to like side hills like ditches, I had those done and had made about a dozen laps on dead flat ground. I'd mowed those same ditches with that same machine, a handful of times over the past year...... no "BANG," just a bunch of oil smoke, once windowed..... I have an 18hp Magnum that I can slap on there/ but not sure if I want to...... that engine is destined for a spare for my other Ariens GT19, that has power steering and is my snow blower tractor. wonder if I could fit a /6 on that frame haha.....
 
If it took that much for you and your son to pull the tongue down, that was your issue. Should have dropped the deck and put the tractor on the trailer farther. The wedge inside the cup is to hold the ball with weight on it. Needs 250# min. on the tongue.
 
If the torque on the tongue of the improperly loaded trailer was enough to wallow the coupler and let the ball come out.....

I'd replace it.

...and if it's heavy enough I'd consider paying someone to do it.

My commercially built 5x8 trailer has a 1 7/8 coupler.

Everything else I own is 2".

I have a 2" coupler for it and I plan to do it my self.
Cutting the old one off is going to be a pain.

If it were a car or equipment trailer, I think I'd spend the money to have it done professionally.
 
Go to harbor freight, buy a coupler, swap the guts out?
And agree, the way your trailer was loaded is begging for a coupler failure.
 
If it took that much for you and your son to pull the tongue down, that was your issue. Should have dropped the deck and put the tractor on the trailer farther. The wedge inside the cup is to hold the ball with weight on it. Needs 250# min. on the tongue.
thought we'd be ok for the low speeds and short distance we were going. That deck is a pain to R and R. We made it back to my son's house just fine when we were done /on main roads too /with same truck trailer hitch and load.we weren't fishtailing at all either at those low speeds.
That coupler still should not have come off the ball. Both are 2". Now if I had a 1-7/8 ball on a 2" coupler or some such mismatch I could easily understand what happened.
Yeah I know that couplers are all over the place, but I was hoping to find just the compatible guts to avoid having to grind off the welds holding the current coupler body to the rest of the tongue.
 
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If the torque on the tongue of the improperly loaded trailer was enough to wallow the coupler and let the ball come out.....

I'd replace it.

...and if it's heavy enough I'd consider paying someone to do it.

My commercially built 5x8 trailer has a 1 7/8 coupler.

Everything else I own is 2".

I have a 2" coupler for it and I plan to do it my self.
Cutting the old one off is going to be a pain.

If it were a car or equipment trailer, I think I'd spend the money to have it done professionally.
I've done that sort of work before, without issues. I am confident in my abilities to weld a new one on.
I doubt that 1 time was enough to wallow anything out. I know it's old, I cut down a camper frame, moved the axle, and built the dovetail on this trailer, right about 13 years ago. There is a "74" deeply engraved in the existing coupler below the brand, a big "2" (2 inch) and all the patent numbers I wouldn't be surprised if that "74" was a date stamp.
I've towed this thing all over the place including 300-350 mile round trip the 2 days prior at interstate speeds, with the same drawbar behind my other truck without issue. Usually I tow my own garden tractors (often 2-3 at a time) or car parts, etc on this trailer. Just one time I needed something bigger, and this happens.
My son says his tractor is around 1400 lb, the axle is rated for 3500 (and yeah I know that includes the weight of the trailer itself too)
 
Go to harbor freight, buy a coupler, swap the guts out?
And agree, the way your trailer was loaded is begging for a coupler failure.
I don't buy anything from harbor freight. Sorry.
And of the coupler guts I did find somehow there's a difference between those for a straight style or an a frame style (which this one is) and more differences.
 
Need some parts. I have a MARVEL 2" A frame coupler on my utility trailer. I think it is worn out. Had it come off the ball and the coupler smacked my tailgate a couple times.... (came off 3 times total, no new dents the 3rd time) Lever fastened, and padlocked.... had a matching 2" ball, but the ball is a but rusty. the last time was going a whole 15mph, on freshly laid gravel.
Coupler is welded, so I really don't wanna cut it off so I can replace.... would rather just find new guts for it, if possible. Yeah I searched (well via Bing anyway) and came up empty on this brand. Found 1 "hit" and that company was out of stock. I think this is an old company, could they be defunct? I'm looking for the coupler guts.
I know I didn't have my load centered ideally, but that's because the deck on the Kubota I was moving, is too wide to go between the fenders// so I had to
carry it farther back, than I'd have liked to....didn't mind having to go slow, didn't bother me. I made it back to where I picked up the tractor (my son's house) after I did what I needed, without issue. tractor didn't budge on trailer deck, even when "nose up". good thing for tie straps.
My son +me are ~400 lb combined, we both had to get on the tongue, and were able to pull it back onto the ball each time. I only went about 8 miles on back country roads (minimal traffic) 16 miles total there + back.
not only that, but I blew up one of my Ariens tractors as well..... got it well used, no idea of # hours. Had a Kohler KT19 series 1. (which are known not to like side hills like ditches, I had those done and had made about a dozen laps on dead flat ground. I'd mowed those same ditches with that same machine, a handful of times over the past year...... no "BANG," just a bunch of oil smoke, once windowed..... I have an 18hp Magnum that I can slap on there/ but not sure if I want to...... that engine is destined for a spare for my other Ariens GT19, that has power steering and is my snow blower tractor. wonder if I could fit a /6 on that frame haha.....

In reading your post what could possibly go wrong? Your probably lucky that the trailer didn’t come completely loose and kill or injured anyone. I’ve been towing trailers for 40 years and one time I failed to put enough tongue weight on the hitch. We were coming down a big hill and the trailer started to fishtail. It was so bad that I could see across the complete back of the deck lid and luckily I got it stopped without wrecking. We moved the car forward and continued our trip but later I found out that both rear springs had broken leafs.
 
I was on country roads, flat as a pancake, nobody else on the road around me, only had a few miles to go, etc.
If I had to have gone any distance, in traffic, etc we would have definitely done something different from the get go.
Believe it or not I too have towed a more than decent amount over many years
 
As mentioned in post 11, being tail heavy is just begging for the trailer to fishtail. With the trailer tail heavy you are reducing weight on the trucks rear axle,
compounding the danger. Do yourself a favor and replace the coupler don’t just ‘repair’ it.
Yote
 
When towing 2000 lbs you need 200 lbs of tounge weight.

Your tongue weight should equal 10% of the load weight.

Having negative tounge weight is an accident waiting for a place to happen.

Need the proper trailer to haul your mower deck tractor. Go borrow one from a friend if you have to.

Hauled a compact tractor on a 16' tandem axle, beaver tail car trailer no problem.

Screenshot_20220414-104742_Gallery.jpg


Proper tounge weight, want some of the weight on the ball hitch of the tow vehicle.
 
I get that, that's why we went s l o w, and thru the country, weren't fast enough for a fishtail, went slow enough to keep that from happening, I still say that the ball should not have become uncoupled without broken parts or the lever able to pop up. I acknowledge it wouldn't tow very well at speeds much faster than we were trying to go...
This is the first time we have had to move the tractor with the deck mounted, farther than we were willing to drive it down the road, it's far from an everyday thing or even a once a year thing.....
If anything we're moving the tractor with a bucket on it which (again without the deck) fits this trailer just fine. We knew that it wouldn't tow nice but also knew we had to move slowly, but certainly didn't expect it to come off the ball while still coupled. We get it we weren't going across the county or anything with it.... Everyone here has had to "make do"" with what they had available/ at least once over the years
We knew it might be a problem but certainly wasn't expecting "that" problem /strangely none of the issues we thought could happen, did.
 
I cut damn near every trailer hitch and swap the couplers to the same ball for every trailer i own.
If it looks like this latch style (Walmart special) it's the first to go before I ever haul anything

25_grande.jpg



I have yet to have this style latch come loose and I always weld them. To me bolts are weak and are just shear pins.

titancplrstrt.jpg



Next on the list is to toss the jack that's mounted in the center of the A frame. It's begging to smash a tailgate. The pic below reminds me of that goofy aluminum box that is perched there. Do you use the bed of the truck or is it a decoration to haul groceries?
images.jpeg


I always switch to outside mounted.

That's just my .02 to save agravation
 
It makes me kind of wonder if the OP even had a padlock or a 5/16" bolt in the lever lock, or if they just pushed it on and latched it.

Surely 400 lbs of negative tung weight bouncing would have popped that lever catch without a bolt in it.

20220516_175534.jpg
 
No even with a bolt in that hole, that style seems to slop back and forth and work it's way loose. The catch is usually so minuscule that it's almost like not having one.

At least everyone I have ever seen.
 
It makes me kind of wonder if the OP even had a padlock or a 5/16" bolt in the lever lock, or if they just pushed it on and latched it.

Surely 400 lbs of negative tung weight bouncing would have popped that lever catch without a bolt in it.

View attachment 1715928570
I've mentioned several times I had a PADLOCK in that damn hole!!!! And unless something is wore out, being as how everything is the same 2", there is NO WAY that "LATCHED AND LOCKED" coupler should have slid over the ball. Please, Re read what I wrote. I specified that it was LOCKED more than once before your comment and picture of a coupler with an empty latch lock hole.
I am striking out on finding anything (replacement guts) for that brand coupler so I guess I'm gonna have to buy a new one and grind the welds off and reweld a whole new coupler. Not a lot of money for a new one (I know) but for the "hassle factor" in a complete replacement.
I cut damn near every trailer hitch and swap the couplers to the same ball for every trailer i own.
If it looks like this latch style (Walmart special) it's the first to go before I ever haul anything

View attachment 1715928562


I have yet to have this style latch come loose and I always weld them. To me bolts are weak and are just shear pins.

View attachment 1715928561


Next on the list is to toss the jack that's mounted in the center of the A frame. It's begging to smash a tailgate. The pic below reminds me of that goofy aluminum box that is perched there. Do you use the bed of the truck or is it a decoration to haul groceries?
View attachment 1715928563

I always switch to outside mounted.

That's just my .02 to save agravation
thanks for the pix but mine isn't a straight version like you show/ it's an A frame style. I have several located, not hard to find.
For the gazillion the time I was hoping to find just the guts to avoid the cutting and welding....
I needed that trailer tonight again but ain't using it til I get the new one and get it mounted.
And every trailer I regularly tow, has a 2" ball. If I need a 2-5/16 I borrow my kid's truck. As the biggest I have is a1/2 ton
 
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