Trailer bolt failure

[mark poulson]

A word to the wise.
I have been having an intermittent short of some kind on the boat driver side of my Ranger trailer.
I was locking the swing away tongue in place this afternoon, so I don't have to do it tomorrow morning, and I noticed there seemed to be a lot of thread showing on the swing away pivot bolt, the one that's the axle for the tongue when it's unlocked and pivots to the side.
I reached down and felt the nut, which felt tight, but when I lifted up on the tongue, the nut and the threaded part of the bolt came out in my hand. At that point I grabbed the top of the bolt, and it just lifed out.
So that's why my trailer lights were sometimes on the fritz. The bolt provides the ground from the trailer to the hitch.
The bolt is stainless steel, and tempered, so I'm guessing it was tempered improperly.
I just feel lucky that I found it in my driveway, and not when the bolt worked it's way out while I was driving.
I was able to replace it with a bolt from my local lumber yard temporarily, reusing the sst aircraft nut and washers from the original, and I'll go down to West Marine Sunday and buy the proper sst bolt to replace it permanently.
So check you pivot bolts.

[bryanmc]

Mark...
I had the exact same thing happen today on the Marine Master trailer under my Triton when I was hooking up to go to the lake. Like you, I'm glad I found it in the driveway and not on the highway. Strange coincidence.

[mark poulson]

Bryan,
That is a strange cooincidence. I'm glad you found it before it fell out.
It's got to be a reboltin' conspiracy!

[kane-o]

your both very lucky, glad it did not happen on the road... someone is watching out for you guys

[Cat Skinner]

I had the same problem. I contacted Ranger about it and they said the problem is rare, but the dealer had replacements,hmmmm. This is what you need right here.http://www.boltdepot.com/dimension.aspx ... =244&cm=25. 6 inch 5/8. The threaded bolts will keep breaking because there is a shear plane created by threading.

[mark poulson]

I had the same problem. I contacted Ranger about it and they said the problem is rare, but the dealer had replacements,hmmmm. This is what you need right here.http://www.boltdepot.com/dimension.aspx ... =244&cm=25. 6 inch 5/8. The threaded bolts will keep breaking because there is a shear plane created by threading.

Cat,
Do regular steel bolts have the same shear plane?
Is it exaggerated by the tempering process?
So many questions, so little time.

[Cat Skinner]

The Ranger supplied bolts are grade 8. That's the strongest I know of. The shoulder bolts are 5/8ths all the way past the bottom plate on the tongue. The threaded bolts are 5/8ths at the outside of the thread but smaller on the inside. I still can't believe Rangers attitude on the matter.

[offduty]

According to a friend who works at the local hardware store grade 8 bolts will not be threaded all the way and that is one of the stipulations to grade 8. His family has owned that store as long as I have been around so I figure that info is reliable.

Rich

[Vince Borges]

While your at it! Don't forget to check your jackplate and other bolts! I almost lost my engine when my top two mounting bolts back off and sheered straight off! Sent the engine back at a very funky angle and almost lost control!

[fishingfamily]

your both very lucky, glad it did not happen on the road... someone is watching out for you guys

+1 thats scary for you and the guy driving behind you,glad you found out before.