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B&W fail or Operator Error?

shadows4
Explorer III
Explorer III
Not my truck, trailer or hitch. Buddy of mine had this happen to him a couple of weeks ago. Said he did a pull test, all was good. When he pulled out of the campsite it disconnected. I do not have anymore pics than what are shown here. I think he must have missed the second hole when he pinned it. He has had this setup for about 4 years without a problem. He did hook it back up and drove 3 1/2 hrs to the next campground. What are your thoughts?



2016 4X4 F350,CC,SB,Lariat,6.7L diesel,
2015 Coachmen Chapparal 324 TSRK
B&W Patriot 16K hitch.
34 REPLIES 34

valhalla360
Nomad
Nomad
thomas201 wrote:
No one has yet mentioned a flashlight. Drag your lazy carcass out of the cab and really look.


I painted the back side of the jaws white. If you couldn't see white all the way across the pin, it wasn't fully closed (yes, sometimes you still needed a flashlight)
Tammy & Mike
Ford F250 V10
2021 Gray Wolf
Gemini Catamaran 34'
Full Time spliting time between boat and RV

FishOnOne
Explorer III
Explorer III
Calling on the VP of B&W Marketing arm.
'12 Ford Super Duty FX4 ELD CC 6.7 PSD 400HP 800ft/lbs "270k Miles"
'16 Sprinter 319MKS "Wide Body"

shadows4
Explorer III
Explorer III
OP'er here. My buddy and I have discussed this over and over and even he says it had to be operator error. And what is really amazing to me is the estimate to repair the truck, over $5400!!!! Wow, just wow.
2016 4X4 F350,CC,SB,Lariat,6.7L diesel,
2015 Coachmen Chapparal 324 TSRK
B&W Patriot 16K hitch.

philh
Explorer II
Explorer II
Fulltimer50 wrote:
I dont understand some peoples obsession with not using proper procedures or included safety features. The pin in the handles is there for a reason why not us it? Is it soooo hard to do a pull test?

I went to do a pull test with landing gear barely off the ground. And "experienced" 5th wheel RVer, was freaking out, stating I was going to damage my landing gear dragging it like that. I should have asked for more advice from him... to not follow!

JIMNLIN
Explorer
Explorer
Learjet wrote:
OMG!...that was a high hitch if I was a betting man or the handle was not fully to the rear of the truck.

IF the B&W is hitched properly...confirmed from visual inspection and the handle is pinned....NOOOOO way would that happen...period...physically impossible!

Let the haters hate 🙂

Your statement if the B&W was hitched correctly is true....but also true for any 5th wheel hitch type or brand.

I haven't heard anyone bash or hate the B&W hitch unlike A couple of B&W owners on this website bash other brands constantly...you know the type that thinks their equipment is biggest/best .....and brag the B&W can't be high hitched or drop a trailer......and brag you don't have to pull test or do a visual with the B&W brand hitch.

What happened to the owner in the picture can happen with any 5th wheel OTR or rv type hitch brand when hitch jaws aren't around the pin and latched properly.
"good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" ............ Will Rogers

'03 2500 QC Dodge/Cummins HO 3.73 6 speed manual Jacobs Westach
'97 Park Avanue 28' 5er 11200 two slides

blofgren
Explorer
Explorer
GMH wrote:
I would say operator error also. One time I hitched up and forgot to close the front cargo hatch, so I had to unhitch. The handle on my BW would not stay open due to the pressure of the kingpin on the jaws, so I pinned it open. I pulled ahead, closed the hatch and re-connected. I raised the landing gear and pulled ahead a couple inches so that I could remove the wheel chocks. On my way back to the truck I was horrified to see the handle still pinned in the open position! I got away really lucky and won’t make that mistake ever again!


I had to pin the handle open on my B&W once to hold the jaws open in order to unhook as well.

With my previous hitch, I had the hitch pinned open while trying to hook up and could not figure out why it would not latch after a few tries. When I "reset" and looked over everything again I was shocked to see my mistake. Bad things can happen when in autopilot...
2013 Ram 3500 Megacab DRW Laramie 4x4, 6.7L Cummins, G56, 3.73, Maximum Steel, black lthr, B&W RVK3670 hitch, Retrax, Linex, and a bunch of options incl. cargo camera
2008 Corsair Excella Platinum 34.5 CKTS fifth wheel with winter package & disc brakes

dieseltruckdriv
Explorer II
Explorer II
GMH wrote:
dieseltruckdriver wrote:

Your experience is exactly why I say no one does a proper pull test.

When I hook up, I do three separate visual checks.

I hope this never happens to me, but if it does, I know it will be operator error, not equipment error.

A proper pull test (with the landing gear slightly raised and the wheels chocked or brakes applied) would have saved my bacon. The second visual check DID save my bacon. I never do a proper pull test, only a brake test. If I had done my usual brake test before the 2nd visual, I would have dropped the trailer and it would have been 100% my fault.

I should have added that I don't move until the visual checks are done.
2000 F-250 7.3 Powerstroke
2018 Arctic Fox 27-5L

GMH
Explorer
Explorer
dieseltruckdriver wrote:

Your experience is exactly why I say no one does a proper pull test.

When I hook up, I do three separate visual checks.

I hope this never happens to me, but if it does, I know it will be operator error, not equipment error.

A proper pull test (with the landing gear slightly raised and the wheels chocked or brakes applied) would have saved my bacon. The second visual check DID save my bacon. I never do a proper pull test, only a brake test. If I had done my usual brake test before the 2nd visual, I would have dropped the trailer and it would have been 100% my fault.

dieseltruckdriv
Explorer II
Explorer II
GMH wrote:
I would say operator error also. One time I hitched up and forgot to close the front cargo hatch, so I had to unhitch. The handle on my BW would not stay open due to the pressure of the kingpin on the jaws, so I pinned it open. I pulled ahead, closed the hatch and re-connected. I raised the landing gear and pulled ahead a couple inches so that I could remove the wheel chocks. On my way back to the truck I was horrified to see the handle still pinned in the open position! I got away really lucky and won’t make that mistake ever again!

Your experience is exactly why I say no one does a proper pull test. It is also why I never do one. If you don't know how much throttle you need to use to pull out when your hitch is open you are not doing a proper pull test.

Before anyone jumps on me, I drove semi's for 17 years weighing 120,000 lbs. I have never dropped a trailer. When I got my B&W, I did an actual proper pull test. I hooked up, pinned the jaws open and raised the legs a 1/4" off the blocks then pulled out from under it and let the trailer drop. You would be shocked how much throttle it took to pull away with only the trailer weight holding things together. That is the only way to know if your pull test is good or just a feel good exercise.

When I hook up, I do three separate visual checks. That way even if I get distracted I know I did a visual check. I painted the bottom part of the pin yellow so my wife can see that it is below the jaws and the jaws are closed. She checks me every time before we move.

I hope this never happens to me, but if it does, I know it will be operator error, not equipment error.
2000 F-250 7.3 Powerstroke
2018 Arctic Fox 27-5L

time2roll
Explorer II
Explorer II
Unless there is twisted and ripped metal that failed.... operator error. If the hitch works fine after with no repair.... that confirms no hitch issue.
Best to assume human error unless proven the equipment was defective and needs repair.
Plenty of RV equipment can be damaged by user oversight error.

MFL
Nomad II
Nomad II
Learjet wrote:
OMG!...that was a high hitch if I was a betting man or the handle was not fully to the rear of the truck.

IF the B&W is hitched properly...confirmed from visual inspection and the handle is pinned....NOOOOO way would that happen...period...physically impossible!

Let the haters hate 🙂


Yup ^^above is correct!

Oh...no reason to hate the messenger LJ for stating a fact! 🙂

Learjet
Explorer
Explorer
OMG!...that was a high hitch if I was a betting man or the handle was not fully to the rear of the truck.

IF the B&W is hitched properly...confirmed from visual inspection and the handle is pinned....NOOOOO way would that happen...period...physically impossible!

Let the haters hate 🙂
2017 Ram Big Horn, DRW Long Box, 4x4, Cummins, Aisin, 3.73
2022 Jayco Pinnacle 32RLTS, Onan 5500, Disc Brakes, 17.5" tires
B&W Ram Companion

GMH
Explorer
Explorer
I would say operator error also. One time I hitched up and forgot to close the front cargo hatch, so I had to unhitch. The handle on my BW would not stay open due to the pressure of the kingpin on the jaws, so I pinned it open. I pulled ahead, closed the hatch and re-connected. I raised the landing gear and pulled ahead a couple inches so that I could remove the wheel chocks. On my way back to the truck I was horrified to see the handle still pinned in the open position! I got away really lucky and won’t make that mistake ever again!

12th_Man_Fan
Explorer
Explorer
The fact that he was able to re-hook the trailer and pull it for 3.5 hrs makes it obvious it had to be operator error the first time, in my opinion.
2014 GMC Duramax 4X4 DRW Crew

2015 DRV Tradition