Towing safety

[mudseeker]

to save you all from a long story, a guy rented our 35ft boom lift and broke it pretty bad. one of the things in the need of fixing is the break away system, those of you who tow know what i'm talking about.
anywho, i'm in the begining of the rebuild proccess and wanted to know if it's safe to re-use the lever that activates the system? the cable snapped and the lever was somewhat tweaked but went back in to shape with a little help of a hammer. i'm sure the part is cheap, but you all know time is money, safety is another concern too.

so, what say thee?
oh, i'll post pics later

[merlin5577]

I would replace it, better safe then sorry.

[75K30]

Anytime a saftey element is compromised it should be replaced. This is true for saftey belts, helmets, and other saftey devices.
Did you know that saftey belts are supposed to be replaced after any accident, or incident?
Any impact with a helmet could compromise the helmet and these should be replaced and are recommended as such?

Even something as simple as a saftey chain could be suspect and would be better off replaced.

The same is true for your saftey break away.
Let me see if this can be re-worded.
How liable would your company be if another incident were to occur and the system failed and caused further damage? Would it be a far fetched cry to say that some lawer might hold you company responsible for neglecting to properly repair a saftey device should this device fail because it was not replaced and simply repaired?
Between us, the thing would probably work like a champ, but if another incident were to occur, and it failed, you might find yourself in a bind if the DOT were to have to investigate.
To me, it is totally worth the time and expanse to replace the entire thing.

[merlin5577]

Originally Posted by 75K30

Anytime a saftey element is compromised it should be replaced. This is true for saftey belts, helmets, and other saftey devices.
Did you know that saftey belts are supposed to be replaced after any accident, or incident?
Any impact with a helmet could compromise the helmet and these should be replaced and are recommended as such?

Even something as simple as a saftey chain could be suspect and would be better off replaced.

The same is true for your saftey break away.
Let me see if this can be re-worded.
How liable would your company be if another incident were to occur and the system failed and caused further damage? Would it be a far fetched cry to say that some lawer might hold you company responsible for neglecting to properly repair a saftey device should this device fail because it was not replaced and simply repaired?
Between us, the thing would probably work like a champ, but if another incident were to occur, and it failed, you might find yourself in a bind if the DOT were to have to investigate.
To me, it is totally worth the time and expanse to replace the entire thing.

Great minds think alike!

[mudseeker]

yeah, your right. if it was my personal trailer i would probably re-use it. i figure it's a one time use item though, so i'll replace it along with the seals for the MC. i've yet to make it to the axle, hate to guess what i'll find wrong on that end.
i've already replaced the tongue jack and tongue, that was $300 right there.

[gmctrucks]

Children car seats are the same way if you have a car/truck accident they need to be replaced even if they didn't get damaged.

[bradrhale]

this is my thought. is it your money?? being that you dont mind so much now, what would happen if you let that part go?? a customer comes to pick it up and has a problem. the safety fails. now the company has a record of a part that has been damaged and failed to replace it. easy lawsuit waiting to happen. but when it comes crunch time, who was the mechanic that let it out of the shop?? i think it is time for you to find another job. as well as attending the possible funeral of the person that just died because you did not put on the $5 part.

[mudseeker]

broken gear out of the new tongue jack, just out of the box

hmmmm, noticed the brake line was disconnected when putting new tongue jack on.

disassembly time

bent break away lever

damaged MC boot

your guess is as good as mine

good verse bad

ripped it like a piece of paper

$140 piece of scrap metal


so here's what i think happened:
due to the amount of mud on the equipment i believe the guy got it stuck and his little jimmy couldn't pull it out. an attempt of freeing it from the mud with a tow strap/chain resulted in the damaged tongue. hey, who would of thought hooking to the pin under the tongue would damage it. after destroying the tongue, they attempted to tow it back to the store and in the process it came off the hitch, activating the breakaway system. again, who would of thought that would happen. some how the tongue jack broke it's fall, causing the handle to snap off. the morons then decide to undue the brake fitting (under pressure) so they can finish the rest of the trip. once at the store they unhooked from it and pretended nothing happened, until i came in the next day and confronted them with the damage. his defense?? " my little jimmy 4x4 couldn't have done that damage"
i looked at him and said " sir, even my truck couldn't do that damage if you were towing the equipment properly and weren't playing tug-of-war with it."

some times i wonder how i still have a job, my mouth just can't keep me out of trouble.

[mudseeker]

ordered the part before i left today, it was $40 for the cable and lever as an assembly.

[bradrhale]

brutal damage. i wish i knew what goes through peoples heads.