Chatty
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't bet against that failure being a fatigue crack initiating at the end of the diagonal reinforcement and which has been propagating for some time.
Those drop tongues generate significant bending in the receiver tongue and fatigue welds always like to find a weak spot. And the Yanks like to tow significantly bigger and heavier trailers than we typically see in Australia and they don't have the same requirements around trailer brakes that we have here - adding substantially to the forces those hitches have to deal with.
Having said that, most steel sections will bend substantially (to the point where you should be having an oh poo! moment) before a properly prepared full depth (straight) butt weld fails.
Those drop tongues generate significant bending in the receiver tongue and fatigue welds always like to find a weak spot. And the Yanks like to tow significantly bigger and heavier trailers than we typically see in Australia and they don't have the same requirements around trailer brakes that we have here - adding substantially to the forces those hitches have to deal with.
An angled weld gives you more weld length for a given joint than a straight weld, which will give you more strength.He was saying an angled weld is better than a vertical weld. Personally, I wouldn't know.
Having said that, most steel sections will bend substantially (to the point where you should be having an oh poo! moment) before a properly prepared full depth (straight) butt weld fails.