Tragic 69 Camaro Crash of the Year !!!!!!!

[markjohnson]

I see that the 'ball hitch' has become the focus of this thread. Please keep us updated on the cause of this crash. I've seen trailer balls in the store that are 'quickly-interchangeable' by sliding different size diameters over a straight shank. No thanks....not for me! In fact, I have an expensive Stainless Steel ball on the back of my Duallie and sometimes I look at it and hope that it's not that same soft stainless steel that hardware store bolts are made from. Those hardware store stainless bolts are extremely soft and twist off easily. I'd hate to have a trailer hitch ball of the sale material.

[Musclecarkid]

If Jim's friend found the nut and shank from that 2-5/16 ball at the scene of the accident, then it did not cause the accident. Most likely it sheared on impact with the guard rail or as it rolled in the ditch. Remember the cause of the accident was hard braking to avoid stopped vehicles, which resulted in jack knifing the truck and trailer. The whole rig hit the guard rail backwards while jack knifed. Anyone want to guess the stress factor on that 1 inch ball shank on inpact?