2" ball, latch down and secured with a pin, and I nudge the car forward and backward and pull up vigorously on the hitch to make sure the vehicle comes up a little with it.  I haven't tried jacking it up after hitching to be absolutely sure, but my concern is that the thing is working itself loose over a number of miles (don't know how that's possible with a rod securing the closed latch though).

The first incident happened about an hour into the trip after encountering a bad bump in the road.  The most recent incident happened after 3 hours of driving.  I'd gone over a number of rough spots during the early part of those 3 hours with no problem.  The point in the trip where it came off the ball was on a fairly smooth highway - very bizarre.  Then yesterday I googled the situation and found a number of people with the same problem, who all have the same hitch style.  Some have alerted the National Highway Safety Board.

I'll take a look at Equal-i-zer hitches - I thought about one originally, but the r-pod 172 is so light that I didn't think I needed one.

It is something I was taught to do with any trailer, long ago.  It isn't an R-pod thing.

I had a custom trailer & hitch company install the Bull Dog hitch I posted. Forest River "WILL NOT" replace coupler with a different one. They will "ONLY" replace with same coupler on trailer.

 

Welding certification come in many positions, metal thickness, welding process, and metal types. When the term "Certified Welder" is used it only means that welder is certified under the welding procedure that have tested under. There is not a single welding certification that covers all types of welding.

All welding certifications come in many positions. The position are different depending if the welder will be welding on plate of pipe. The terms properly used in the welding field refers to plate as "structural welding" and pipe as "pipe welding".

I'm a welding inspector for American Welding Society for oil rigs, for the last 15yrs.

Thanks,

Sam

Definitely going to issue a complaint to DOT.  FR needs to tell us if there is a problem with the hitch/latch.  Jacking the trailer up to verify solid coupling is a good preventative step but it can't overcome faulty engineering - if that proves to be the case.  At any rate - this wasn't a cheap lesson to learn but it could have been a hell of a lot worse had the hitch decouple at 60 vs. 25.

If I end up hearing back from FR, I'll post. 

Forest River agreed to change my coupler out with the "SAME" crappy coupler. I turned them down! I don't feel they have safety or people's life a high priority. They are a bottom line/cut cost/out source parts cheap company. Example: Steel from China - has a lot of impurities and is weak, but looks just like USA steel.

I want to feel safe driving down the road. I want to sleep at night knowing my trailer didn't come off, kill anyone, or me!

I had custom trailer and hitch place inspect and replace hitch with a bull dog hitch for $150. Ask yourself. Is it worth having Forest River replace with same cheap, faulty coupler or $150 worth knowing you can drive down the road safely!

P.S. YES, I did file a complaint (attached link to this forum) with: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/

U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. (I also file about their axles.) 

If enough people email the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. They will investigate!

See picture of new couple. uploads/3317/20150721_130702.jpg

I've reached out to Forrest River via email but I have not yet received a response.  In the meantime, I am having the hitch inspected by a local trailer shop / service center that performs state safety inspections.  Thankfully, the shop is about 1/4 mile from where I store my trailer.  

I appreciate the tip to raise the jack to verify static mating.  I've never done that before but maybe I've just been lucky with my previous trailers.  

Hoping to hear from FR this week.  

When I got out of the car, the latch was still in the locked position but the trailer was hanging by its chain (yes, only 1, one link on the factory chains snapped!  Trailer ground to a halt on the jackstand.  Wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. 

Reading this post has me perplexed.  What is the purpose of the latch lock if we can't trust that its secure without jacking up the trailer to make sure it locked?  I guess that may be SOP for the R-POD.  If so, I can live with it but that needs to be printed in big red letters on the tongue "This latch has a tendency to fail, raise your jack stand to ensure that our shoddy equipment actually works" 

I've towed trailers and boats hundreds of times in my life.  I have hit many bumps much worse than the pavement transition this past weekend.  Never have I worried about a trailer coming free after feeling positive engagement on the ball and closing the latch.  This really has me concerned about bringing this back out on the road again - especially after hearing the steps other owners are taking to make sure that a locked latch is actually secure.  

Has Forest River made any statements about this risk in their coupler design?  

I have had a trailer bounce off the ball and onto the chains. Fortunately I wasn't moving too fast. Was loud and scary. I forgot to latch it. Learned that lesson and now never tow anything without pin or lock on hitch latch. I'm pretty sure it's a requirement in some states.

fred