Minor accident, need advice.

boardsurfer

boardsurfer

Active Member
My girlfriend was rear-ended yesterday (cue jokes). The trailer hitch took the brunt of the hit and the other car never made it to the bumper so not even a scratch there. As a result though the hitch is now slightly bent out of place.

IMG_0478.JPG

How big of a deal is this? I know the hitch is bolted to the cross member, which connects to the frame rails right? Is it possible things are out of alignment now? Should I take it to someone with an alignment rack and see if things are still straight? I guess the obvious answer is yes, of course I should have it checked out. Is there anything else I should have looked at? Just looking for some reassurance I suppose.
 
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
Look underneath and see what part is actually bent. Typically on a hitch or trailer, there will be stress cracks in the paint where the part flexed during the bend. That should give you a starting point as to what repairs will be needed. Most likely, you won't have any frame damage, but hitch will need to be replaced. I would not recommend any towing with it, even if the damage merely looks cosmetic.
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
It's easy to remove the bumper, I would start there and that would give you the best look at what's going on. It's entirely possible that the cross member is just tweeked a bit.
 
NevadaZielmeister

NevadaZielmeister

Caught the Bug
WJCO said:
^ And yes, have the alignment checked anyway just for peace of mind.
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I assume you mean a wheel alignment?

With an impact to a frame mounted hitch, you would want to check the "Frame" Alignment and not the wheel alignment. Once the frame alignment is confirmed within specification, things are fine. The wheels, as usual, follow the frame and with the frame straight and the wheels not receiving an impact, there is no need for a wheel alignment.

I agree that a visual inspection of the bolts that mount to the frame should be conducted. But otherwise, things should be fine. When you take the soft front of a passenger vehicle (by design) and collide it with the hard trailer hitch, the passenger car gives way and that absorbs the impact forces. Kind of like two eggs colliding, only one breaks.

I hope everyone is okay.
 
boardsurfer

boardsurfer

Active Member
She is fine, thank you. Aside from the diet coke now residing in the center console. :doh: And thanks for the distinction between a frame alignment and a wheel alignment - that makes sense.
 
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
I was saying wheel alignment as more shops do that and it may be faster to get in. Figured if frame is damaged or anything other than the hitch, that would still show up on a wheel alignment machine as far as rear angles and typically can't be adjusted. This was more of a 'quick check' diag. But more than anything, sometimes bent parts don't show up by a visual inspection, whereas a computer alignment machine would detect it. That's all.
 
Ddays

Ddays

Hooked
Be sure to check for incidental damage as well, like paint chips, etc. Kid rear ended my daughter at school last Winter and while there was no visible damage to the bumper, when I took it off to replace it this Spring (yes, it was a smittybilt) it had flexed and pushed up into the rear of the tub, chipping the hell out of paint.
 
boardsurfer

boardsurfer

Active Member
WJCO said:
I was saying wheel alignment as more shops do that and it may be faster to get in. Figured if frame is damaged or anything other than the hitch, that would still show up on a wheel alignment machine as far as rear angles and typically can't be adjusted. This was more of a 'quick check' diag. But more than anything, sometimes bent parts don't show up by a visual inspection, whereas a computer alignment machine would detect it. That's all.
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On closer inspection it appears that the crossmember is bowed in.

ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1442423476.417600.jpg

So yeah, I'll be looking up a shop to have that checked out.
 
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
^Frame shop it is. Hopefully they won't find any other damage, just the cross-member. That's quite a bow/bend. Good thing you had a hitch on there or you may have been replacing some other components.
 
boardsurfer

boardsurfer

Active Member
WJCO said:
^Frame shop it is. Hopefully they won't find any other damage, just the cross-member. That's quite a bow/bend. Good thing you had a hitch on there or you may have been replacing some other components.
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I've smacked my shin on that stupid thing so many times.. but today, all is forgiven. :D
 
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