Chipper sliding tongue failure

[Semarck]

We have a 2007 Morbark 14 chipper where the sliding tongue failed 5 times causing lots of damage. Anyone else have this happen?

 

[brendonv]

Ive heard it happening on a Morbark.

My woodsman had a sliding tongue. As precaution i installed safety chains connecting the two peices.

 

[flyingsquirrel25]

Did the tongue fail? Or the bolts that hold it from sliding in and out? How was it allowed to fail 5 times? I replaced my bolts at 1000 hrs, might be worth doing again or at least pulling them to inspect.

 

[California Tree Equipment]

Chain good.

 

[chewbacca]

If I recall, several years ago there was an accident involving a failure like this in a Morbark chipper. I remember our mechanic installing connecting/safety chains between the two telescoping sections of the tongues of our two model 13's. Seems to me like it might have been something prescribed by the manufacturer as a result of a failure and resulting lawsuit. At any rate, we never had a problem with either of our machines, before or since.

 

[classictruckman]

wow, hard to imagine something like that, our last morbark with a sliding tongue was so rusted I can't see pulling it apart even after the bolts are removed.

 

[California Tree Equipment]

I just pulled the tongue out of an old Altec drum chipper. It had significant cracks in the square stock at the bolt holes. I think maybe inspecting those adjustable hitches from now on is a good idea.

 

[AxeTree]

Lets see pictures so we can figure out how to keep it from happening again

 

[California Tree Equipment]

Its all back together now. Just pull you inserts and check them every once in a while.

 

[Semarck]

Did the tongue fail? Or the bolts that hold it from sliding in and out? How was it allowed to fail 5 times? I replaced my bolts at 1000 hrs, might be worth doing again or at least pulling them to inspect.

Morbark issued a bulletin in February 2009 saying that this might happen "IN THE EVENT THE SLIDING TONGUE WERE TO FAIL THE CHAINS WOULD REMAIN HOOKED TO THE TOWING VEHICLE AND THE MAIN CHIPPER WILL ROLL OUT OF CONTROL CREATING A DANGEROUS SITUATION" . That is exactly what happened to us prior to receiving that bulletin. Morbark offered a retrofit for the tongue & chains which we were to order from their factory and install. Since then, we have had the same thing happen after replacing the tongue 3 more times. The machine rolled and we had broken axle, broken battery mount, broken latch kits. The frame has been cracked as well as the tank. The crack in the tank caused hydraulic fluid and gas to seep through the baffles and mix - chipper was inoperable.