Yoke latch design isn’t bad. Does a good job. But upgrading it to a bulldog might be something I do later in the future.
Oh they work fine. Until they don’t. When that nut backs off or the spring breaks and you hit a dip in the road and the tail of the trailer hits the pavement and goes sideways then you have a really bad day on your hands. You got electric brakes on that trailer?
How bad we talkin?
Like…real bad lol
Roger that! 
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I’ve never pulled a trailer bigger than a 4x6 with one of those dang locks and that sucker popped off pulling into my driveway with a riding mower on it with no straps because I was a dumb teenage kid. I don’t know how much that old John Deere weighed but I bet it was enough to set off some airbags on the car it could’ve hit
Reminds me of my boat trailer coming undone one time as I was reversing it down to launch, rusted out bolts gave way something I never paid attention too, had the 2 safety chains not been on it would have been It, I was that “stupid guy with a boat that day” 
, those moment teach you a lot about observing situations lol.
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Luckily the trailer is brand new! I’ll switch it out in the future when I have more than just this to send to my welder
I just ordered a new 6x12 tandem enclosed trailer. I asked the dealer about using those swing arm wheel Jack. He said because they mount on the side of the frame it won’t be safe enough to hold the weight of the trailer. He said they won’t put them on. I know they have weight ratings. Anyone see problems with them? I’d like that way better than cranking it all the way up.
Mine says it’s rated for 2,000’pounds. Tongue shouldn’t weight that much anyways if you balanced the trailer right.
I’m not knocking dustin’s set up, it’s just that you never see those style swing arm things on larger (heavier) trailers. My trailer is over 2k without anything on it.
IF you don’t like cranking, they make electric tongue jacks. Also, if you want to crank less, you can use a very large stable block underneath the jack and you will not need to raise it as much. Before someone says that it is unsafe, it has to be larger than the footprint of the jack and rated for the weight. After those two factors it is as safe as the jack. If you don’t believe me, watch them jack up a house sometime and see all the wood blocks they use to support the jacks.
Edit: It also needs to be on a flat surface and the wheels should be chocked in both directions. But that is with or without the blocking.
Pic for proof 45 ton house on blocks with a hydraulic jack. Not me in photo, old timer who was moving houses before I was born.
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Here, for all the whiny ones who don’t like to use a standard jack. It’s cheap and saves you a lot of cranking.
My trailer is hooked up 90% of the time so I’m rarely using my jack at all.
I’m not knocking the concerns of the safety of the current coupler. It’s the first trailer I’ve purchased and there are lots to learn like backing up the trailer which I do fairly well now.
Majority of these new utility trailers have the yoke latch couplers on them, heck the duel axle that @Steve just got has one I’m sure. The bulldog or others are an upgrade. They wouldn’t put yoke latches on trailers meant to carry the weight they do without being safety tested.
So do I think that the bulldog coupler is a better safety upgrade ? Yes absolutely. Do I think that this brand new yoke latch coupler would disconnect randomly when pinned? No. An old rusted out coupler with 10 years on it sure. That would be a safer concern.
Will I get it replaced with a bulldog ? Yeah sure but not my concern right now. Maybe once I build up some things that I need my welder to do I’ll send it all to him at once and that will include a new coupler.
I’ll upgrade it eventually. I’m only planning to have this trailer for a year or two anyways. I’m going after a utility truck build. I just had to get the trailer because I found out I have bulging disks in my lower and I’m too young for that. Pulling around a washer on wheels needed to stop.
Thanks for the advice, seriously! New readers will see this and understand trailer safety and security. It’s a good thread to start
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