Hitch popped off ball! |
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john in idaho
Senior Member Joined: 04 Nov 2014 Location: Eagle Idaho Online Status: Offline Posts: 611 |
Topic: Hitch popped off ball! Posted: 30 May 2016 at 3:14pm |
I have had number of trailers over the years--3-4 horse trailers, boats, utility - and I find the rPod is the hardest to hitch up. The little ball keeper thingy just wants to ride up over the ball. I have started jacking up the trailer again after it is hooked up just to check again.I am getting an Anderson WDH from a friend soon and that will help. A little trailer trick -- if your chains are a bit long when you hook them up one can always twist the chains to shorten them. The other advantage of crossing the chains is that they will never over tighten in a sharp turn.
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Retroactive
Senior Member Joined: 15 Mar 2016 Location: Bolton, MA Online Status: Offline Posts: 270 |
Posted: 30 May 2016 at 3:17pm |
Are there any hitch upgrades that don't require a cut-n-weld job?
EDIT: Also, are there any alternatives to the "flip foot"? IMHO it is very wobbly anyhow, making it hard to slide around for final alignment during hitching.
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Retroactive
Senior Member Joined: 15 Mar 2016 Location: Bolton, MA Online Status: Offline Posts: 270 |
Posted: 30 May 2016 at 3:29pm |
And in the "Phew!" category: the one other thing that got slightly damaged was the wiring harness. Even though it was only 1" from the connector, and nowhere near something that could have rubbed, during the drag something must have shot up and grazed it. It blew a hole through the edge of the cable jacket, but quite literally stopped short of cutting through any of the individual wire insulation. I am familiar with cable harness manufacturing techniques, I'll just grab some adhesive shrink tube from work and patch it for the short term.
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techntrek
Admin Group - pHp Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059 |
Posted: 30 May 2016 at 8:48pm |
The WDH improves the ride quality with my 2010 Suburban. I tried half a trip w/o it and used it the rest of the time we had our pod.
I always recommend raising the TV's bumper with the jack to ensure the latch is engaged.
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Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Leo B
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 13 Jan 2012 Location: Lyndonville, VT Online Status: Offline Posts: 4508 |
Posted: 30 May 2016 at 8:50pm |
+1 on testing it every time!
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Leo & Melissa Bachand
2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |
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Grey51shadw
Newbie Joined: 28 May 2016 Online Status: Offline Posts: 24 |
Posted: 30 May 2016 at 10:06pm |
Where is the best place for me to get basic info on hitches and sway. I have ordered a sway bar installed for our 178 being picked up later in the month. After reading all the posts, I realize I should be more specific with the dealer and I don't know what I'm doing.
Don't even know what y'all mean by WDH and I need a basic primer on hitching. Thanks, Lynne |
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'17 178
'16 F150SC ..aRtPODist at large |
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6288 |
Posted: 30 May 2016 at 11:16pm |
Lynne,
WDH = Weight Distribution Hitch. Two brands that are widely used are the Equal-i-zer 4-way sway control hitch (the one I have) or the Fastaway E2 Weight Distribution with 2-Point sway control hitch. There are others as well. You could check out etrailer.com's information about each. They have videos which can help explain the concept. Retroactive: What do you mean about hitch upgrades not requiring welding? If you already have the proper receiver on your tow vehicle, then installation of a WDH does not require any welding. As for alternatives to the Fastaway Flip Foot that came with your R-Pod (but not mine), I am using the Husky Brute Super Foot that uses a pin to switch between lowered and stowed positions. I ended up having to shorten it by cutting the tube portion in half and drilling new holes as otherwise, I could not swivel it down in our driveway due to the slope. I wasn't able to level the trailer with the 7" extension. I purchased it at Camping World. I don't know how stable it is compared to the Fastaway Flip Foot. It has been pretty solid so far. |
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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Grey51shadw
Newbie Joined: 28 May 2016 Online Status: Offline Posts: 24 |
Posted: 31 May 2016 at 12:24am |
Thanks Stephen this is starting to make more sense.
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'17 178
'16 F150SC ..aRtPODist at large |
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Retroactive
Senior Member Joined: 15 Mar 2016 Location: Bolton, MA Online Status: Offline Posts: 270 |
Posted: 31 May 2016 at 9:39am |
What I meant by hitch is actually the mechanism on the tongue, but after searching I didn't find anything. It seems that some people who do a lot of commercial towing use a "pintle hitch" to idiot proof the process. The Fastway foot flips down using only gravity, so when the pod is leveled the whole trailer rocks slightly on the bolt because there is no pin or mechanism holding it in place on the other axis.
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6288 |
Posted: 31 May 2016 at 1:09pm |
Okay. My misunderstanding. I don't know how you could avoid welding to replace the trailer's hitch socket. That is certainly something I would want to leave to a professional welding shop.
The hitch that is on my R-Pod is made by Atwood Mobile Products, P/N 80072/84176. It also has "Do not exceed 5000 lbs 700 lbs tongue weight, SAE/CSA Class 3, 2 inch ball. It is possible that you got a bad hitch. There are a couple of things you probably should do. First, take it to your dealer for inspection. if it is defective, then it should be replaced under warranty. Second, report it to the NHTSA. If there are other reports, it could indicate a problem with the hitches that may affect more people, or it could indicate a design flaw that needs to be addressed. This is what mine looks like from underneath when it is in the closed position. There is a bar above the back part to limit the amount it can swivel when it is locked. |
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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