New Coupler and WDH

[tinkeringtechie]

On our way down from WA down to CA we had a steep sharp turn into a gas station that resulted in some awful noises and strange vibrations. At the time I didn't think anything of it (pretty typical for WDH), but later that night I saw this:








[img style="max-width:25%;" src="http://i.imgur.com/0g3K7oP.jpg"]
[img style="max-width:25%;" src="http://i.imgur.com/Ewqbjwm.jpg"]

The original coupler was just pressed steel resting on a riveted rod. The new coupler has a cast head with a solid wedge that doesn't strain any bolts or mechanisms under load, it's just compressing chunks of metal under load. Next I'll drill the four holes and bolt it on. Stay tuned...

[david]

Well, the bending of the coupler is one thing and the new one looks to be about 3" longer which will change your bracket attachment point and probably interfere with the LPG tank.

I would be just as concerned about where the bracket attaches to the frame. It took some pretty severe loads to bend those bolts and I would be concerned about the strength of the underlying aluminum when exposed to those kind of forces. What kind of WDH do you have?

As I have stated a few times in the past, if I had purchased a 21' rather than the 16' we ended up with, I would have probably strengthened the frame by welding aluminum doublers from the hitch to the trailer box so I could install a WDH safely. LL obviously had some problem with the frame strength in the past which is why they don't recommend WDHs- which is putting your head in the sand. A guy at LL that I talked to sort of admitted that if you had a heavy torsion bar and cranked it down tight, it could bend the frame when going over a sharp transition. I think he was speaking from experience.

So consider the frame as well as the coupler as you deal with this issue. Also could you post some pics of the rig when it is all back together. The lightweight Reese WDH that I am familiar with uses the bottom of the bracket as a sliding friction surface, so the torsion bar slides in a turn and it would not have resulted in the kind of forces yours experienced.

David

[tinkeringtechie]

[quote source="/post/13209/thread" author="@david" timestamp="1436897198"]Well, the bending of the coupler is one thing and the new one looks to be about 3" longer which will change your bracket attachment point and probably interfere with the LPG tank.[/quote]
I moved the tanks forward for this WDH, it wouldn't be a big deal to move the back and put the brackets in front if I needed to.

[quote source="/post/13209/thread" timestamp="1436897198" author="@david"]I would be just as concerned about where the bracket attaches to the frame. It took some pretty severe loads to bend those bolts and I would be concerned about the strength of the underlying aluminum when exposed to those kind of forces.[/quote]
Luckily the frame is fine. No denting or bending anywhere. The WDH I had was a fastway e2 and I actually blame the whole thing on how close they put those stupid bolts. 1.5" of distance between them with a long bracket being forced back and forth isn't the best design. On the big daddy of this (the equalizer) they put the frame bracket bolts all the way through the L-brackets so it has 5" or so to control it better.

As I have stated a few times in the past, if I had purchased a 21' rather than the 16' we ended up with, I would have probably strengthened the frame by welding aluminum doublers from the hitch to the trailer box so I could install a WDH safely. LL obviously had some problem with the frame strength in the past which is why they don't recommend WDHs- which is putting your head in the sand. A guy at LL that I talked to sort of admitted that if you had a heavy torsion bar and cranked it down tight, it could bend the frame when going over a sharp transition. I think he was speaking from experience.

So consider the frame as well as the coupler as you deal with this issue. Also could you post some pics of the rig when it is all back together. The lightweight Reese WDH that I am familiar with uses the bottom of the bracket as a sliding friction surface, so the torsion bar slides in a turn and it would not have resulted in the kind of forces yours experienced.

David

After this experience I'll actually be switching to the Andersen WDH because it just pulls on the frame lengthwise. I don't think it will be as effective at transferring the weight, but it will smooth out the ride and be gentler on the trailer. I specifically picked the wedge latch coupler because the Andersen puts pressure on the back of the coupler. The wedge will take that pressure without a sweat. Our Sequoia handles the tongue weight just fine even without WDH (it only drops an inch or so) but I'd rather have the Andersen than nothing at all to help with bouncing and swaying.

[charliem]

[font size="3"]TT,

FWIW I added the foam tape back on when I replaced my coupler. I think (always dangerous) it was an attempt to separate dissimilar metals. Maybe not effective, but it didn't cost much and can't hurt.

Will the extra few inches let you put the L-brackets in front of the gas tanks like my round bars?

EDIT: OK. Question answered.
[/font]

[tinkeringtechie]

[quote source="/post/13212/thread" timestamp="1436900079" author="@charliem"][font size="3"]TT,

FWIW I added the foam tape back on when I replaced my coupler. I think (always dangerous) it was an attempt to separate dissimilar metals. Maybe not effective, but it didn't cost much and can't hurt.

Will the extra few inches let you put the L-brackets in front of the gas tanks like my round bars?
[/font][/quote]Interesting on the separation. In that case I might put a rubber sheet between them. The jury is still out on where everything will end up once it's back together. You probably missed my last post where I mentioned that I'm switching to the Andersen WDH. That gives me significantly more flexibility on where to place everything because I can add/remove links on the chain. I actually like where the tanks are now because I plan on putting a larger battery box behind it (not for a larger battery, but for more "stuff").

[fasteddieb]

As an aside, when Andy at CanAm recommended the EAZLift Elite for my Ford Flex/21BHS setup, I think the fact that it uses "saddles" so that no drilling was required was part of the reason. Also used a clamp-on ball for the Husky anti-sway for the same reason.


i did swap the positions of the propane tanks and the battery to get more vertical chain runs.

[tinkeringtechie]

[quote source="/post/13216/thread" timestamp="1436901757" author="@fasteddieb"]As an aside, when Andy at CanAm recommended the EAZLift Elite for my Ford Flex/21BHS setup, I think the fact that it uses "saddles" so that no drilling was required was part of the reason. Also used a clamp-on ball for the Husky anti-sway for the same reason.[/quote]

The E2 and the Andersen are both clamp-on designs also. The E2's brackets have to withstand both vertical and horizontal forces though and the horizontal was what caused it to fail.

[shovelhead]

The one issue I have with the tongue upgrade is going from a 2" to a 2 5/16" ball has a domino effect.  It would require changing the TV side of things as well as the Andersen WD hitch components.

[tinkeringtechie]

[quote source="/post/13222/thread" timestamp="1436908835" author="@shovelhead"]The one issue I have with the tongue upgrade is going from a 2" to a 2 5/16" ball has a domino effect.  It would require changing the TV side of things as well as the Andersen WD hitch components.[/quote]I'm changing everything at once, so I just ordered the 2-5/16" Andersen hitch. I figured if I'm changing everything, I might as well go for the larger ball.

[tinkeringtechie]

The coupler went on fairly smoothly. The stock holes on the back of the coupler ended up being in the correct spot, but had to be widened from 3/8" to 1/2". Once I drilled those I test fit it and then traced the two front holes with it on the trailer. The jack hole ended up being slightly further back from the bottom plate, so I had to dremel it back about another 1/16" or so. Although the coupler sides were lined with holes for horizontal bolts, only the front one is accessible through the frame tube openings. So I did install some 3/8" grade 8 bolts at the very front for good measure. There was a small gap between the coupler sides and the frame that was snugly filled with one washer. I was finishing up in the dark and didn't get to take pictures... will post those tomorrow, probably after the Andersen installation (it was just delivered today).

[tinkeringtechie]

Here's the new setup:



[img style="" style="max-width:50%;" src="http://i.imgur.com/RMahToG.jpg"]

Took it for a test drive this afternoon and it feels really good. I asked for one too many links at the hardware store, so I'll have to chop one off, but it works well with my existing tank placement after 1 quick-link and 2 extra links. Didn't have a tape measure to do any real analysis on weight transfer, but it looks and feels level, so I'm happy with that for now. I'll do some more analysis once I get some time to breathe (we're doing all this during a trip).

[swbc150]

Unless I missed it, what brand and where did you get the 2 5/16" coupler at, do you have the part number?
After only 5 campouts my Stock 2" coupler is showing wear, no reason to replace it with the same unit, I would rather upgrade as you did.
In about 6 weeks my TV will be a F350, so I can stop using the WDH. (I'll have it stored in the Bearcat but I shouldn't need it anymore)

[tinkeringtechie]

[quote source="/post/13507/thread" timestamp="1437673428" author="@swbc150"]Unless I missed it, what brand and where did you get the 2 5/16" coupler at, do you have the part number?
After only 5 campouts my Stock 2" coupler is showing wear, no reason to replace it with the same unit, I would rather upgrade as you did.
In about 6 weeks my TV will be a F350, so I can stop using the WDH. (I'll have it stored in the Bearcat but I shouldn't need it anymore)[/quote]Here's the coupler I used:

http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Coupler/Bulldog/BD44150WH301.html

[tinkeringtechie]

We made it back to WA (a 1,200 mile trip) without any issues on the new hitch. I did some experimenting with the amount of tension to put on the springs and found a setting that I liked. Unlike the conventional WDH where you have fixed increments (bolt holes or chain links) you can make much more detailed adjustments with Andersen's tension nuts. You can also make them in a matter of seconds, so each time I'd stop for gas I'd make a tweak to see if I noticed a difference.

Overall it rides really smooth with no noise at all. The biggest difference that I noticed is that when you fly off a freeway transition (CA roads are like motocross courses) the bounce seems like it's actually dampened. With our previous WDH it would bounce less, but it felt more like a spring. The Andersen feels more like a shock.

[pjcd]

Looks good, I'm in the process of setting up the same rig, I really don't know why LL just doesn't go with the HD setup. I will need to purchase a   new ball for the Anderson hitch, its about $50.