dang I bent the coupler
Thom Layden
pop up ready for spring-summer and fall.
While backing up to hitch the camper for a quick wash and going over I hit
the trailer coupler with my ball - I wasn't high enough to clear the ball
from the coupler. Well now that it is slightly bent I'm pondering on how to
best fixit......any ideas?
I tried using a muffler pipe expansion tool but it was too long to spread
the opening enough for the 2" ball. With about an hour to kill I finally got
the ball on. So that tells me the lip or opening of the coupler is all that
is bent.
Any ideas on how to open the lip back up?
I guess so much for the spring wash, retrofitting and whatever else it might
need to be ready for spring.
And now for the worst part -- Spring is coming and I already have
reservations for a site in southern Illinois. Spending an hour or better to
hook it up is not much of an option.......
I could go for a smaller ball -1 7/8 - but I'm not at all thinking that is
the best aproach (although it does seem to fit snugly) ....help!!!
Thom
--
__________
2001 GMC Sonoma Crew Cab - ours
2001 BMW Z3 - mine
2001 Ford Escape - hers
2001 Coleman Santa Fe - ours
----------
asadi
john
"Thom Layden" <lay...@charter.net> wrote in message
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Andrew
may score the ball. It's a fairly siple replacement.
"Thom Layden" <lay...@charter.net> wrote in message
news:u706kbt...@corp.supernews.com...
Ab Diver
times, but never enough to bend any metal. Slow and easy does it, cuz you
can always back it up another inch or two. You "might" try heating it up
with a propane torch and then give it a few whacks with a hammer using a
block of wood to soften the impact. DO NOT try to use a smaller ball, it's
not made for the same weight as a 2" ball, and your current coupler doesn't
have the right radius for a good fit on a smaller ball. When all's said and
done, I'd just replace the coupler like John and Andrew said, and have a fun
camping season. You don't want to find out the torch treatment softened the
metal or that you made the opening too wide when the camper bounces off the
ball on a bumpy road.
Not trying to sound harsh, cuz I've learned a thing or two the hard way
also. Look at the bright side... the trailer wasn't high enough that the
contact point turned out to be your Sonoma's tailgate.
--
Dave Morris
'86 Starcraft Starlite 21 SD
'97 Chevy 3500 Crew-cab 4x4
***********
Jim Redelfs
"Thom Layden" <lay...@charter.net> wrote:
> the coupler...is slightly bent I'm pondering on how to
> best fixit......any ideas?
Replace the coupler.
Any do-it-yourself FIX would be a kludge at best and you really don't
want to risk a coupler failure while towing.
:)
JR
Bill
http://www.go-rv.com/online/434/showproductdetails?catid=1755
--
Bill & Sharon
Girls12 & 8, Big Boy 5
00 E-150, 99 Niagara, Michigan
*Take out no spam, for address to work
"Thom Layden" <lay...@charter.net> wrote in message
news:u706kbt...@corp.supernews.com...
John Laughlin
that the ball rests in) is welded and to the frame! I think the brand
of the coupler is Atwood.
Reminds me of the time we were moving and I was pulling an empty car
carrier behind a big Ryder truck. I was in a hurry and forgot to
double check that I had everything hooked up right. I forgot to
tighten down the ball latch (not sure if that's the correct name).
Drove a couple blocks and as I was braking to stop for a red light, I
heard a terrrible crunch. The coupler came off the ball and the
trailer rammed into the bumper, almost shearing off the ball screw.
Managed to attach tighten it down with a wrench and get back to the
rental place. I kept thinking that I must have really caused a lot of
damage and it would run into the hundreds of dollars to fix. But they
only charged me $20 or $30 to put a new one on, including labor! I
was pretty darn lucky that the safety chains held and I wasn't driving
down the highway when it happened.
John Laughlin (remove the x to e-mail).
2001 Starcraft 2406
2001 Astro
John Jackson
What ever it costs, it is cheap money in the long run.
Take it from one who has been there. An accident with a trailer is not any fun,
and there are places that trailer can drag you off the side of the road or into
oncomming traffic.
John Jackson
Bill Toth
jaxla...@columbus.rr.com says...
> I'd better not make this mistake on my camper. The coupler (the part
> that the ball rests in) is welded and to the frame! I think the brand
> of the coupler is Atwood.
>
Yes, friends of ours cracked their coupler on an old coleman backing into
a camping spot. Luckly one of the SP workers was a parttime welder, had
just about every kind of welder on the back of a 1-ton truck. The old
coupler had to be torched off and colemans run their wiring up through
the a-frame. Took most of an afternoon to figure out the wiring and
splice it back together. On the plus side, the coupler was upgraded to a
heavy-duty 2" one.
Bill
