Torque Wrench for WD Hitch Nylock Nuts

[Kevin D Pem]

You are correct that a 7/8" Grade 8 bolt has torque specs that high. The chart I have shows the 3/4" Grade 8 maxing out at 313 ft/lbs. I doubt that hitch manufacturers use Grade 8s, but I guess it is possible.

The Reese hitch I had did use grade 8s.

 

[dolfinwriter]

Now I'm stuck. Nearly finished setup last night and ran into a frame interference problem with the frame brackets. My trailer has a steel electrical conduit tube running along the trailer frame on both sides of the trailer on the inner side of the frame rails. This prevents the frame brackets from installing correctly. It looks like I have to modify my trailer to make this work. The only way I can see to do this is cut a section of the tubing out where the brackets need to be, and reroute the wiring--possibly snake them through the frame rail.

Husky towing products tech support is absolutely no help. They say they've never seen this before!

The trailer mfr tech support is absolutely no help. THEY say they've never seen this before! Maybe I would rethink buying this trailer if I had known this two months ago.

What a PITA this whole thing has turned out to be.

I'm also really curious how the wiring is routed on other trailers from the body of the trailer to the coupler and umbilical connector.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Try just moving the tube away from the frame with a pry bar. My haulmark cargo uses plastic conduit like that used under the hood of a car. box is brake battery. Lets see some pics of the problem.

 

[dolfinwriter]

There's a weld bead right where the bracket needs to go, so I'm going to have to grind that off to pry the tube away from the frame. This is looking down on the inner side of the frame rail:

This is looking toward the back end on the right side frame rail:

When I looked at it in daylight it looks like it won't be too hard to just grind off the weld beads holding that tube on. I'll have to cut the wires to remove them, but I want to pull the wires out first so I don't damage them.

I'm thinking the best way is to cut that tube with maybe an inch or two inches clearance on each side of the bracket. I'm thinking of using this and maybe clamp it over the tube on each end to keep water and other things out of the conduit. I need to buy some of this for a home lighting project anyway...

 

[dolfinwriter]

I decided to just grind off the one weld bead in the middle and pry the tube away from the frame so I can slip the bracket between the frame and the tube. That leaves just one weld bead at each end of the three feet long tubes. I may slip a hose clamp or something over it to make sure it doesn't pop off, and I may eventually just cut the wires and remove these tubes, and then solder splice the wires and use plastic corrugate or something like that.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Make sure what you do does not leave a burr on the inside of tubing and the tubing is well radiused to avoid cutting the wires with vibration. I would use junction boxes on the end of the tubing and use plastic conduit from the junction box to complete the run.

 

[dolfinwriter]

The trailer and its contents are in Kansas now, and I am back in SoCal finishing packing, purging and working on my house. I'm thankful for the sway preventing hitch after driving though some beastly crosswinds in the mountains of I-8 east of San Diego, and in Arizona and New Mexico east of Flagstaff. Mine tracked straight and smooth the entire way.

Saw an 18-wheeler on its side yesterday I believe near Winslow. I wondered if it was the same one I saw earlier in the day with the rear of its trailer crabbing sideways as much as 2 feet in the crosswinds. I saw a lot of RV trailers swaying a lot as well. Some of those were 5th wheel and I haven't researched how they do sway prevention/reduction on a 5th wheel.

On the way to Kansas, I stopped for gas at a Love's, and I happened to park next to someone pulling a camper trailer using the same hitch I have. I asked him how he torqued it and he said he guessed. He had two small boys in the back seat of his tow vehicle, and he's guessing at things like this. He also had the trunnion bars upside-down, so he doesn't follow instructions well.

 

[VTPete]

The trailer and its contents are in Kansas now, and I am back in SoCal finishing packing, purging and working on my house. I'm thankful for the sway preventing hitch after driving though some beastly crosswinds in the mountains of I-8 east of San Diego, and in Arizona and New Mexico east of Flagstaff. Mine tracked straight and smooth the entire way.

Saw an 18-wheeler on its side yesterday I believe near Winslow. I wondered if it was the same one I saw earlier in the day with the rear of its trailer crabbing sideways as much as 2 feet in the crosswinds. I saw a lot of RV trailers swaying a lot as well. Some of those were 5th wheel.

On the way to Kansas, I stopped for gas at a Love's, and I happened to park next to someone pulling a camper trailer using the same hitch I have. I asked him how he torqued it and he said he guessed. He had two small boys in the back seat of his tow vehicle, and he's guessing at things like this. He also had the trunnion bars upside-down, so he doesn't follow instructions well.

Did you exit SoCal during this current storm then? It’s been blowing pretty good in the foothills and I can imagine how it was thru the passes and desert. We were scheduled to drive to Borrego Sat and cancelled, ended up at Sweetwater Resovior county CG instead. Glad you got your setup squared away. Hope you’ll keep in touch with us goobers still in CA.

 

[dolfinwriter]

Did you exit SoCal during this current storm then? It’s been blowing pretty good in the foothills and I can imagine how it was thru the passes and desert. We were scheduled to drive to Borrego Sat and cancelled, ended up at Sweetwater Resovior county CG instead. Glad you got your setup squared away. Hope you’ll keep in touch with us goobers still in CA.

I actually got out before this worst, but it was still blowing pretty good when I drove out. I drove through this storm coming back without my trailer, and watching the trailers that swayed a lot in these winds made me really glad I did go for the sway prevention hitch. We get serious winds in my home state, and when I'm using my trailer there, I will be glad for it.