SAFETY ALERT Check your Hitch

[CharlesinGA]

The hitch ball should have 1-1/4-12 threads on it. (The nut will require a 1-7/8 socket) This is fine thread. Most hitch manufacturers will cite a torque on the nut of 450 lb/ft. Should the ball have a smaller 1 inch shank it will require a 1-1/2 inch socket to torque it and should be installed with a sleeve to take up the space in the hole (this is a poor arrangement and should be avoided) and the torque on a 1 inch shank ball is 250 lb/ft.

The attachment of the hitch head to the shank with the two cross bolts is virtually standard in the industry. The shank being 2x2 inch square, with 3/4 holes spaced 1-1/4 inch apart. Some hitch manufacturers supply grade 5 bolts for this location, some grade 8. Grade 5 bolts are nearly always Zinc plated and silver in color and they have three hash marks on the head. The grade 8 bolts will nearly always be gold in color and will have five hash marks on the head. Grade 8 is the stronger bolt, but either will work.

Most hitch manufacturers will specify 260 lb/ft for the torque on these two 3/4-10 bolts, which is slightly above the range of the vast majority of 1/2 drive torque wrenches. You will need a 1-1/8 wrench and socket to torque these bolts.

I am not sure what brand of hitch that is on your trailer/truck. It is a lower end hitch, but still safe for the towing weights it is designed for.

The pic I posted above is when I torqued the nut on the ball of my Blue Ox hitch. I turned it sideways in the receiver and used an 18 inch wrench to hold the flats on the ball and supported on a jack stand, while I torqued the nut to 450 lb/ft with a British manufacture Norbar torque wrench that has a range of 370 to 1100 lb/ft. The extremely long wrench made the project very easy.

Torques should be rechecked every so often depending on how much towing the hitch is used for.

Its good that you got the trailer moved successfully and that truck was certainly the way to do it safely. I suggest you never tow that trailer with the water tank full. My trailer has two feet more tongue on it and the water tank full is noticeable when towing, I cannot imagine what one with the shorter tongue would feel like. Some 21 ft front bed models had serious balance issues and they ended up recommending the installation of a huge (500 lb I think) weight on the tongue of the trailer to get enough weight up front.

Charles

[Governor Bud]

Thanks Charles for thorough info, Will save this info in the camper.

The hitch setup up is eazy lift which included the sway bars. There is also a wd arm. Did not have the time or knowledge to setup either but will do so in the spring. After I picked up the truck at Enterprise I went to the huge uhaul dealer in Manchester that did installations. They were kind enough to torque down the bolts but I have no idea what ft lbs we ended up with.

[Governor Bud]

Forgot to add, my 21 is a front bed and I do not trailer with any water in tanks. Thanks for bringing these points up.

[CharlesinGA]

As you are on the Bigfoot forum, go to the TRAILER section and scroll down a couple of pages. There is a thread titled Bigfoot Recall: we totalled our Bigfoot- dont let this happen to you!. I was the last person to post in it, on Sept 27. The thread was started in 2013, if you haven't seen it, this is why I mentioned about the issues with the 21 ft and towing.

Mine has that cargo compartment so the gas bottles and battery are pushed 2 ft further forward plus the frame is made of 1/4 inch thick steel tubing, so it has a lot more tongue weight than the standard model like yours. I'm not sure why they didn't put the water tank underneath. Huge mistake.

Charles

[John in Santa Cruz]

I tow my 2014 classic E21 all over, with or without water, with my 2002 f250 diesel.

I use a 12" long 2" drop towbar with a 1" ball mount, which is rated for 7000 lbs. I torque the 1" nut down using a big breaker bar.

I had a ball come loose last year going from utah into arizona. the nut came lose, and eventually stripped. it was pretty scary, but the f250 handled it like a champ, I grabbed the trailer brake manual, and slowed the truck down to match, pulled off the highway. It tossed the contents of the trailer, fridge and all drawers and most cupboards had dumped out. good thing we were on our way home

the crossed safety chains prevented any damage.