Frame Failure - 22 foot International

[dannydimitt]

pretty much has to do with with equalizer hitches I reckon , and the effect they have when rolling through a dip or gas station entrance , as the truck axle moves lower in relationship to the trailer , the equalizer bars transfer more and more weight off the trucks rear axle and apply the weight to the trailer axles as well as the trucks steering axle. The bigger the truck, and the more stuff in the bed, could be catastrophic to the relatively lightweight trailer tongue and frame. These load equalizing hitches have been around a long time and defiantly help a lightly sprung tow vehicle especially if it has p rated tires on it. After decades of use a lot of folks feel the need for these type hitches even on 3/4 and one ton trucks with 10 ply tires on the drive axle. The fellow I bought my 22 footer from used one with his half ton ALL the time, and he almost had a heart attack when I simply loaded all the equalizer stuff up in the storage bin and hooked the trailer to a normal 2 5/16 ball and only used the sway bar to make the 1000 mile trip home. Of course it followed us home without any problems at all behind the 2500 Dodge diesel 5 Spd with 10 ply tires . With all the extra stuff in the back of the truck including a 90 gallon fuel tank , The dodge could do some awful damage to the 22 ft AS if it got into a situation where an equalizer hitch were to lift the rear truck axle darn near off the ground in a rough situation that could happen to anyone.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by pullswitha40

I'm still trying to wrap my head around how you can hurt a trailer with a bigger truck?????

An Airstream trailer "MUST HAVE" a soft ride.

As an example, if the rubber rods in the axle tube are very old, or have not been exercised for an extended period, the axles when hitting a bump, will transfer almost all of that shock to the shell.

Excessive rated hitch bars as well as excessive rated tow vehicles, also send "road shock" to the trailer.

Any one of those, causes damages.

Combine 2 of those and trouble will happen in short order.

Some of the issues, when the trailer is being pounded by shock are:

Loss of exterior and interior rivets.

Fatigue cracking of the shell metal.

Fatigue cracking the frame.

Rear end separation.

Water leaks.

Broken copper water lines.

Broken copper tubing in the roof AC.

Broken wiring, both 120 and 12 volts.

Loose wiring connections.

Damaged furniture.

Furniture pulling away from the walls.

Punctures in the ceiling from bulkheads.

Broken and/or cracks in the A-frame.

Cracks in the black, gray and fresh water tanks.

Damage to the segment protectors.

And, the list goes on and on.

Andy

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by dannydimitt

Hello Don !
I have a question ? what is NTAC ? I don't think I ever heard that one before. Do you ever make it down to the Bastrop - Austin area ? My coffee pot is most the times on .

NTAC= North Texas Airstream Community.

[Pedecanada]

So are you saiying with my 2010 3500 dodge cummings single axle I should not use equalizer hitch pulling my 34 foot Panamerica. I have been pulled it with just the ball and it seemed to pull fine. I would rather put money into airbags on truck since I need them for other work related stuff I pull anyways.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Pedecanada

So are you saiying with my 2010 3500 dodge cummings single axle I should not use equalizer hitch pulling my 34 foot Panamerica. I have been pulled it with just the ball and it seemed to pull fine. I would rather put money into airbags on truck since I need them for other work related stuff I pull anyways.

Seems to, is an opinion, that has nothing to do with safety.

Your truck, is not a means of "magic".

To tow that trailer without a load equalizing hitch, is jeopardizing the safety of your passengers and the other people on the roads.

Should you lose, for any reason, control of your rig, and damage property or hurt someone, in plain language, "YOUR DEAD MEAT" to any attorney that decides to sue you, as you would have "ZERO" defense.

Your towing that rig is really in violation of safe towing standards.

Then adding air bags, is a waste of money, and will "NOT" in any way increase safety.

Get a small rating load equalizing hitch, with sway control, like 600 pounds.

Your uninformed passengers and the public, will look up to you for doing so.

If your truck needs air bags for another use, that's fine.

"BUT" when you hook the trailer up to the truck, reduce the air pressure to absolute minimum. In that way, the air bags will not interefer with the load equalizing hitch.

Andy

[Wazbro]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

"BUT" when you hook the trailer up to the truck, reduce the air pressure to absolute minimum. In that way, the air bags will not interefer with the load equalizing hitch.

Andy

or stiffen the suspension even more then it already is.

[dannydimitt]

There is nothing written in stone as far as I know about where you draw the line on needing a equalizer hitch . -- loaded trailer weight = more than the weight of tow vehicle ? maybe so .
I do know for a fact that you will NEVER see a relatively light weight single screw tractor pulling a 35000 pound house trailer down the highway 60 MPH with anything but a ball connecting the truck to the trailer. with safety chains of course. The only things on the road that use these things are lightweight travel trailers. light weight being as compared to most commercial stuff. just saying.

[Wazbro]

Originally Posted by dannydimitt

There is nothing written in stone as far as I know about where you draw the line on needing a equalizer hitch . -- loaded trailer weight = more than the weight of tow vehicle ? maybe so .

It is normally written in your owners manual (unless you have a European vehicle) and on your receiver. So not in stone just paper and metal.
Note: numbers on receiver often don't match owners manual use the lower numbers.

(varies by vehicle this not for any specific vehicle, just how it is stated on some receivers)
example:
rated tongue weight__500lbs weight carrying
__________________1200lbs weight distributing
rated trailer weight__5000lbs weight carrying
__________________8000lbs weight distributing

[M2HB]

Originally Posted by dannydimitt

There is nothing written in stone as far as I know about where you draw the line on needing a equalizer hitch . -- loaded trailer weight = more than the weight of tow vehicle ? maybe so .
I do know for a fact that you will NEVER see a relatively light weight single screw tractor pulling a 35000 pound house trailer down the highway 60 MPH with anything but a ball connecting the truck to the trailer. with safety chains of course. The only things on the road that use these things are lightweight travel trailers. light weight being as compared to most commercial stuff. just saying.

You won't see a WDH on most equipment trailers either. The tow vehicle is usually matched to the trailer. An example would be a 6 or 10 wheel dump truck pulling a large equipment trailer with a backhoe on it. Most of those heavy trailers use Pintle hitches.

I'm not trying to say that it isn't a good idea, it is just that most WDH usage seems to be in the RV market.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Load equalizing hitches are designed to be used with typical travel trailers, and tow vehicles of small weights.

Obviously, a Peterbilt does not need a load equalizing hitch, because it weighs far more than the trailer.

Also, mobile homes have a tongue weight far exceeding that of any travel trailer.

Pull a mobile home woth a one ton truck, and watch the negative results that will quickly cause loss of control.

Commercial trucks, pulling commercial trailers weigh many times that of an ordinary everyday pickup.

Andy

[dannydimitt]

single screw toter somewhere around 10 to 12 thousand pounds house trailer , 15 to 35 thousand . Long nose Pete , 18 to 20 thousand , loaded trailer - 60 thousand legal , with a permit - the skys the limit depending on gauge and how many axles and size of tires . but anyway , we are talking about little campers to have fun with ! remember ------------
----Work is a four letter word !!!!!!!!
anyone remember Desi and Luci in the LONG LONG TRAILER ? talk about over loaded !! an old flathead Merc convertible pulling that 35 ft New Moon cross country ! They used a swivel dolly setup on the front of the trailer to keep from mashing the Merc into the ground . I like watching that old movie !
Folks really used those things years ago , My Uncle pulled their old 50 foot long 8 foot wide trailer house vintage 51 or 2 from around New Orleans over to South of Houston with an old flathead 6 Plymouth . He had a lot of guts or was completely insane ! One of the two, anyhow , he made it ! Bet he never got out of second gear or over 25 MPH .

[Grad67]

My "67" 22 footer is pulled with a 1/2 ton with air bags with a 900 lbs UTV in the back. Just the ball and safety chains while in tow. I do try to tow with black,gray and fresh tanks empty. Especialy the fresh that sits front and center on the tonge.
I might add my frame was cracked on both sides when I got her. Bolted fish plates to both sides inside the frame. I did not weld them because welds will crack allong the weld bead on material that thin.
It preforms more than expected. Kinda like a dream.

[dannydimitt]

Originally Posted by Grad67

My "67" 22 footer is pulled with a 1/2 ton with air bags with a 900 lbs UTV in the back. Just the ball and safety chains while in tow. I do try to tow with black,gray and fresh tanks empty. Especialy the fresh that sits front and center on the tonge.
I might add my frame was cracked on both sides when I got her. Bolted fish plates to both sides inside the frame. I did not weld them because welds will crack allong the weld bead on material that thin.
It preforms more than expected. Kinda like a dream.

Sounds like a great way to fix the frame on the 22 footer .
My folks lived in Soda Springs a good many years , Came through there last summer. Sure is a nice area !

[pullswitha40]

Well I guess I'll be good with the 3/4 Dodge crew cab 4x4 Hemi.....

The hitch on the 46 Spartan looks pretty standard, but ho equalizers.

Do have me thinking some about the 40 Ford.....it's got independent suspension, disc brakes and a 9 inch rearend, but it is very light in the rear.

I don't know how much I intend to use the 40 due to it is also rather narrow and the mirrors do not stick out far enough to get a good look behind my other trailers.

It does have a 400 small block chevy and auto trans with good trans cooler so pulling is a lot easier than a flat head ford.

[pullswitha40]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

Seems to, is an opinion, that has nothing to do with safety.

Your truck, is not a means of "magic".

To tow that trailer without a load equalizing hitch, is jeopardizing the safety of your passengers and the other people on the roads.

Should you lose, for any reason, control of your rig, and damage property or hurt someone, in plain language, "YOUR DEAD MEAT" to any attorney that decides to sue you, as you would have "ZERO" defense.

Your towing that rig is really in violation of safe towing standards.

Then adding air bags, is a waste of money, and will "NOT" in any way increase safety.

Get a small rating load equalizing hitch, with sway control, like 600 pounds.

Your uninformed passengers and the public, will look up to you for doing so.

If your truck needs air bags for another use, that's fine.

"BUT" when you hook the trailer up to the truck, reduce the air pressure to absolute minimum. In that way, the air bags will not interefer with the load equalizing hitch.

Andy

Andy, first I hear a big truck with a equalizer hitch will tear up a trailer frame, then I hear I'd be a hazard to my passengers without it.....do I need to leave the trailer in the driveway or what???

[dannydimitt]

Originally Posted by pullswitha40

Well I guess I'll be good with the 3/4 Dodge crew cab 4x4 Hemi.....

The hitch on the 46 Spartan looks pretty standard, but ho equalizers.

Do have me thinking some about the 40 Ford.....it's got independent suspension, disc brakes and a 9 inch rearend, but it is very light in the rear.

I don't know how much I intend to use the 40 due to it is also rather narrow and the mirrors do not stick out far enough to get a good look behind my other trailers.

It does have a 400 small block chevy and auto trans with good trans cooler so pulling is a lot easier than a flat head ford.

Nice looking old truck ! Damn near bought a 40 pickup , but that was back in 1970, the guy wanted 350 bucks for it and I figured that was a bit steep . I have a 64 F-100 4x4 , used it to pull the 66 24 ft Land Yacht. Handled it just fine with just the ball and a sway bar. Had 10 ply tires on the truck.
4.11 gears and a granny 4 spd.

[overlander63]

Maybe some people need to realize there are not very many 1973 Chrysler station wagons available any more for towing our 2013 Airstreams, and make recommendations based on what is currently available as far as tow vehicles go.
My new 3/4 ton truck rides much more smoothly, and is a lot more refined, than almost any 1/2 ton pickup, or even most SUVs of 10 years ago. In fact, it tows our Sovereign much more smoothly, with less jarring and bouncing, than the 1/2 ton Dodge I traded in on it. If you want to consider ride, the new truck rides more smoothly than my wife's nearly new Focus.

[pullswitha40]

dannydimitt, feel like I have hi-jacked this thread....lol....thanks for the complement on the 40......it's a 20 footer, but drives like a dream.....I bought it with the help of a friend and got it cheap.

I'll start a thread of my own soon and tell more.

I had a 65 3/4 4x4 390 4 speed forget the gears, but it was a workhorse and rode like a tank

[dongubrud]

Originally Posted by overlander63

NTAC= North Texas Airstream Community.

I do get down your way occasionally. How do I find you?
Check out NTAC'S web site at: www.ntaci.org

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by DON GUBRUD

I do get down your way occasionally. How do I find you?
Check out NTAC'S web site at: www.ntaci.org

Take I40 East to exit 208, turn right, then right. Drive .4 mile then turn right again into the driveway. I can be almost anywhere on the property.
BTW, yours would not be the first 22 I have referred to the factory for frame repairs.