Receiver maintenance, you may want to check.

[crazylev]

Greetings.

After a few years of road salt and wetness in the midwest, I decided to sand and scrape some of the rust that was developing on my receiver.

To my shock and I suppose good fortune, I checked the bolts that hold the receiver together. I have a Dalan. About three of the nut/bolts attaching the the cross bar to the the side brackets were quite loose. I tightened them up right away.

It goes without saying that I will be checking connections on our receiver a few times during the season, along with the bolts that loosen on our Equilizer after each trip with the AS.

I think it was a good idea to to clean, re-prime, and top-coat the receiver, to slow the process of corrosion.

Just some advice.

Jonathan

[Stefrobrts]

Good advice. Checking the bolts on the hitch head is on our regular checklist, but I don't think I've crawled under the van and checked the actual receiver bolts in a couple years.

[Kevin245]

I usa a dab of thread locker on my hitch connection bolts. You're correct about the corrosion.

[cammur]

Our WBCCI unit as a service once did a check of member tow vehicles at a rally. Everyone was susprised at the number of loose or missing bolts and cracks they encountered.

Even the fabled Hensley isn't immune. Last year in Indepencence I encountered a man returning from Alaska that had a torsion bar break (or whatever you call 'em on Hensleys) and on the same trip a crack in his receiver.