Atwood Hitch Coupler Repair

[JohnBarth]

I backed into and damaged the hitch coupler on my 1987 25' Sovereign. Original 2-5/16" Atwood hitch and coupler. I was able to get the repair kit from a dealer no too far from where I was camping. I didn't have a way to expand the pin that holds the handle on to the shoe lock, so I used a different locking hitch retaining pin which fit. Now that I'm back home, I want to correctly install the pin that came with the kit. I'm talking about part number 88508 in Figure 8 of the linked .pdf file (kit instructions). It looks like I need to expand one end larger than the hole in the handle, insert the unexpanded end, then expand the remaining end to capture it. What is the best way to do that? Thanks!

[TG Twinkie]

88508 is a roll pin. It is designed to be inserted into the hole either by tapping with a hammer or pressed in.
The friction of the interference is what hold it in place.
See step 8 of the instructions. The only point of interference is the hole in the "shark fin" not in the handle itself. The handle must pivot to function.

[JohnBarth]

Thanks TG Twinkie - I took my old damaged handle and used a small punch to drive out the pin and saw it is just a friction/self expansion type fit. So I drove the new pin into the new handle and shoe lock, then used a clamp to squeeze the pin along the axis. It doesn't appear to be going anywhere. The whole assembly is working fine, and after it gets scratched and rusty it'll look just like the original.