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thecatsandi · 04-16-2011, 12:44 PM

Reese did an interesting thing in the last year.
They discontinued the 26002 longer arm cadmium plated Dual cam arm assembly and replaced it with the shorter zinc plated 26102.

I was replacing my two accident failed hanger bracket, bent arm assembly while I was picking my trailer last week at AS of Spokane.
The new 26102 cannot be adjusted to have the cam in the proper position for sway control since the assembly is shorter.

The new assembly has to be mounted approx 1.5 inches further aft.

We mounted the 26102 in the old holes and adjusted it as far aft as it would go.

Tension on the WD bars and assembly was adjusted to balnace the truck and trailer.

On my way home both of the outer bolt heads on the left bracket sheared "popped" off. Fortunately there was enough bolt left to keep the bracket in place.

The next morning I wnet out to find one of the right bracket bolt heads sheared off. I found it a few feet away.

I called Reese and they said "we have had a bath of bad bolts". Huh?

At this point I am ready to switch to a different system.
See my thread http://www.airforums.com/forums/f437...day-75617.html

HowieE · 04-16-2011, 01:07 PM

Michelle

Please post some picture if you can.

.

thecatsandi · 04-16-2011, 07:02 PM

First two pictures are of the old/removed parts. The second are the new parts mounted and the sheared bolts. I would have a picture of the bolt head but it is in my truck which is in for routine service.

Wsmith · 04-16-2011, 08:20 PM

Just curious are they tek screws or bolts and nuts. I have seen tek screw heads break off when they were installed with a impact type drill.

I found a good buy last week,a Reese class V Titan hitch almost new with no signs of wear for $50.00. My class IV was a little light for my utility trailer. Now I can switch things out if I plan to load the trailer to capacity.

HowieE · 04-16-2011, 09:17 PM

From the looks of the last picture I have also got to question the torque that the self taping screws were put on with. If the screws had seared off do to load from the bars they would have sheared off clean with the frame. The heads popping off while leaving enough material to support the bracket makes me think the screws were over torqued. There is no reason to apply heavy torque to a screw or bolt that is loaded in a shear moment only.

This reminds me of the over torqued wheel nuts that are set in the heat of summer and they brake the stud on the coldest day in the winter

.

dwightdi · 04-17-2011, 05:29 AM

Heads popping off heat treated and then plated bolts are not that uncommon. It is caused by what is called "Hydrogen embrittlement". I was the materials engineer for Outboard Marine Corporation and responsible for failure analysis and production processes. Bolts that have been heat treated and then plated (either cad, zinc or other plating) need to be baked to drive the hydrogen out of the metal. Failure to do this step may result in the bolts failing at very reduced stress. The hydrogen is generated during the plating process. Some high strength, grade 5 and 8 bolts , even if they are not plated, are subject to having the heads popping off due to improper radius at the transition to the head.

thecatsandi · 04-17-2011, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wsmith

Just curious are they tek screws or bolts and nuts. I have seen tek screw heads break off when they were installed with a impact type drill.

I found a good buy last week,a Reese class V Titan hitch almost new with no signs of wear for $50.00. My class IV was a little light for my utility trailer. Now I can switch things out if I plan to load the trailer to capacity.

I am not sier what you mean by TEK screw heads.

The bolts are washer head. Cast or stamped then zinc plated. The bolts were not highly torqued. If they had they would have pulled out of the "milder" steel of the frame.

Remember: Reese admitted to a "batch" of weak bolts. The problem has since been "corrected".

dwightdi · 04-17-2011, 09:43 AM

TEK bolts are produced by cold upset forging followed by machining. This gives them a favorable grain structure. If the dies are too sharp, they do tend to produce a stress concentration at the transition radius between the body and the washer head. This is the cold worked area that the hydrogen attacks, if the baking step is inadvertently left out of the process after the plating.

FLMarine · 04-18-2011, 07:49 AM

I had a similar reese setup and the thing happen to me. I have a 2009 27fb with a 2005 Dodge 2500 4x4 diesel. The first time it happened about three hours after I bought the trailer. Lucky for me I was visiting my buddy who also has an airstream and he had a threading kit and some extra bolts and we replaced the sheared bolt so I could tow it home. On the way home the second original bolt sheared off.

I will add a picture tonight that shows where the second bolt sheared off. The dealer I bought the airstream from was great and paid to have it repaired by a Reese dealer near my house since I live 4 hours from the original dealer which is Out-of-Doors mart in NC. Again nothing but good things to say about how they helped remedy the problem.

I had all the bolts replaced with grade 8 bolts and so far it seems to have worked. I also found the bolt head on the ground at the gas station when I was refueling.

I'll let everyone know if I have any mote issues. I'm also going to switch the 1200 lb trunnion bars for the 600 or 800 bars in the next week.

thecatsandi · 04-18-2011, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FLMarine

I had a similar reese setup and the thing happen to me. I have a 2009 27fb with a 2005 Dodge 2500 4x4 diesel. The first time it happened about three hours after I bought the trailer. Lucky for me I was visiting my buddy who also has an airstream and he had a threading kit and some extra bolts and we replaced the sheared bolt so I could tow it home. On the way home the second original bolt sheared off.

I will add a picture tonight that shows where the second bolt sheared off. The dealer I bought the airstream from was great and paid to have it repaired by a Reese dealer near my house since I live 4 hours from the original dealer which is Out-of-Doors mart in NC. Again nothing but good things to say about how they helped remedy the problem.

I had all the bolts replaced with grade 8 bolts and so far it seems to have worked. I also found the bolt head on the ground at the gas station when I was refueling.

I'll let everyone know if I have any mote issues. I'm also going to switch the 1200 lb trunnion bars for the 600 or 800 bars in the next week.

I am replacing with grade 8 bolts as well. Tapped and if possible nuts on the inside.

JimW · 04-18-2011, 10:51 AM

I'm considering welding the brackets to the frame, as I found the bolts can work their way loose and can strip a thread if too much torque is applied.

HowieE · 04-18-2011, 12:10 PM

I am going to ask each of you that have had this problem to check one more thing. Since there is virtually no load other than shear, and that is minimal, on those bolts I would ask you to check this. The only load normally would be the force to overcome the friction of the bar riding up on the cam and that would not be applied along the axis of the bolt.

The Reese Straight line hitch has a design flaw in that on a tight backing turn the outside bar can contact the yoke. This contact normally results in bending the L bolt but if the bolts are out of spec it could cause the forward bolt head to pop off.

The picture shows the contact. The shallower the angle on the yoke to the frame the greater the likelihood of contact. I had to grind about a 1/4 in. of material at the point of contact to relieve this problem.

Those effected please look at the yokes and bars at this point of contact to see if there is evidence that they came together.

dznf0g · 04-18-2011, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HowieE

I am going to ask each of you that have had this problem to check one more thing. Since there is virtually no load other than shear, and that is minimal, on those bolts I would ask you to check this. The only load normally would be the force to overcome the friction of the bar riding up on the cam and that would not be applied along the axis of the bolt.

The Reese Straight line hitch has a design flaw in that on a tight backing turn the outside bar can contact the yoke. This contact normally results in bending the L bolt but if the bolts are out of spec it could cause the forward bolt head to pop off.

The picture shows the contact. The shallower the angle on the yoke to the frame the greater the likelihood of contact. I had to grind about a 1/4 in. of material at the point of contact to relieve this problem.

Those effected please look at the yokes and bars at this point of contact to see if there is evidence that they came together.

Doesn't seem to be an issue with the new part number. I read all the postings re. your contact issues and I can't see how it can happen with the new shorter parts....IF your use 5 links under stress. I have PLENTY of clearance. HOWEVER, I got, apparently, the old instructions used with the longer cam assemblies. I now have to run the adjustment all the way out to get a proper fit to the spring saddles. Flip em and I have to run them all the way in. The distance from the ball socket center to the cam arm bolt needs to be about 3/4 - 1 inch farther than the instructions I got say to do!

HowieE · 04-18-2011, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dznf0g

Doesn't seem to be an issue with the new part number. I read all the postings re. your contact issues and I can't see how it can happen with the new shorter parts....IF your use 5 links under stress. I have PLENTY of clearance. HOWEVER, I got, apparently, the old instructions used with the longer cam assemblies. I now have to run the adjustment all the way out to get a proper fit to the spring saddles. Flip em and I have to run them all the way in. The distance from the ball socket center to the cam arm bolt needs to be about 3/4 - 1 inch farther than the instructions I got say to do!

How about a picture of the new Shorter part? Not sure what part you are mentioning that is shorter. What Reese could have done to eliminate the contact was to turn the yoke 90 degrees and have the thinner demention facing the bar.

.

JimW · 04-18-2011, 01:56 PM

I remember seeing this picture previously and compared it to my setup. Fortunately, I don't have that issue. You're yoke is almost parallel to the A-Frame, whereas mine hangs at an angle to the frame and that creates the contact problem. I can think of only two things that might affect yokes angle, the distance of the hinge from the ball socket and the number of links from the hanger bracket to the hook.

The yoke's hinge point on the mounting bracket should be 18" from the center of the ball socket according to the installation directions.

And then, generally, there should 5 links from the hangar bracket to the hook. That can be adjusted by tilting the ball.

I suspect you know all of this, but thought I'd lay it out anyway. BTW - beautiful workmanship on that kayak!

JimW

dznf0g · 04-18-2011, 01:59 PM

Well, I am making some assumptions, since I never had the older bronze colored cam in Cats and your photo above. I have the black/silver unit in Cats photo. I can't tell if the black part is shorter, but it appears the gold cam has a lot more threaded length than mine. There is NO WAY my black piece (whatever it is called) can contact the spring bar. There is at least 1" of vertical distance between the jamb nut and the spring bar with 5 links under stress.

Is your frame 5" or 6"?

HowieE · 04-18-2011, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dznf0g

Well, I am making some assumptions, since I never had the older bronze colored cam in Cats and your photo above. I have the black/silver unit in Cats photo. I can't tell if the black part is shorter, but it appears the gold cam has a lot more threaded length than mine. There is NO WAY my black piece (whatever it is called) can contact the spring bar. There is at least 1" of vertical distance between the jamb nut and the spring bar with 5 links under stress.

Is your frame 5" or 6"?

Don't say "NO WAY" until you back the rig up in a very tight turn, just short of Jack Knifing. Get out and then look at your clearance. As you turn the bar rides up off the cam and the head pulls the outer bar closer to the yoke the tighter the turn.

I have not had a failure to date but know of several that have destroyed more than one set.

.

dznf0g · 04-18-2011, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HowieE

Don't say "NO WAY" until you back the rig up in a very tight turn, just short of Jack Knifing. Get out and then look at your clearance. As you turn the bar rides up off the cam and the head pulls the outer bar closer to the yoke the tighter the turn.

I have not had a failure to date but know of several that have destroyed more than one set.

.

Well, I purposely tried it, because of the other thread. With it cranked as far as I will ever try a CONSCIOUS maneuver, I still have pert near 1/4 inch of vertical clearance between the jamb nut and the spring bar. Could it contact in an accidental jack knife? Dunno, but it'll be a part of an insurance claim if that happens.

dznf0g · 04-18-2011, 02:46 PM

Ya know, I wonder if the silver cam bar has a longer reach from the shaft to the shoulder of the cam? Hey, thecatsandi, if you still have the new ones off, could you lay the old and new parts side by side and shoot some pics? Disassembled maybe?

dznf0g · 04-18-2011, 02:55 PM

HowieE, I think there are a couple of different ballmounts too. There were posts about the trunnions contacting the ball nut. These ballmounts had, I believe a flat across surface where the upper trunnion pockets and ball mounting surface are. Mine has a raised area which houses the ball and nut. This effectively eliminates trunnion/ nut interference, and now that I think about it, lowers the spring bar trunnion end relative to the trailer frame by about 3/4 - 1".