# Slightly Bent 2" Tongue - How Bad Is Too Bad?



## mommy2boyz (Feb 3, 2010)

Hi Outbackers

We just got back from a stormy wet weekend camp at Pinnacles NP in California. The Outback kept the water out even with wind driven rain all night 

On the way out, we had the WD hitch all dialed in. We could hardly tell that the trailer was behind us...it was awesome. When we left this AM, the trailer didn't tow as well. At first, I thought it was because we were towing w/ all empty tanks (on the way out fresh was full) not to mention we had about 40 lbs less firewood in the truck, but the trailer seemed to have more rolling resistance on the way home too. It was so different, that along the way, I checked to see if I had a bearing or brake acting up . I pulled off to see if a drum was warmer than the others...all were cool to the touch.

So, when I was putting everything away, I noticed that my the ball on my hitch is not perfectly centered. Upon closer inspection, I see that the vertical 2" riser is also not square to the horizontal 2" bar. I did not see any obvious cracks in the welds etc. I thought that the bolts had loosened up, allowing the assembly to shift, so I removed the cross bolts to try to adjust the ball assembly, but no dice....it is not possible to correct the driver's side "lean" or our of center position of the ball.

I am a hobby woodworker, so I am pretty good at noticing when things are out of square (usually my own work , so it seems like I would have noticed that the ball was not centered or vertical (side to side) if this is how it always has been

Please take a look at the attached shots. Kind of hard to see what I am talking about on the vert 2" riser, but you can see how far off the ball is. I have no idea how or what could have caused this...Seems to me that this would not cause driving resistance issues, but it could cause an uneven WD sway.

Any thoughts on this? Do these things bend with use? Is this normal?

Thanks, Zach


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## Dub (Dec 8, 2008)

I've seen pictures of Equalizer hitches bending at the shank (not the shank, but the hitch head itself) and failing. I would guess that yours is failing in the same spot. It's just about impossible to bend the shank, but the hitch head is the weak point. On some of the Equalizers this happens due to them shipping with grade 5 instead of grade 8 hardware which allows for the flex of the head and ultimate bending.


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## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

My close inspection of the photos leads me to believe that the shank is still square, it's the "U" that bolts the head to the shank that is out of square. You can see that by looking at the space at the end of the "U" when you compare the two sides. If the head is not that old, I would send the photos to their customer service and see what they say.

Edit: Keep in mind; the holes in the shank are typically larger then then bolts that go thru them. You put the hitch assembly in your truck, loosen the bolts and see if there is enough wiggle room to realign the head.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

H2oSprayer said:


> My close inspection of the photos leads me to believe that the shank is still square, it's the "U" that bolts the head to the shank that is out of square. You can see that by looking at the space at the end of the "U" when you compare the two sides. If the head is not that old, I would send the photos to their customer service and see what they say.
> 
> Edit: Keep in mind; the holes in the shank are typically larger then then bolts that go thru them. You put the hitch assembly in your truck, loosen the bolts and see if there is enough wiggle room to realign the head.


X2 here. Loosen the bolts and see if it slipped, or if it actually bent. Did you setup the hitch and did you torque it to specs? When I got the rockwood home from the dealer, I found hitch bolts barely beyond finger tight....









Regarding the towing, it could be as easy as wind or a slight tilt to the road. There are a lot of variables that change how something tows.


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## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

My wife bent the heck out our Blue Ox hitch head. Many times worse than what you are showing. The head had to be replaced. She backed the camper at a sharp angle and "tweaked" it hard.

She learned the hard way about backing too sharply while connected. It is possible to reshape the flanges but it will take lots of pressure.

Still, the slight angle it has doesn't seem to be enough to effect the ability for the hitch to do its job. Adjustment may need to be made to the set up. I am a wood worker as well. If your like me, whether the head is still good or not, the errant angle would bother me.

See about getting it reshaped and the welds inspected.

Eric


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## Lmbevard (Mar 18, 2006)

egregg57 said:


> My wife bent the heck out our Blue Ox hitch head. Many times worse than what you are showing. The head had to be replaced. She backed the camper at a sharp angle and "tweaked" it hard.
> 
> She learned the hard way about backing too sharply while connected. It is possible to reshape the flanges but it will take lots of pressure.
> 
> ...


X2 on getting it inspected by someone with metal working experience. There should be a local metal job shop around that wouldn't charge you too much to look at it and maybe come up with a fix. I would error on the side of caution with something like that. Good luck.


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## mommy2boyz (Feb 3, 2010)

H2oSprayer said:


> My close inspection of the photos leads me to believe that the shank is still square, it's the "U" that bolts the head to the shank that is out of square. You can see that by looking at the space at the end of the "U" when you compare the two sides. If the head is not that old, I would send the photos to their customer service and see what they say.
> 
> Edit: Keep in mind; the holes in the shank are typically larger then then bolts that go thru them. You put the hitch assembly in your truck, loosen the bolts and see if there is enough wiggle room to realign the head.


Thanks H20Sprayer. I tried pulling the bolts again to see if I could angle the head, but it does not make a difference. Another interesting thing...I put a dowel through the top hole in the shank and it does not make a 90 deg with the receiver. It IS parallel with the back of the head assembly, which tells me that the drop shank is tweaked or was not drilled to spec. I am guessing I just never noticed this before and that it has always been like this. I did confirm that I have the ball almost 1/4" off center. I assume that can be corrected by loosening the ball, but I do not have the tools for that right now.


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## mommy2boyz (Feb 3, 2010)

Nathan said:


> My close inspection of the photos leads me to believe that the shank is still square, it's the "U" that bolts the head to the shank that is out of square. You can see that by looking at the space at the end of the "U" when you compare the two sides. If the head is not that old, I would send the photos to their customer service and see what they say.
> 
> Edit: Keep in mind; the holes in the shank are typically larger then then bolts that go thru them. You put the hitch assembly in your truck, loosen the bolts and see if there is enough wiggle room to realign the head.


X2 here. Loosen the bolts and see if it slipped, or if it actually bent. Did you setup the hitch and did you torque it to specs? When I got the rockwood home from the dealer, I found hitch bolts barely beyond finger tight....









Regarding the towing, it could be as easy as wind or a slight tilt to the road. There are a lot of variables that change how something tows.
[/quote]

Thanks Nathan - The hitch was originally set up by the dealership. It was so high that I ended up dropping it about 2" last month to get a better balance and it worked. The bolts were still tight when I tried to adjust the fit today.


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## 4ME (Sep 11, 2006)

mommy2boyz said:


> My close inspection of the photos leads me to believe that the shank is still square, it's the "U" that bolts the head to the shank that is out of square. You can see that by looking at the space at the end of the "U" when you compare the two sides. If the head is not that old, I would send the photos to their customer service and see what they say.
> 
> Edit: Keep in mind; the holes in the shank are typically larger then then bolts that go thru them. You put the hitch assembly in your truck, loosen the bolts and see if there is enough wiggle room to realign the head.


Thanks H20Sprayer. I tried pulling the bolts again to see if I could angle the head, but it does not make a difference. Another interesting thing...I put a dowel through the top hole in the shank and it does not make a 90 deg with the receiver. It IS parallel with the back of the head assembly, which tells me that the drop shank is tweaked or was not drilled to spec. I am guessing I just never noticed this before and that it has always been like this. I did confirm that I have the ball almost 1/4" off center. I assume that can be corrected by loosening the ball, but I do not have the tools for that right now.
[/quote]

Hey Zach!
If you want to use my socket for the ball you can.It took me a while to find one and it was not cheap for something you will rarely use.


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## rsm7 (Aug 8, 2009)

Were you off road at any time? I bent my hitch head driving thru an uneven grassy field. As the tow vehicle navigates the rolling terrain it puts alot of twisting force on the hitch if the WD bars are still connected.


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## Jewellfamily (Sep 25, 2010)

mommy2boyz said:


> Hi Outbackers
> 
> We just got back from a stormy wet weekend camp at Pinnacles NP in California. The Outback kept the water out even with wind driven rain all night
> 
> ...


I would replace the drop shank piece that is bent and reuse the remainder of the pieces and ensure you have the correct hardware. Steel will bend/flex or go through some deformation under normal loading and that is engineered and accomodated for into all loaded memebers. When a piece permanently deforms, you have exceeded its yield strength and now have weakened the overall structure. I'd replace it.


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## Gary (Dec 9, 2007)

Check the welds for any cracks.
If you keep useing it always check for cracks.
Gary


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

The trailer isnt gonna notice that the ball is offset a 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Looks like the Chinamen who made that part was having a bad day, lol Its not gonna hurt anything though. I guess fix it if it bothers ya. Is it going to cause you towing trouble? Nope!

Carey


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