How did I do this? - Bent Ball Mount
Hey Guys, My buddy showed me his cheap Harbor Freight load compensation hitch because he thought the ball was causing wear on his mount. I paused and said, the whole thing looks bent to ...
Forum Discussion
SDcampowneroperator wrote:
. My guess with bending down of the 2 5/16 " main ball mount and the left lean ( possible a also forward lean? ) of the left friction sway brake mini ball is that too sharp of a left jackknife turn bottomed out the left friction sway brake which would pull on the main ball, push on the mini ball. causing both to bend their mounts as shown.
From my welders and fabricators point of view, it is not a fault with the hitch, Maybe just too sharp of a turn, the sway brake rear mount set up too close on the tongue to allow fullslide action before ending its stroke.
This would cause one to bend down, the other up and sideways proportionally to the forces.
Thank you SDCamper, I trust something like this has happened. I'm a little perplexed how the heavy ball mount bent so much when the mini-balls really did not. Maybe the tongue load played in. I've since noticed my same hitch (different make - same factory) has a little bend too, but not as much. And I certainly back mine with the sway bars occasionally - like at a gas station, but I usually turn off the anti-sway function when I get to a campground to minimize the groaning. I did not know to go ahead at that point and remove it, so I will start doing that. I've also not knowingly jack-knifed excessively, but well, maybe I have done that too. I know this has helped my friend a lot. Thanks for the input.
