B&W Hitch - Top Bolt

I think B&W will be happy your question! I called them once about something and they didn't sound annoyed at all.

Yes, I called them and they were happy to help and sending me a new bolt and post. No charge and no questions. Asked for Serial number off my hitch and address. Wow, you have to love that kind of customer service and I even spoke to a live person as soon as called their number. Thanks B&W.

josten367 wrote:
Yes, I called them and they were happy to help and sending me a new bolt and post. No charge and no questions. Asked for Serial number off my hitch and address. Wow, you have to love that kind of customer service and I even spoke to a live person as soon as called their number. Thanks B&W.

Any chance you asked them *why* that might have happened?

My only guess is that the bolt wasn't torqued to 40 pounds. But even that seems strange.

daily double wrote:
I think B&W will be happy your question! I called them once about something and they didn't sound annoyed at all.

With that kind of problem they should be happy to resolve it, bolts should not be breaking when removing on a fifth wheel hitch

If the bolt broke off, there's several reasons why that could happen: 1) It was cross threaded when installed, 2) It rusted in place, 3) The bolt was replaced with one that had the wrong thread pitch or had a non-threaded shoulder that was bottomed out or 4) The bolt was torqued way too high. When I install my hitch, I always inspect the bolts. The top bolt, when torqued to the required 40 Ft/lbs, does not get drawn down to contact the post, there is always a gap between the post and the hitch frame. That bolt only serves to preload the hitch contact to the bed, the "U" bolts are what secures the hitch.

I asked them if this happens a lot and they said "this issue sometimes happens" and they didn't tell me why this happens. Only to say "make sure that your torque wrench is calibrated correctly".
I thought it might have been from a hard shift in the trailer and the truck. When I was removing it I got the bolt halfway out of the post and then it stopped moving. Of course I had a torque wrench that was set at 100 lbs and it didn't stop me from breaking the bolt. I think that last time I put it on I torqued it down a little to much on the bolt, and definitely not 40 lbs of torque (over that).

The hitch can shift around all it wants and that won't affect that hold-down bolt. That bolt only sets the downward pressure on the hitch to the bed before the U-bolts are tightened. IMO you actually could remove that bolt after you've tightened the U-bolts without any ill effects.

josten367 wrote:
I asked them if this happens a lot and they said "this issue sometimes happens" and they didn't tell me why this happens. Only to say "make sure that your torque wrench is calibrated correctly".
I thought it might have been from a hard shift in the trailer and the truck. When I was removing it I got the bolt halfway out of the post and then it stopped moving. Of course I had a torque wrench that was set at 100 lbs and it didn't stop me from breaking the bolt. I think that last time I put it on I torqued it down a little to much on the bolt, and definitely not 40 lbs of torque (over that).

Had a Companion hitch, never had a problem with the top bolt on the post, but the u-bolts were known for "stretching" from repeated tightening and torquing. I wonder if that's why the redesigned hitch doesn't use them. Oh, they would replace the u-bolts if necessary; hitch serial # and shipping info. was all they needed. They are a real standup company.

ALL Nyloc nuts are really designed for a one time use!
They will "stretch", for lack of a better term.

Alley Fox wrote:
If the bolt broke off, there's several reasons why that could happen: 1) It was cross threaded when installed, 2) It rusted in place, 3) The bolt was replaced with one that had the wrong thread pitch or had a non-threaded shoulder that was bottomed out or 4) The bolt was torqued way too high. When I install my hitch, I always inspect the bolts. The top bolt, when torqued to the required 40 Ft/lbs, does not get drawn down to contact the post, there is always a gap between the post and the hitch frame. That bolt only serves to preload the hitch contact to the bed, the "U" bolts are what secures the hitch.

Agree with all but #4. If you over-torque it, you'll bend the hitch base crosspiece. Mine has a bit of a ripple in it from mis-reading the instructions and torquing to 80 on the draw-down instead of the u-bolt.

Lyle