Motorhome hitch receiver has play in it

[becker]

I have a 08 Monaco Dynasty..... the hitch is rated at 10,000 lbs.... I have a Roadmaster Blackhawk All Terrain 2 Towing system.... when I slip my Roadmaster hitch bar into the receiver on the coach, there is a little play left to right.... very little, maybe 1/16 to 1/8 inch.... a poster on this blog had the same problem.... he solved it by using another type of lynch pin.... after you inserted it you tightened a nut and it held the tow bar very tight in the receiver and it eliminated the play in the hitch (I may not be explaining the lynch pin correctly).... my question is: has anyone had this problem and solved it in this manner? Thanks

[Bigdog]

Effy wrote:

et2 wrote:
This is what some use ( we do). It works, in use for 4 years, no play. No drilling or tapping required. Just re-torque once a year.

http://www.blueox.com/towing-accessories/bx88224/

Did I read that right? $70 ? wow.

agreed. Wow
Kinda like buying the XL5050 mufflers.

[Effy]

et2 wrote:
This is what some use ( we do). It works, in use for 4 years, no play. No drilling or tapping required. Just re-torque once a year.

http://www.blueox.com/towing-accessories/bx88224/

Did I read that right? $70 ? wow.

[et2]

This is what some use ( we do). It works, in use for 4 years, no play. No drilling or tapping required. Just re-torque once a year.

http://www.blueox.com/towing-accessories/bx88224/

[Bigdog]

I just got some of the wood shims from Home Depot and put them in and it works great. I don't worry about being able to get the tow bar hitch out as I never do that anyway.

[falconbrother]

I never thought about that. Pulled my CRV a bunch with it just the way it was and never had any issues.

[OLYLEN]

This will do the trick.

https://www.amazon.com/ABN-Hitch-Tightener-1-25-Inch-Trailers/dp/B01MF9H058/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1495671972&sr=8-2&keywords=hitch+tighten

LEN

[tarnold]

As I mentioned, plastic shims. You buy them in packs. As they are plastic, they slide out real easy. I've never had one stuck where I couldn't pull the receiver out. The thick part faces out. Because they are tapered, you only need one, where using old oil plastic, will involve multiple pieces till you get the thickness right. And doesn't involve another wrench to remove another bolt to remove the receiver. Anyway, just a simple solution to a simple problem.

[Effy]

CVD wrote:
I have vertical looseness, as well as horizontal. Shouldn’t I be tightening the fit in both directions? Makes me think I should drill and tap 2 holes; one on the top and one on either side. Make sense?

Thought about that as well. I decided to do one first and see how it went. Seems one snugged up minimizes play in both directions - at least on mine. But yes, you could do both. it takes very little force to minimize the play.

[CVD]

I have vertical looseness, as well as horizontal. Shouldn’t I be tightening the fit in both directions? Makes me think I should drill and tap 2 holes; one on the top and one on either side. Make sense?

[Effy]

willald wrote:

Effy wrote:

tarnold wrote:
Go to your local hardware store and buy a pack of plastic shims. The kind used to install doors and windows. Drive the narrow end into the receiver till tight. Break off remainder sticking out. Solid as a rock!

I tried this, a few issues, for one unless taped, the shims will eventually work their way out, secondly, when they are jammed in there it's almost impossible to get the ball (or whatever you have installed for towing) out. Imagine jamming in wedges which also wedges whatever device you have in the receiver and now that the shims are broken how do you remove it? And left with broken shims, what do you do next time? New shims?

Ahhh, you just confirmed what I suspected and mentioned in previous post, Effy. Don't think I gonna mess with shims, as we do have to take the tow bar out from time to time, to put a bike rack on back of the Motorhome to carry bikes instead of towing.

The solution I proposed earlier works great and is so simple not to mention free if you have the tools. Simply drill and tap a 3/8 hole in the top of the receiver, screw in a bolt and snug up when you are towing, back off to remove. Easy cheesy and works like a charm. Took me a total of 5 mins and was free. Been using this method for 5 years. Never any movement, never any issues. And takes only a few seconds when hooking up. Nothing to remove or add.

I like that idea, but my issue with it is, I worry about that weakening the hitch receiver and causing much bigger problems.

Will

I was concerned about this before I did it and approached my local metal shop and posed the question there. While there is some lateral force on the end of the receiver, it's usually equivalent to a few hundred pounds max and most of that is on the bottom and some on the sides. Very little if any on the top. The real stress is at the pin point. So if you drill and tap the end of the receiver technically there is very little if any change in structural integrity. One could argue that limiting play would actually reduce some of the shock force. Been doing it on mine (both my truck pulling a large boat and the MH towing the car for 5 years and no signs of wear, ovaling of the hole, or any signs of stress. Still works just like the day I did it. As a worst case scenario, even if it cracked at the hole, there is no way this would impact the area where the actual pin is.

[willald]

Effy wrote:

tarnold wrote:
Go to your local hardware store and buy a pack of plastic shims. The kind used to install doors and windows. Drive the narrow end into the receiver till tight. Break off remainder sticking out. Solid as a rock!

I tried this, a few issues, for one unless taped, the shims will eventually work their way out, secondly, when they are jammed in there it's almost impossible to get the ball (or whatever you have installed for towing) out. Imagine jamming in wedges which also wedges whatever device you have in the receiver and now that the shims are broken how do you remove it? And left with broken shims, what do you do next time? New shims?

Ahhh, you just confirmed what I suspected and mentioned in previous post, Effy. Don't think I gonna mess with shims, as we do have to take the tow bar out from time to time, to put a bike rack on back of the Motorhome to carry bikes instead of towing.

The solution I proposed earlier works great and is so simple not to mention free if you have the tools. Simply drill and tap a 3/8 hole in the top of the receiver, screw in a bolt and snug up when you are towing, back off to remove. Easy cheesy and works like a charm. Took me a total of 5 mins and was free. Been using this method for 5 years. Never any movement, never any issues. And takes only a few seconds when hooking up. Nothing to remove or add.

I like that idea, but my issue with it is, I worry about that weakening the hitch receiver and causing much bigger problems.

Will

[willald]

I've typically used hitch immobilizers like already mentioned (basically a square U bolt that clamps onto the tow bar, receiver). They've worked fine for me.

However, the idea just mentioned about sliding shims in the receiver, sounds cool. Especially the idea of making the shims from empty oil jars (recycling, haha).

I got to wonder, though: If you slide shims in like that and make it real tight...How hard is it going to be to get the tow bar out when you need to? Especially if you're broken off the shims so that they aren't going to be easy to pull out. You gonna have to replace the shims every time you have to take the tow bar out for anything? Granted, for most of us that wouldn't be very often..

[Effy]

tarnold wrote:
Go to your local hardware store and buy a pack of plastic shims. The kind used to install doors and windows. Drive the narrow end into the receiver till tight. Break off remainder sticking out. Solid as a rock!

I tried this, a few issues, for one unless taped, the shims will eventually work their way out, secondly, when they are jammed in there it's almost impossible to get the ball (or whatever you have installed for towing) out. Imagine jamming in wedges which also wedges whatever device you have in the receiver and now that the shims are broken how do you remove it? And left with broken shims, what do you do next time? New shims?

The problem with most hitch tighteners is that they are clunky and don't often do what they are supposed to do and involve money and several pieces/bolts.

The solution I proposed earlier works great and is so simple not to mention free if you have the tools. Simply drill and tap a 3/8 hole in the top of the receiver, screw in a bolt and snug up when you are towing, back off to remove. Easy cheesy and works like a charm. Took me a total of 5 mins and was free. Been using this method for 5 years. Never any movement, never any issues. And takes only a few seconds when hooking up. Nothing to remove or add.

[tarnold]

Go to your local hardware store and buy a pack of plastic shims. The kind used to install doors and windows. Drive the narrow end into the receiver till tight. Break off remainder sticking out. Solid as a rock!