Is Your Hitch Ready?
Tow hitches for vehicles towed behind motorhomes are well built and
with care they will last for years. For safety, hitches should not
be the type that fit over a tow ball on the motorhome. These are
known to pop free when subjected to too steep an angle such as might
occur when coming out of a service station built on a hump and accessing
a street with a high crown. The safer type of tow bar mounts on
the rear of the motorhome and fastens to the car at two points.
No matter how well built the tow hitch is, it's important to remember
that it lives in the worst possible environment for a piece of equipment
with its pivot points open to the elements. It's subject to road
slime, salt solutions, dust, heat, cold, and is often pounded with
flying gravel. It's not an easy location in which to survive.
 
Blue Ox produces the Aladdin hitch which with its telescoping tubes
is easy to adjust to a vehicle that is not perfectly straight behind
the motorhome. The pivot points use hard nylon washers which are
squeezed tightly by lock nuts. The nylon should provide enough slippage
to allow the pivots movement, yet not let in the dirt and grit,
as would happen with a lubricated joint.
Over time these nylons compress a bit allowing the joint to become
loose. Check them from time to time and tighten the nut. Figure
1 shows how the nylon washer becomes thinner over time and will
need to be replaced at some point. Make sure you are comfortable
with the job before you take it on. If not, let a mechanic do it,
or return it to the manufacturer. This article does not cover the
procedure in detail, but shows you what needs doing in a general
way. Your safety, and that of those who are following you depend
on this job being done correctly.
In
Figure 1 you can see how this complex set of joints allows
three way movements, sideways, up and down, and rotational. To replace
the rotational washer it is necessary to remove the lock nut from
inside the hitch assembly, and then remove the bolt that secures
everything to the motorhome. That is done after you work on the
main pivoting part because it has to be out of the way before you
can get at the bolt.
Figure 2 shows the main pivot point disassembled. You can
see the nut has ground into the metal. This has to be smoothed off
so there is no burr left and it will require a solid metal washer
to cover the area when the work is reassembled. In the package on
the bench is a new set of washers that can be purchased from Blue
Ox, as well as new lock nuts.
Clean all the parts carefully, Figure 3, and place them in
position so you can reinstall the new washers. You may wish to freshen
up the paint on the black components.
Figure 4 shows how the washers fill the spaces between the
parts. Put on the lock nut and tighten.
Figure 5 shows the end that attaches to the car. Keep it
tight, and replace the nylon washers when they become too loose.
As with the other assembly, clean off any burring that you see.
In Figure 6 you can see the bellows that covers the sliding
mechanism that allows you to adjust the length when hitching up.
When you drive ahead these will pull out and lock in position. The
shaft inside must have a light grease applied to make sure the shaft
does not bind and then fail to align itself when you pull ahead.
The bellows keeps most of the weather out.
A hitch that is maintained will be safe and useful for many years.
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