Revolution Pin Box (again)

DaveSchwartz · 03-19-2015, 04:41 PM

I posted about this last year but the issue seems to have gotten worse instead of better.

When new, I was able to rotate the pin box about 45 degrees by hand. By the end of the summer (about 2000km later) I could no longer move it by hand. In preparation for a Florida trip, and because lots of snow gets piled between the trailer and road (no other place) and I wouldn't be able to hitch up straight to leave like I was when I backed it in, I did manage to swing it about 30 degrees by putting a 2x4 in the back and using that for leverage. On returning from Florida, I can't budge it even with the 2x4.

So it was always tight and has gotten almost impossibly tight since. It still works as you would expect when towing without groaning although never really returns to straight after cornering because the side load on the wedge seems to shift the wedge a little bit. This can't be good for the hitch either.

Anyway, I've got it in at the dealer for a bearing service and mentioned this. The service mgr talked to some old guy at Reese/Sequent/Lippert and was told that you shouldn't be able to move it manually but I find that hard to believe. Apparently he told the service mgr that if it could be turned it would be all squirrely on the road (I don't believe that either when a wedge is used properly and there is only one pivot point).

Does anyone who has had theirs serviced at Goshen and/or talked to the engineers got authoritative information on what range of 'tight' is normal?

Forbes · 03-19-2015, 04:49 PM

Had pin box on our 2010 and it should not move freely, old guy from Reese is right.

OldCoot · 03-19-2015, 05:06 PM

Had mine inspected at Goshen 2 yrs ago by the 2 guys that designed the unit. I was also complaining about not being able to manually turn it. They both emphatically said that some of them will turn when new but will tighten as it gets more use. They took mine apart, cleaned it, re-assembled it and told me DO NOT EVER ADD ANY LUB TO THE PIVOT TUBE. They said the statement in the manual about turning it was not quite clear in it's meaning. I have never been able to turn mine and it works just great. I do however have a custom built wedge which eliminated the excessive movement experienced with the factory wedge with slots.

DaveSchwartz · 03-22-2015, 08:28 PM

OK, I'll stop obsessing as long as the issue with the wedge allowing it to still turn about +/- 5 degrees at the hitch can be fixed.

I still have the issue where I have to hook up at a considerable angle if I want to go for a winter vacation so maybe I'll have to build a jig with more leverage to be able to turn it to do that.

OldCoot · 03-22-2015, 08:46 PM

Dave, if you have the facilities, you can rework the factory wedge to tighten it up. It takes patience, but is very easy to do. Hook up and see how much clearance you have between the wedge and the chute on your hitch. Make sure the wedge is touching the back of the pin before you hitch. If you have any clearance and the wedge is against the pin, remove the wedge and grind enough off the nose to eliminate the clearance to the chute. Once that is accomplished, measure the distance from the front of the slot in the wedge to the shank of the bolt and cut a pc of steel to fill that space. Repeat on rear slot and either silicone it in place or weld it in place so the wedge cannot move.

DaveSchwartz · 03-23-2015, 11:51 AM

Thanks OC. I'll see what the dealer can/will do to tighten it up but will probably have a look at it myself too.

DaveSchwartz · 04-06-2015, 03:37 PM

Dealer's service dept. just called that its ready for pickup. They said they replaced the pin box so FR/Lippert/Reese must have agreed there was something wrong. I'll find out more details tomorrow.

DaveSchwartz · 04-07-2015, 11:41 AM

Picked it up this morning and when we talked about the pin box there wasn't really any definitive information. When they checked it, there was quite a bit of groaning so I guess they managed to convince FR to pay for swapping it.

For O.C.: they spoke to FR service and were told the shaft on the other end from the king pin should be lubricated. Go figure. It still swings a little bit at the hitch so I will work on the wedge to fill the slots side-to-side and front-to-back so the bolts just can't move in the slot.

The fireplace was also replaced. Although they couldn't reproduce, the control was haunted (sometimes runs fine for days straight, sometimes goes dead from running, or just when trying to turn on initially, and nothing will convince it to show any sign of life again for hours or days) so they convinced FR to swap it.

B and B · 04-07-2015, 12:04 PM

I have the 2013 version from the same dealer. I use Graphite on the pivot plates. Mine moves, always has, after winter storage it moved just fine. Oh yes no groaning. There is one guy in the service department (not the manager) that said not to lube the pin and plate on the fifth wheel. I do, use standard Crappy Tire wheel bearing grease. Hitches up like a dream, wedge plate seats right in the hitch. Will clean the old grease off with Varsol and apply new for this season. Also grease all parts of the hitch. Quiet as can be, no groaning.

OldCoot · 04-07-2015, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveSchwartz

...For O.C.: they spoke to FR service and were told the shaft on the other end from the king pin should be lubricated. Go figure. It still swings a little bit at the hitch so I will work on the wedge to fill the slots side-to-side and front-to-back so the bolts just can't move in the slot...

Big difference from the FR Service guys and the Reese engineers that designed it and worked on mine and said, "DO NOT LUBE THE PIVOT SHAFT WITH ANYTHING, just lube the flat plates with lithium spray and the pivot pin in the front. Wouldn't hurt to put a little grease on the sides of the ramp chute."

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