Fastway E2 Trunnion Hitch Woes

[007matman]

Hello all,

Wondering if any of you have seen this before.. I've got the Fastway E2 Trunnion hitch and I've noticed that it seems like it's becoming less and less effective at leveling the load.

Over the past few months, I've had to adjust several times and it keeps getting worse (my air suspension makes up for it but I recently had to replace both my shocks and the compressor).

It appears that the pins on the bars are elongating the holes in the hitch head. My concern is that eventually the hitch head will fail completely. Have any of you seen this? Forgive my photos.. the hitch is inside the storage space in the camper.

This is the top hole (other side looks the same)


This is the bottom hole (other side looks the same)


This is the 10000/1000 hitch.

I'm pulling 7300 lbs and have about 800 on the toungue.

[007matman]

Here is one of the bars.

[911Fire]

I have the identical hitch and it does not show any of that wear. It has 20k miles at least on it. With a 7k pound trailer and 900 tongue weight

[007matman]

Wow. I bet I have maybe 4000 miles on this one.

[911Fire]

Any chance you're overloading them?

[007matman]

Originally Posted by 911Fire

Any chance you're overloading them?

Not a chance. The trailer dry weight is 6700lbs and TW is around 700lbs. Add in the propane tanks and other items I should be well under 1000 on the toungue.

I've been to the weigh station several times and know I'm not over.

[updhaul]

The elongated holes appear normal. The hitch head that you are worried about falling off is attached to the shank with two large bolts, 1 1/8 and or 1 1/4 that have torque ratings that are very high and can shift or loosen if assembler didn't get it right. And should be checked. The hanging brackets on the trailer where the trunion bars rest can also creep out of position moving and no longer being perpendicular to the trailer frame.
As you have just changed air shocks the attitude of truck could have changed. If all else fails and hitch looks ok it might be time for suspension upgrade to truck It's not uncommon to readjust a hitch. Good pictures!

[rockfordroo]

Are you supposed to be lubing those holes? They look very dry.

[007matman]

The manual says to apply a small amount, which I have done. I do admit that they are a little dry now.

[RB19RR]

Interesting! I have the same hitch. Now I'm going to check it.

[Chief T]

Have the same hitch... did you follow set-up directions for air bags?

From the manual...

Q: Can I use an aftermarket airbag suspension kit with the e2 hitch?

A: Yes. Just make sure you air them up to the pressure you want to tow
with before setting up the hitch for weight distribution. Filling air bags after the
hitch has been set up usually causes the weight distribution to decrease, even
though it looks like the back of the tow vehicle is not sagging.

If your tow vehicle came with a stock auto leveling system (air bags), follow
the directions in Step 1 - Getting Things Ready.

[007matman]

Originally Posted by Chief T

Have the same hitch... did you follow set-up directions for air bags?

From the manual...

Q: Can I use an aftermarket airbag suspension kit with the e2 hitch?

A: Yes. Just make sure you air them up to the pressure you want to tow
with before setting up the hitch for weight distribution. Filling air bags after the
hitch has been set up usually causes the weight distribution to decrease, even
though it looks like the back of the tow vehicle is not sagging.

If your tow vehicle came with a stock auto leveling system (air bags), follow
the directions in Step 1 - Getting Things Ready.

Yeah.. however, the article is really vague. If you look at step 1 it tells you to disable the auto-level system but then right after that it tells you to inflate the bags to normal ride height.

On the Escalade it's not really possible to do both at the same time. What I did was start the vehicle and bring it to normal ride height. I pulled the auto-ride fuse and shut it down. Then I set up the hitch (did my measurements, adjustments, etc). When I put it all on the hitch it had settled within the specified range (both front and rear).

When I started it up it did lift the rear a bit but then stopped. Seemed to be set up properly to me. However, as I've used it I've seen that the compressor has been running longer and longer.. I assume that is caused by the elongating of the holes. I've also noticed that I don't have to jack up the trailer as much after connecting it recently. I know it needs another adjustment but worried if I continue to do this it'll break completely as it continues to wear through.

[pdqparalegal1]

Lube,lube and lube, liberally with a high pressure grease.

[wildcatter]

Originally Posted by pdqparalegal1

Lube,lube and lube, liberally with a high pressure grease.

X2, the OPS hitch isn't just a little dry it is a lot dry.

[007matman]

I will give that a shot. I was using wheel bearing grease. Any other suggestions?

[updhaul]

If I recall correctly the Escalade had multi-link coil over air shocks, not air bags with about a 7700lb towing capacity that you have been careful to verify by weighing. Adding suspension improvements to tv might be problem. With a 33' trailer that is about 6100/7700 the mechanics cause great changes in load. Were you able to check the parts of hitch attached to trailer for correct attachment and torque? Distance and angle?
The first time I noticed oblong wear and noise dealer recommended new hitch but put high temperature lube on that seemed to work. If you think it is too worn you might have to replace head or whole hitch. Good luck