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Old 08-14-2015, 07:56 PM   #1
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Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Corpus Christi
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2015/2016 Vibe Urgent Update!

If you have a new Vibe with a friction L Bracket WDH you need to check it. We purchased ours from Couch RV along with our trailer. Its the Fastway E2. We were in the process of changing to the Equalizer and found out that Couch RV installed the L brackets too far back. The trunions can actually slip off the Bracket of you turn sharp. Or it may get jammed in the retention pin and break it. This is because the new location of the battery under the front cover makes it difficult to mount the brackets pefectly. They should have mounted them in front of the battery boxes rear crossbrace. I actually turned sharp slowly just to see if they would slide off the L Bracket....sure enough would have if I kept turning, it just happened to luckly stay on track and I back on. Here are some pictures before and after.
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TT: 2016 40' Chaparral 360IBL at 14000lbs
TV: 2016 F450 Platinum 6.7 CC LWB FX4, B&W Companion Hitch
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Old 08-16-2015, 04:37 AM   #2
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Yeah, there's another thread on here about positioning the L brackets on the new Vibes. You definitely don't want them too far back but you don't want them too far forward either. I called Equalizer about this because, with the position of the LP Gas platform, I could not get the L brackets in the specified range of positions. Equalizer said that they do not recommend moving the brackets farther forward than the manual says because it puts extra stress on the bars and hitch.

I, and a few others, ended up raising the LP bottle platform so that I could position the L brackets in the correct spot per the Equalizer manual. Some guys re-welded the platform but I just put some pressure treated wood across the frame to support the platform. I can post some pictures if you are interested.
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Old 08-16-2015, 11:05 AM   #3
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Thanks. Forest River corrected the Lp bracket location in models manufactured mid year 2016. The issue is that they also installed a battery tray in the A frame up front. The supports for the battery are the problem now. The Fastway instructions indicate the Spring bars should be parallel to the trailer when resting on the L brackets (probably to ensure proper friction contact points). The battery supports now are the interference issue with the L brackets. The Fastway instructions say that the L brackets should be between 24-27" back from the coupler center. They were at 28.5" (29.5" to center of L bracket) and when I corrected the height of the L brackets It out the spring bars at the very end of the brackets. I was able to move the L brackets forward and now they are at 25 From center coupler to center L Bracket. So everything is right noe
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TT: 2016 40' Chaparral 360IBL at 14000lbs
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