Glide Ride Welds

[cwo4mstumpf]

Yesterday in the sun tried to replace the glide links in my Demco Glide Ride. A fun job that required you to have three really strong hands or use a jack stand or your truck and hitch. Dropped the pin box onto the hitch in the truck, raised the fifth wheel up to inspect the welds and I discovered that all 4 welds were cracked and from the appearance (rust) it looked like that they had been broken for a long time. Called Demco and talked to Doug and Scott. They were super helpful and even though the hitch is a 2007 they are sending me a new pin box with the upgraded bumper kit at NO charge. Great customer service and both Doug and Scott were very helpful. Now for a dry day to change it out again. Any suggestions/comments to make the job easier.......Rockin'?????

[al2ride]

Glad to hear they took care of you. You could try a cheap tranny jack from Harbor Freight to lift it up in place. You can then install one of these hitch covers.

[RET FF]

As Rockin' would say......some pic's would be nice.

[Steve R.]

Don't want to step on any toes here but here's my solo method for a hitch box swap:
1. Place a rolling toolbox or tall work bench beneath the old box
2. Lower the trailer using the jacks to position the box 1/4 " above cart (use wood blocks to stabilize the box)
3. Unbolt box and allow it to rest on to cart and blocks
4. Position new box on cart and install in reverse order
5. Be certain to apply correct torque settings to the mounting bolts and recheck periodically.

[jamvir]

Originally Posted by Steve R.

Don't want to step on any toes here but here's my solo method for a hitch box swap:
1. Place a rolling toolbox or tall work bench beneath the old box
2. Lower the trailer using the jacks to position the box 1/4 " above cart (use wood blocks to stabilize the box)
3. Unbolt box and allow it to rest on to cart and blocks
4. Position new box on cart and install in reverse order
5. Be certain to apply correct torque settings to the mounting bolts and recheck periodically.

That's basically how I swapped out my pin box. Used blocks in the back of the truck; lowered the trailer; used a BIG breaker bar to break the bolts loose.

Jim

[cwo4mstumpf]

When I replace it with the new one I will take pix but they are not noticeable unless you drop the pin box and then they are just like keeper welds as the round stock over 1 inch thick does all the work and the welds just keep it from sliding or rotating. Pix to follow...Oh forgot that rockin' is on vacation. Safe travels.

[drfife]

Rockin' is on permanent vacation....

[Still Working "NOT"]

Originally Posted by drfife

Rockin' is on permanent vacation....

We wish. He'll be back in a week , so he'll have lots of catching up to do.

[cwo4mstumpf]

How fast he catches up will be inversely proportional to the number bottles of wine he consumes.

[RickS]

Yeah I had some cracked welds and they sent me new kingpin plate /bushings and arms. Great customer service.

[cwo4mstumpf]

RickS pix are an exact duplication of mine except that all 4 of mine are cracked with the same crack larger on his as mine. Probably will not post pix as his are very similar to mine. Hopefully late next week when the rain stops I will replace the king pin plate and bushings. Will report when completed.

[rockintom]

Originally Posted by cwo4mstumpf

Yesterday in the sun tried to replace the glide links in my Demco Glide Ride. A fun job that required you to have three really strong hands or use a jack stand or your truck and hitch. Dropped the pin box onto the hitch in the truck, raised the fifth wheel up to inspect the welds and I discovered that all 4 welds were cracked and from the appearance (rust) it looked like that they had been broken for a long time. Called Demco and talked to Doug and Scott. They were super helpful and even though the hitch is a 2007 they are sending me a new pin box with the upgraded bumper kit at NO charge. Great customer service and both Doug and Scott were very helpful. Now for a dry day to change it out again. Any suggestions/comments to make the job easier.......Rockin'?????

Sorry guys.....I'm back. Here's my little write up.
rockin'

[cwo4mstumpf]

Finally a nice sunny day and i replaced the pin box and link bushings as well as installing the bumper kit. Took about 2 hours by myself. I used the truck and hitch as third hand. pix of new pin box with much better welds as well of pix of the 4 cracked welds on the old pin box. BTW Demco provided fantastic customer service.

[rockintom]

Marc,

Looks like you used the same procedure I used. It does take a little patience but works pretty good. My biggest issues was the tilting of the pivoting head on the hitch baseplate (Reese 20K hitch). I just used some swim noodle pieces under the baseplate on both side to stabilize the movement while working on assembling of the Demco guts back into the pinbox. Git R Dun!!! Congrats! Those new welds sho looks a whole lots better than the original! rockin'