Wandering Coach and Tow Bar!

[USCGMech]

My coach has the new steering gear, front watts link and rear cross bars. I put them on two years ago and they really made major improvements. Over time (15,000 miles) I started to notice the coach was not as tight and seemed to be wandering again. I crawled under the coach and inspected everything and found nothing loose. A couple weeks ago we were camped near Roadmaster, I brought them my tow bar and for $75 and two hours time they inspected and rebuilt the tow bar. When I gave it to them it was very sloppy in every direction, it is now very stiff with the new shims and hardware they installed. The coach is back to being steady and does not wander. I guess it had enough slop to allow the 3900lb TOAD to move the coach around a bit. Just thought I would pass this along.

[Captjake1]

I just had our Roadmaster rebuilt too. It made a but of a difference for us also. Thanks for passing this along.

[RockyMtnRide]

Agree. I can definitely feel the difference when I’m pulling my Jeep. I think the difference with the wheel tracks on badly rutted roads really amplifies the problem. I did buy a $15.00 clamp that tightens my hitch into the receiver. (Can’t take the credit. It was recommended by Craig French)

[Finance]

Absolutely. The worst are the rutted roads where the ruts fit neither the MH nor Toad track width. Like trying to keep a boat on course in a quartering sea.

[Vanwill]

I use the hitch tightener that Craig French recommended. I think I may have given him his first one. Some of them are really flimsy. This one is rugged, indeed. About $15

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

But none of these type clamps can really take care of the fact that your tow bar’s square tubing fits pretty sloppy in your receiver. The clamp listed above helps quite a bit, but the ultimate is to have the tow bar TOTALLY immobilized in the receiver. To do that, I machined a piece of 1.50 square bar to slide inside the tow bar’s square tube. Tapped a 5/8-11 hole through it that lined up with the hitch pin hole. I insert the assembly, and use a fully threaded Grade 8 bolt to essentially let the tow bar act as if it’s welded to the receiver. Use a Nylok nut on the protruding side of the bolt as a safety. And I also use the above clamp.

Made a HUGE difference in how well my 6400# Silverado + Harley tows