Rick March, General Manager
Customer Relations Group

Hello, another month has past and the passing days are filled with longer daylight which only
means one thing. Spring is here!! The Airstream is shined up, full of supplies and hitched up
ready to go…..hitched and ready to go? Did you really check the hitch, inspect the hitch under
the tow vehicle, look for loose bolts, check for worn, rusted, or damaged parts?
We buy new tires, add cool accessories and other items for our trailers, but in many cases we
are using the same hitch and components we used 10 years ago. We may even remark on all
the miles that we have on the tow vehicle and that she is as good as she ever was. Well is the
hitch as good as it ever was, has it been inspected?
This isn’t meant to unnecessarily scare anyone but just a reminder that inspecting your hitch
should be an important part of your checklist.
Recent Questions
I have a minor crack my in trailer hitch– Is It Too Bad?
I was recently reading on a forum about an Airstreamer that had a crack on his hitch ball
mount.
He had been traveling for several weeks through the southwest and during his last stop, while
hooking up, he just happened to notice a crack on the sides of his hitch ball mount, he was not
sure if they were new or not, growing or not. The cracks appear to be to running next to the
welds.
His question was can he wait until he gets home to have it checked out or should he have the
hitch head welded or replaced before he travels any further? The hitch head is definitely
cracked. It has been cracked for a while based on the rust and that there is no evidence that
there has been any recent cracking, it all appears to be weathered the same.
The only safe answer is to have it replaced or professionally welded before any additional
traveling.
That being said could you make it home with the cracked hitch head? Maybe, but only if there
is absolutely no way to have it replaced or have it welded .It could get you home, but you would
want to keep a close eye on it while traveling.

Crack

This question brings up the point of regular inspection of the hitch components. If more people
would do regular inspections of their hitch there would be fewer accidents or hitch failures that
happen every year. The trailer separating from the tow vehicle is one thing no one wants to
experience.
The inspection should cover all the hitch components: on the tow vehicle, receiver, hitch ball as
well as the coupler, safety chains and break away switch.

Cracks

Rust and Corrosion

Ball mount/Receiver pin
Another gentleman mentioned he had been traveling with his Airstream and had logged about a
thousand miles on the trip.
When he returned home and went to pull off the hitch, he could not get the ball mount out of
the receiver. The hitch pin came out OK, but the ball mount was stuck. When he finally got it
out of the receiver he noticed that the hole in the ball mount and the receiver were worn
oblong and there was a burr on the inside of the receiver, which was keeping the ball mount
from releasing.
Apparently the movement of the ball mount in the receiver during stopping and starting was
wearing the inside of the tube causing a burr. He also noticed some marks and slight bow on
the pin itself indicating there had been movement.
If you put the ball mount in the receiver and install the pin there should not be a lot of back and
forth movement of ball mount in the receiver. If there is, it could be a sign of worn parts.
This an area we need to keep an eye on.

Is it time for a
change?

What to inspect on the hitch:
Check the hitch mounting bolts on tow vehicle- loose or missing.
Look for cracks, corrosion or signs of twisting on hitch components.
Check receiver pin and clip for wear or damage.
Check hitch ball for wear.
Check that the hitch ball is tight and properly torqued.
Check that the bolts on hitch head are tight and properly torqued (recommended torque is 300
ft. lbs for the ¾” bolts).
If you have brackets on the A-Frame that the torsion bars attach to, check that the bolts are
tight.
Check that the coupler latches and that it sits on the ball properly. Does the safety pin go thru
the latch?
Check the coupler (inside coupler) latching pawl for wear or cracks.
The same inspection should be performed on motor homes as well, you are probably pulling
either a small car or cargo trailer.
You don’t want your next trip to come off without a hitch!

I recently had the pleasure of giving the staff at the Wally Byam headquarters a tour of our
newly expanded production plant and offices. I had a great time that afternoon filling them in
on all the details. We are very proud of our plant! Thanks for coming down ladies!! As you can
see from the picture I was in very good company! From left to right: Megan, Julie, Rick, Lori,
and Deb.

If you have any questions concerning the inspection of your hitch please contact me.
I would love hearing from you and if you have a suggestion or topic you would like to see
covered in a future article, or have a question just drop me a line at rmarch@airstream.com .
Have a great month!
Rick March