Re: [tabtrailers] Re: Any experience with replacing the hitch damper?

10:12 PM |

Denny, thanks for the feedback. Yours is the first we've heard of this particular difficulty, and I don't know of a resource showing the internal mechanism of this damper--shock absorber as you point out--so can only surmise it is similar to others. What really has me puzzled is that the same mechanisms damping it in one direction should do the same thing in the other. What state are you in? We have a number of experienced mechanics on the forum that might give us some better insight as to what the problem might be.

Jerry J

----- Original Message -----

From: Dennis

To: tabtrailers@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2011 12:25 AM

Subject: [tabtrailers] Re: Any experience with replacing the hitch damper?

Yup, I devoured everything I could find about the hitch before I wrote this note and that was the file that I used to grease the damper. It's a great resource, especially for finding the damper nipple. Except for my problem.

Compressing the coupler is difficult because you have to compress the spring and even with the greasing and allowing the grease to work in by driving with it I could only compress it with difficulty. I can accept that. What bothered me was the 1 second extension time. That's not much of a shock absorber which is essentially what the system is.

Ok, yet another opportunity to excel. I'll let you know what I find, when I find it.

Denny

--- In tabtrailers@yahoogroups.com, "Kristi" <iabiker26@...> wrote:
>
> All things brake and lubrication related--SurgeBrakes2.pdf in the AA_Our_Owner's_Manual. It's so helpful, I have it downloaded so it's at my fingertips whenever I need it!
>
> Kristi
>
> --- In tabtrailers@yahoogroups.com, "Jerry Jones" <jjerryj@> wrote:
> >
> > Denny, a lot of us have had difficulty lubricating the damper via the zerk fittings. I thought there was a document in the Files section showing how to inspect and lubricate the damper tube directly, by removing the rear of the bellows cover and also the the plastic cover in the rear to access the backside of the damper assembly, but can't find it at the moment. Maybe some will jump in and let us know where it is. In the meantime remove the back side of the bellows and see if the tube surface is dry. A good stiff grease should take care of the problem, if the tube is not excessively worn.
> >
> > Jerry J
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Dennis
> > To: tabtrailers@yahoogroups.com
> > Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 11:57 AM
> > Subject: [tabtrailers] Any experience with replacing the hitch damper?
> >
> >
> >
> > I tried Jerry's damper test and I couldn't compress the damper by hand. I'm the third owner and I figured the previous owners probably never greased it. So I put grease in the two nipples on the hitch. I put a lot of grease in the damper nipple. Not so much in the joint nipple.
> >
> > I took the T@B on a trip and found it kept booting me from behind. I think the brake adjustment is ok. The adjustments look ok. It seems to work ok. But just at the moment that I take my foot off the brake I get a bump. And sometimes I get a double bump but not very often. It depends on how I'm driving.
> >
> > I rperformed the damper test again and I can compress it by hand now but it snaps right back to the extended position in 1 second. My interpretation is that there is no dampening going on whatsoever which causes the bump.
> >
> > Has anyone replaced their dampener and can give me an idea of what I'm looking at?
> >
> > Denny
> >
>