Eagle HT - Pinbox or Frame Bent

[ciollika]

Hello,

My name is Kyle. Long time lurker, first time poster...

We are on our 3rd Jayco, this time a fifth wheel. We bought this 2018 Eagle HT 29.5 BHDS used last fall. Previous owners seemed to have taken great care of it, stored under cover, yadda yadda.

One thing that's given me a little concern though, that I didn't notice until I was installing the Andersen is that the pin box is not level with the rest of the coach. I have a series of photos to illustrate what I mean here.

First, the 5er lives in a covered shop, on a level concrete pad. The landing gear are within 1/8" of each-other in length protruding from the frame, and measurements of the corner of the nose to the floor were within 1/4" (48" and 47 3/4"), for all intents and purposes, the 5er is "level".


Here you can see that the front frame cross member is level, so the frame is parallel with the floor.


Next, moving up to the underside of the nose, directly above the front basement storage compartment, the level reads level also. So the floor, the frame cross-member, and now the nose floor structure are all parallel and level.


Also, the front of the nose floor, also level.


Here's where things get weird. This is the the steel pinbox bracket, which i presume is welded to the frame structure. Pics of the back, and front of the bracket. Not level, and so not in parallel with the rest of the frame.



And here you can see that the pinbox is severely out of level. As you can tell, it's the Mor-Ryde rubber pinbox, presumably installed from the factory.



So I am obviously concerned about this, and have many questions... Have any of you seen this, and if so what was the cause/remedy? Should I be concerned about it?

I don't have any reason to believe this was related to damage incurred by the previous owner (collision, etc). He was a police officer, and seemed to be honest and trustworthy.

For what it's worth, I noticed this issue before installing the Andersen, so I'm certain it's not because of that.

Thank you!

[RoadrunnerII]

I would hedge a bet the pin box mounting holes (the ones to adjust the pin box up and diwn) have enough slop to make the pin box that way. Find someone with big tools and a nig torque wrench. Loosen all the bolts and free the pin box. See if it comes level. Then retighten it up to the spec

RoadrunnerII

[Jeffur]

I don’t think it’s that far out of level. The pivoting 5th wheel receiving head will compensate for the offset.

[eow]

Most likely a weld fixture issue when the pin box mount was welded to the frame.

As others stated probably not worth worrying about and can probably be reduced by taking advantage of the slop in the pin box mounting holes.

[Nature Ist]

I'm inclined to agree this may not be a problem. I would carefully compare the measurements when the pin box is unloaded/unhitched and then when sitting on the hitch with the landing gear retracted. If you can notice any difference that may be more reason for concern. I know it's not easy to see inside the frame area, but if you can pull back the rubber seal and look inside with a mirror and flashlight to inspect the welds you might be able to see if anything obvious is going on. (Perhaps try doing this hitched and unhitched.)
On my pinbox, there didn't seem to by much slop in the holes for mounting bolts, but it would be wise for you to check them with a torque wrench as already suggested. If you can remove the pinbox you can check the holes for elongation in case they were not torqued properly in the beginning, and it might give you more ability to see inside the frame area.
I have had a few occasions when I wish I had a good inspection camera with a gooseneck and light with high resolution camera. This is a good example of that being handy!

[ciollika]

All great feedback, thank you for your replies. I was leaning towards ‘non-issue’, as we’ve taken it out once and I didn’t notice any movement or flexing.

I will see if there’s any adjustability in the pin box mounting holes, but in looking at install videos online it didn’t seem like there was much slop in there...

[Lowmiler]

Just an FYI, should you decide to pursue warranty remediation, your Andersen hitch may trigger a warranty denial. Lippert, the manufacturer of the frame, will not approve warranty work if any type of gooseneck hitch/pinbox is used (except for the Goose Box). I specifically inquired with them about the Andersen, and Lippert considers it to be a gooseneck type.

[ciollika]

I’m not the original buyer, so I just assumed that it wouldn’t be under warranty, but I suppose I should look to see what the warranty is/was and if it was transferable.

EDIT: the warranty language indicates that the warranty is for the original purchaser (non-transferable)

[Nathan S.]

I have a 2020 with a MORryde pin box. There was a recall for 2018 - 2019. I received this recall because mine was a early 2019 manufacturing date. It had to do with the length of some bolts. Mine was fine. Not sure if this recall would cause something like this, I couldn’t tell by the notice which bolts they were and didn’t bother doing the research because I was taking it in anyway for another issue. This recall was issued last summer. You might want to at least look into it.

[ciollika]

I will definitely look into that

[diver6]

I also have the 29.5BHDS and that's not the original pin box that comes with it. Now it could have been optioned but if the previous owner changed it out I would bet he didn't bolt it up level. There is slop in the mounting holes!. Its a very easy check and free.

[GraftonGuns]

I have a 2017 Eagle HT 27.5 RLTS. I installed my own MorRyde rubber pinbox. The mounting holes have enough play in them that the pinbox may be out of level. They need to be torqued and then re-torqued every year. Don't sweat the small stuff. I think you are fine. BTW I just installed the Andersen hitch because I was 3" nose high with my new truck and could not adjust it out with the Curt A16 hitch. I am now just a tad nose high and still have about 6" of clearance.

[RipinSC]

On 2 of your pictures you have the level on the main bracket that the pin box bolts onto. Your pictures show that the main bracket is clearly welded on an angle. You will not have very much play in the bolt holes to try to straighten the pin box. I would send your pictures to Jayco and ask them if this is a concern or not.

[ciollika]

Originally Posted by RipinSC

On 2 of your pictures you have the level on the main bracket that the pin box bolts onto. Your pictures show that the main bracket is clearly welded on an angle. You will not have very much play in the bolt holes to try to straighten the pin box. I would send your pictures to Jayco and ask them if this is a concern or not.

This is my main concern... the main bracket is way out of level, so much so that even if there were some play in the mounting holes I doubt it would get the pinbox to level. I know which dealer the 5er was originally purchased from, so I will likely give them a shout.

[mikehoots]

Originally Posted by ciollika

I’m not the original buyer, so I just assumed that it wouldn’t be under warranty, but I suppose I should look to see what the warranty is/was and if it was transferable.

EDIT: the warranty language indicates that the warranty is for the original purchaser (non-transferable)

The factor warranty isn't with Jayco unless you are the original owner. I buy used all the time and also buy extended warranty with Good Sam it has paid off several times over

[AFDon]

Image five. Looks like a bit of rust on the right side, left side looks factory. Could something have moved? Like others have said, there's some slop in the mounting holes. At least on my 2015 Eagle. Had to adjust the factory pinbox because of a different TV. Torque those bolts to at least factory specs.

[JaycoJoe66]

I have a 2019 HT and discussing new hitches (as I have an older one) with my dealer, they recommended not to use a gooseneck hitch. They said it might be ok ,and or it may tweak the pin box due to the difference in the weight distribution on the pin itself. If it did damage because of a gooseneck there would be no warranty on it. I did not discuss it further as I was not interested in a gooseneck for my use.

[ciollika]

Originally Posted by AFDon

Image five. Looks like a bit of rust on the right side, left side looks factory. Could something have moved? Like others have said, there's some slop in the mounting holes. At least on my 2015 Eagle. Had to adjust the factory pinbox because of a different TV. Torque those bolts to at least factory specs.

Previous owner had the dealership move the pinbox up one row of mounting holes to drop the nose of the rig, I don't think it has shifted.

Originally Posted by JaycoJoe66

I have a 2019 HT and discussing new hitches (as I have an older one) with my dealer, they recommended not to use a gooseneck hitch. They said it might be ok ,and or it may tweak the pin box due to the difference in the weight distribution on the pin itself. If it did damage because of a gooseneck there would be no warranty on it. I did not discuss it further as I was not interested in a gooseneck for my use.

Thanks, but I do not want this thread to devolve into a discussion about my hitch choice. This condition existed prior to me selecting the Andersen, and the previous owner used a B&W companion.