B&W Companion - Issue

[jelag]

Sitting in the camp ground this past week with the Companion and the 5er... .



I've got 2 Companion's for different trucks and notice that this one is sitting odd and lop sided... . Pulled off the 5th wheel plate and found that the vulcanized rubber on one of the uprights that supports the 5th wheel plate is badly damaged and most of the rubber is ground away...



A note back to the office late Friday found it was still less than a year old and several calls from camp to Portland OR dealers found no parts, and no one willing to sell me a part from a new hitch... So we patched it up, put it back together and now are home... .



As we look back the other hitch must have 130K miles on it... Don't really know. . but will look into the uprights when I have time next week...



Has anyone else had this problem... we usually take the companion hitch off as a 2 man project so we don't take the thing apart... I can't remember either of the two being apart since we put them in service... and low and behold there is a lube point underneath that we'll also address... .



It's going to need a new upright (bolts on) and some work in the socket to remove some burs... .

 

[MGreer]

I haven't heard of the problems youre having from anyone else. I did need to get replacement u-bolts for mine. After no luck finding them I ended up calling B&W directly. I bought two u-bolt kits and recieved them in two days. Shipping was very cheap considering the weight of the package.

If you do call B&W they will ask you for the serial number of your hitch before they will sell you any parts. I bought my hitch from an ebay dealer but it didn't seem to matter, they have great customer service.

Good luck with this.

 

[RVTRKN]

Jelag, something must have gotten between it and the 5th wheel plate. But I must admit, when I saw the setup up close, I wondered about that. I have not had any problems with mine at 22K GCVW, although I'm sure you put many more miles on your's, than mine. I'm interested in the lube issue and what B&W has to say about it.

 

[jelag]

I hope that I didn't miss guide you... . the rubber caps are lube free... its the other axis that is the front to rear shaft that is lubed from the bottom... .

BTW - we think that there's welding speckle... the little beads from the wire feed welder in the socket... . but its a mess..... we're going to flapper wheel it down to about 200 grit before we put it back together... .

 

[MLee]

You also might check your mounting bolts under the bed that has to do with the adapter. They have a tendency to work loose over time and could wreck havock with your day.

I have a friend that the company he works for manufactures parts for B&W and this is one of the complaint feed backs that they get when thing aren't right. So keep em tight.

 

[GooseHunter]

B&W Website

Hi Jim,



I am interested in a B&W rollover hitch with 5th wheel right now. I found their website and I would suggest that you contact them directly. I do not have a history with the company but they look like straight up guys from their website.



B&W Custom Truck Beds, Inc.



Dean

 

[jelag]

GooseHunter... I dropped them an email Sat when we found the problem... . I've been out of town all week so I'm back doing catch up... and the truck and trailer are at home. . I'll catch up with them by phone later this week. .

we have several of their hitches and 2 of the companion's... . their products have outlasted all the other brands we've tried... . We couldn't get 8 months out of the turn over ball hitch by Atwood... rear consumer product to be used once a year.....

I also agree on the bolts... we long time ago changed to grade 8 and thread adhesive...

 

[tolmsted]

jelag: you have a private message.

 

[Newt]

Installation instructions

Step 4
Lubricate the polyurethane bushings with high grade lithium grease---

I give mine a shot every once in a while.

Newt

 

[flyby night]

I also agree on the bolts... we long time ago changed to grade 8 and thread adhesive... /QUOTE]

Be darn careful using grade 8 bolts with any type of hitch. Grade 5 is used for a reason. Grade 8 bolts in many situations will break before grade 5. I have seen this personally on a double belly dump trailer that had several of the grade 5 bolts rattle out of the turn table. Someone had a great idea to replace all of the bolts on the turn table with grade 8 and thread locker. 2 days later all of the grade 8 bolts sheared off and the rear trailer came loose.
Grade 8 is not always better.

 

[butchb]

i have the same hitch and the rubber on one support is worn off the side tops look fine had the hitch about 4 years use regular wheel bearing grease about three times a year