Swing or Removeable Hitch Retrofit

[jswinner]

I have found a late model 2720QS without the swing hitch. I'm in Oregon, so not near any dealer that has done these retrofits. I also read the thread about the frame cracks and swing hitches. So it makes me a bit nervous to try to find someone that has enough experience to complete this retro for the first time correctly! Anybody know of any success stories getting this mod completed?

[kikeehn]

JS,
As far as I know this is a manufactured option that's installed when the TM is built. I'm not saying it can't be added as an after market build, but I'm really not sure who would or could do it.
Mayby some of the more experienced owners might know, or you can contact the factory.

[Bill]

There is at least a rumor - I haven't confirmed it - that the original swing hitch was invented by the folks at The Car Show in Colorado Springs. I know that is not particularly handy to you, but you might call them and ask if they know of anyone else that could do it. Or perhaps they could provide some detailed drawings that would enable an expert welder to duplicate it. I emphasize the word expert, because there have been failures, as you mentioned, largely caused by the use of two L-channels intead of a single shallow C-channel on the front. Mine failed that way, and a local welding shop chastened me, replaced the L-channels with a C-channel, buttoned up the edges, and it has been fine since.

Bill

[Kidkraz]

To piggy back to Bill's info. Here's a link to a post about letter additions.

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...hlight=welding

[scrubjaysnest]

Originally Posted by Bill

There is at least a rumor - I haven't confirmed it - that the original swing hitch was invented by the folks at The Car Show in Colorado Springs. I know that is not particularly handy to you, but you might call them and ask if they know of anyone else that could do it. Or perhaps they could provide some detailed drawings that would enable an expert welder to duplicate it. I emphasize the word expert, because there have been failures, as you mentioned, largely caused by the use of two L-channels intead of a single shallow C-channel on the front. Mine failed that way, and a local welding shop chastened me, replaced the L-channels with C-channels, buttoned up the edges, and it has been fine since.

Bill

That was part of the trouble with ours, the use of two L-channels instead of a C-channel.

[stormpeakco]

Originally Posted by Bill

There is at least a rumor - I haven't confirmed it - that the original swing hitch was invented by the folks at The Car Show in Colorado Springs. I know that is not particularly handy to you, but you might call them and ask if they know of anyone else that could do it. Or perhaps they could provide some detailed drawings that would enable an expert welder to duplicate it. I emphasize the word expert, because there have been failures, as you mentioned, largely caused by the use of two L-channels intead of a single shallow C-channel on the front. Mine failed that way, and a local welding shop chastened me, replaced the L-channels with C-channels, buttoned up the edges, and it has been fine since.

Bill

Yes, I believe the above is correct.
When the lift, rear bike receiver hitch (150# rating) and installation of our inverter are complete, we will pick up our '15 2720QB from the Car Show later this month. With the other mods, we thought we may need a swing hitch but actually have room to spare w/o one.

Their quoted customer 2015 price (effective 10/01/2014) is $728 (taxes, likely not included) and I'm fairly sure all of the work is performed on site @ the CO SPGS dealership.
Interested parties may want to contact Jeff Stewart, @ the Car Show.

[kikeehn]

To all,
I just checked the Trailmanor Facebook page, and checked the photo gallery and it looks like the newer models 2014 or newer with swing hitches are constructed with C-Channels instead of L-Channels, but a call to the factory will settle it for sure.

[jswinner]

Thanks for the replies. The TM specs list the travel length at 20'-1" and the swing hitch cuts 2' off. Has anyone measured the actual length of the 2720 to the end of the frame with the hitch folded?

[Bill]

I will try to measure my 2720SL again later today. It seems to me that when I measured it several years ago, the overall length was exactly 20 feet, rather than 20 feet 1 inch, but the swing hitch subtracted only 23 inches rather than 24.

Swing hitch closed and latched, length 239 1/2 = 23 ft 11-1/2 inches. Swing hitch open, length 216 1/2 = 18 feet 1/2 inch

If you are going to do a retrofit on an existing trailer, I would imagine (I don't know) that the folks doing the work would have a little bit of freedom in exactly where they make the cut. In other words, if you need it to shorten the trailer by 25 inches rather than 24 inches, they might be able to accommodate you. As you see in the link from Kidkraz above, it depends partly on what model your trailer is (2720 vs 2720SL, for example), and also on whether you want it to swing or detach, with or without the propane bottles. Read that thread carefully.

As for getting a local welder to do it, I would be concerned that the main issue is explaining to him exactly what it is you want him to do. The cutting and welding isn't hard. Understanding, in advance, exactly what has to be cut and welded, and how it all fits together, is the issue.

A word of advice. When you take your trailer in for the retrofit, make sure that the snap-up brackets for the WDH are mounted in the proper location. There is a lot going on in that area, and the last thing you want is to find that they made the cut right where your snap-up brackets need to go.

Bill

A word of advice. When you take your trailer in for the retrofit, make sure that the snap-up brackets for the WDH are mounted in the proper location. There is a lot going on in that area, and the last thing you want is to find that they made the cut right where your snap-up brackets need to go.

Bill

Good advice , Bill!