Remove ET hitch

[dan412]

I need to tow a commercial semi trailer so in order to get clearance I will have to remove the ET Hitch. The question I have is do I need to put back the rear crossmember or can I use a piece of plate steel a crossed and use the holes from the hitch to mount it. 

[Steve from SoCal]

The rear X-member?     The one on the dovetail of the frame?      Unless you removed one of the frame X-members inside the frame rails it should be fine.    I guess the trailer is not loaded or heavily loaded?

An empty or light trailer is going to be 6-10K on the hitch that is nothing for a full size 5th wheel.    The mounting plate it self is going to tie the rails together.      The rear dovetail is not a big deal for rail alignment at the hitch.      It would be more of an issue IF you plan to pull an RGN?

 

Steve  

[Star Dreamer]

Do you have the ET SR or JR hitch? If it is a JR, you can remove the hitch from the mounting plate and just leave the plate in.

With a SR you have to remove the plate as it is part of the hitch. Whether or not you need to put a cross member in would be dependent on if you have a truck bed and how it was constructed? What are rear taillights mounted to? 

[dan412]

14 hours ago, Star Dreamer said:

Do you have the ET SR or JR hitch? If it is a JR, you can remove the hitch from the mounting plate and just leave the plate in.

With a SR you have to remove the plate as it is part of the hitch. Whether or not you need to put a cross member in would be dependent on if you have a truck bed and how it was constructed? What are rear taillights mounted to? 

I have the Sr. and no bed or anything on the frame I will be hauling a fully loaded trailer. Truck and trailer will be around 80,000 LBS 

[noteven]

 

A rule of thumb: if you look at the 5th wheel you see the mounting pins to the bolsters that the plate rocks back and forth on. If nothing on the truck sticks up above that plane anywhere below where the trailer swings it is good on normal roads and streets. 

Make sure any frame rail you have possibly added will swing properly under the "commercial" trailer you are going to pull so tangling and mangling doesn't occur.  This can be checked with the tape measure - compare the pin of trailer to anything the frame can hit - usually the landing gear braces and gussets.  Then compare the measurement to the truck 5th wheel pin connection back on the angle to the part of frame or mudflaps that is farthest from the pin and farthest outboard.  You want a couple or 4 inches of room. 

[dan412]

I worried about the frame twist from removing the rear most x member to install the ET Sr. hitch. The hitch takes the place of the x member. My question is do I need to put back the that x member. I have a piece steel 5/16 steel plate that I can put across where the hitch was.

[phoenix2013]

Do you intend to put the ET back in or is it a permanent removal? If it's a temporary removal let me know, I'll post some pictures. Pretty easy to do and the mounting plate stays in keeping the back of the frame stable.

The Old Goat

[dan412]

12 hours ago, phoenix2013 said:

Do you intend to put the ET back in or is it a permanent removal? If it's a temporary removal let me know, I'll post some pictures. Pretty easy to do and the mounting plate stays in keeping the back of the frame stable.

The Old Goat

Temporary removal so I can hall a moving van.  

[phoenix2013]

This is the procedure we used to remove and re-install rebuilt ETs (mounting plate, the four airbags and the leveling valve would remain in the truck)

First, unbolt the two stop plates on top of the sidewalls, then unbolt the eight 3/8 bolts holding the tops of the four airbags. I'm assuming you have the "four baggers", it's a little more involved if you have a single large bag. Rebuilt ETs were shipped without the head, in your instance you want to lift the platform with the head so use a strap you can get under the head.

Lift the platform above the sidewalls and set it on top of a lumber, 2 x 4 works good.

Unbolt the eight 5/8 bolts holding the top portion of the hitch to the mounting plate. This is a two man job, one guy on top with 5/8 socket and extension and wrench and one man with and air impact and 5/8 socket under truck. Make sure all the eights bolts are completely out. Pretty easy task in an open rails installation. On some beds built tight around an ET you will need, multiple extension, 3/8 extension, wobble sockets, straight wrenches, closed wrenches, ratcheting closed wrenches, Band-Aids for knuckles and a substantial repertoire of juicy four letter words.

Install two closed (for safety) lifting hooks in the sidewalls. 

Use strap long enough to fashion three point lifting configuration, from the lifting ring on the hoist (yes RING, I did drop and ET to within two inches of my toes with no steel toes from a lifting hook), through the lifting hooks on the sidewalls, back through the RING, to the dogbone pipes and back to the RING.

You want lift the whole thing as straight as possible, so lift a little and see which way it tips and move the straps to where the center of the weight for the whole thing is. Be careful lifting the whole thing around the air valve (same when reassembling the hitch).

Store it on a bench or a pair of horses, this one was being mounted on a palette for shipment. Again for safety, if we were leaving it on the hoist we would lower it to the ground as low as it would go.

Reassembly is a reverse process. Take the "opportunity" to clean and touch up the paint on the mounting plate and it really "helps" to run a 5/8 drill or better a reamer through the eight mounting holes in the mounting plate to a point where a 5/8 bolt has enough clearance to just drop in. Pre-load all eight bolts with the bevel washer in the assembly and position it over the mounting plate. If you get it just right over the mounting holes all eight bolts will just drop in (might have to wiggle it a bit). In the picture below it's an ET Jr, the procedure is the same. 

When impacting the bolts the top guy has to make sure that the square bevel washer are square to the  sidewalls, if they are not they will crack under the torque.

Incidentally, as a point of interest, the new ET manufactured by Youngs (versions 5 and 6) no longer require the bevel washers. The sidewalls are no longer rolled C-channels, they are custom drilled and bent C-channels (both ET Seniors and Juniors).

Edited August 22, 2021 by phoenix2013

[dan412]

Thanks,

Henry that is just what I was looking for. It looked like it would come off by using the the bolts on the sides of the channels but wasn't sure what else needed to be removed. 

[phoenix2013]

The whole idea behind ETs coming with the mounting plates as part of the hitch was so there would be "no consequences" for removing the rear most brace. Volvos are pretty good about the frame rail staying put without that brace, not so on all trucks and suspensions.

[dan412]

I got the ET hitch off with Henry's great directions with pictures only took about half an hour. I have a question about the leveling valve its real close to the kingpin when hooking and unhooking.  I'm worried that it might get damaged i would like to take it off and cap the line do they make a cap or should I put a shut off valve in line. 

[phoenix2013]

Shut-off valve in the supply line is the best way, it's good to have one there to remove the valve if you are fooling around removing and installing things. Not having the valve there eliminates possibility of damaging it during re-install. Remember, the supply line has a direct connection to your final dry tank with 125 psi on it. Quickest "method", sharp knife. Cut the supply line in the spot where you are going to install the shut-off valve and let the dry tank go bananas for the next few minutes until it empties, install the valve. Use the leveling valve to empty the air bags, if they are not empty already, to remove the output line.

Loved to do it with customers watching, with all that hissing and truck suspension settling down, "😢he broke my truck".

On edit:  Wow, just got a notification, I am no longer a "rookie" I an an "explorer". Let's see, 9 years on the forum as Phoenix 2013, I'll be 77 tomorrow, I guess we are talking afterlife to reach an eagle.

Edited September 6, 2021 by phoenix2013

[Phil D]

49 minutes ago, phoenix2013 said:

On edit:  Wow, just got a notification, I am no longer a "rookie" I an an "explorer". Let's see, 9 years on the forum as Phoenix 2013, I'll be 77 tomorrow, I guess we are talking afterlife to reach an eagle.

Henry, I've been participating in this forum (and the HDT posts that preceded it in the MDT forum) for twenty years, moderated it for ten, and I, too, have been busted down to rookie status.

[phoenix2013]

2 hours ago, Phil D said:

Henry, I've been participating in this forum (and the HDT posts that preceded it in the MDT forum) for twenty years, moderated it for ten, and I, too, have been busted down to rookie status.

Ah, the MDT days, first Newsletter I wrote for them was Winter 2004, 10 pages, Orr's were running the chapters, membership down to little over 100 folks, last one I wrote was Winter 2012, over 30 pages, membership almost 500. I could see the writing on the wall and tried to merge the MDT guys with the fledgling HDT guys but it wasn't gonna work. Guys who laid down $100K on gussied up MDTs with 300HP Catepillars couldn't stand the guys who laid down $30K on a HDT with 450 HP Cummins and made it work. Hence the "Dark Side" split between the buyers and the tinkerers.

Phil, how's that James Bond 007 doing?😃

For those "not in the know", early Gen 1 ET hitches were serialized, Phil has one serial no. 007. I wanted to upgrade it but he doesn't want to part with 007. How about if I keep the 007 designation on it?

[Darryl&Rita]

5 hours ago, phoenix2013 said:

9 years on the forum as Phoenix 2013

Plus all those years as the "Other Guy". What a ride it's been.

[Phil D]

5 hours ago, phoenix2013 said:

Phil, how's that James Bond 007 doing?😃

Actually, Henry, it's just goofing off, sitting in the hot Texas sun.  Since I'm trying to find local work, and the truck needs a bit of wiring work to pass inspection (a prerequisite for registration in Texas) I didn't even register it this year. 

[phoenix2013]

4 hours ago, Darryl&Rita said:

Plus all those years as the "Other Guy". What a ride it's been.

Hmmmm, I thought he moved into the recesses of memory, he was colorful.

[noteven]

10 hours ago, phoenix2013 said:

Hmmmm, I thought he moved into the recesses of memory, he was colorful.

I wondered why I have that virus looking sticker on my avatar- looks like I’ve been outted as a “collaborator” by the bots.

I might have to go underground for a while I’ll say hi to him for you if I see him. 

[phoenix2013]

54 minutes ago, noteven said:

I wondered why I have that virus looking sticker on my avatar- looks like I’ve been outted as a “collaborator” by the bots.

I might have to go underground for a while I’ll say hi to him for you if I see him. 

Yes, yes, since you have the rank go forth an "collaborate" with him, I heard he's still as randy and opinionated as before.