Battlecat got hitched!
We also asked him to replace the coupler that attaches Bessie's tongue to Battlecat's ball-hitch. There were a few issues to consider here. First, the original jack is missing, so we need to replace that with a new one, and the new ones don't fit the old holes. Second, the original coupler didn't fully cover the hitch ball. Ron fork-lifted Bessie's tongue to see if he could decouple the truck and trailer, but he couldn't, even as he lifted the trucks rear wheels off the ground. So at least we were safe, but there is still concern that one day it will get connected poorly and then we'll have a road disaster. Third, as mentioned in the Tires post, I'm not sure if Les Schwab caused unnecessary strain on Bessie's cross-beams, bending them upwards a little. If they did, then her coupler, which doesn't fully cover the hitch ball anyway, is now at a slightly compromised angle. Add all this to the fact that Ron is going to charge me the same labor to either (A) open up the existing jack hole to install a new jack, or (B) weld off the old coupler and weld on a new coupler that is pre-cut to fit a new jack, and it's not a hard decision for me. I like the idea of keeping everything vintage, but Bessie's not a museum or a toy, or a whimsical hobby for me. She's a functional trailer that requires full safety on the roads that she'll travel.
Old broken tear-drop jack...
Black jack. With more ball coverage!
It's as simple as spinning the winch now...
They had good ideas back in 1959, and strong construction, but they didn't have as many giant 18-wheelers barreling down the highways and interstates. I'm not going to spend my life traveling back roads and highways because I'm scared of what would happen if my trailer decoupled. I'm going to spend my life traveling back roads and highways because that's where all the cool stuff is and I like to take my time!
We also asked him to replace the coupler that attaches Bessie's tongue to Battlecat's ball-hitch. There were a few issues to consider here. First, the original jack is missing, so we need to replace that with a new one, and the new ones don't fit the old holes. Second, the original coupler didn't fully cover the hitch ball. Ron fork-lifted Bessie's tongue to see if he could decouple the truck and trailer, but he couldn't, even as he lifted the trucks rear wheels off the ground. So at least we were safe, but there is still concern that one day it will get connected poorly and then we'll have a road disaster. Third, as mentioned in the Tires post, I'm not sure if Les Schwab caused unnecessary strain on Bessie's cross-beams, bending them upwards a little. If they did, then her coupler, which doesn't fully cover the hitch ball anyway, is now at a slightly compromised angle. Add all this to the fact that Ron is going to charge me the same labor to either (A) open up the existing jack hole to install a new jack, or (B) weld off the old coupler and weld on a new coupler that is pre-cut to fit a new jack, and it's not a hard decision for me. I like the idea of keeping everything vintage, but Bessie's not a museum or a toy, or a whimsical hobby for me. She's a functional trailer that requires full safety on the roads that she'll travel.
Black jack. With more ball coverage!
It's as simple as spinning the winch now...
They had good ideas back in 1959, and strong construction, but they didn't have as many giant 18-wheelers barreling down the highways and interstates. I'm not going to spend my life traveling back roads and highways because I'm scared of what would happen if my trailer decoupled. I'm going to spend my life traveling back roads and highways because that's where all the cool stuff is and I like to take my time!