B&W Hitch Fail! Not too bad tho...

[DLRAKOWITZ]

Hey all for the bolt shearing off thing. I also have a companion hitch and that looks like the screw and bolt you have to tighten down the shaft to the sleeve in your bed of truck is that correct. I was told when I put mine in that directions state to torque that down to like 80lbs but tech from local shop told me to hand tighten only not toque down. That is to prevent the quick release to not rattle that is located on the drivers side under the wheel well. He told me that if you didnt plan on taking out the hitch very often to go ahead and snug it down but still not to torqe it down. So far no issues from my peanut factory. Hope its helpful.

[Fredtp]

Well I just installed A B&W Companion in my Ram yesterday and is just like the one TNT has. I will be just a little nervous for awhile.

[DLRAKOWITZ]

Like I said before mine is not identical to your since yours is for the new ram. Mine is for the companion turnover ball. The 3500 series not the 3600 series. But comparing hardware to curt which I had in my previous rig. I will trust b&w over curt when it come to a gooseneck setup. Here's is something that will make your rear end pucker. I had a gooseneck conversion on my last carriage and while pulling from El Paso to Houston the latch disengaged on my ball and the trailer shoved the ball thru the bed of my truck Noticed something didn't feel right but kept traveling till I got to Houston late that night. Unhooked it and noticed the trailer wouldn't disengage from the ball and further inspection showed I had already wore the medal around the bed and directly to the hitch plate on the truck. After several hours it finally came loose with the ball still in the gooseneck coupler. It had bent the ball forward when it disengaged from the latch and safety pin below it. B&w since then

[TNTBaker]

Originally Posted by DLRAKOWITZ

Hey all for the bolt shearing off thing. I also have a companion hitch and that looks like the screw and bolt you have to tighten down the shaft to the sleeve in your bed of truck is that correct. I was told when I put mine in that directions state to torque that down to like 80lbs but tech from local shop told me to hand tighten only not toque down. That is to prevent the quick release to not rattle that is located on the drivers side under the wheel well. He told me that if you didnt plan on taking out the hitch very often to go ahead and snug it down but still not to torqe it down. So far no issues from my peanut factory. Hope its helpful.

FYI; The bolt isn't the one you are thinking of. It's not one that was part of user assembly. I do think it's possible that it was a bad bolt... It would make sense. I don't like to think it was the torque of the trailer movement that did it, because that would mean it could happen again.

[TNTBaker]

Originally Posted by DLRAKOWITZ

Like I said before mine is not identical to your since yours is for the new ram. Mine is for the companion turnover ball. The 3500 series not the 3600 series. But comparing hardware to curt which I had in my previous rig. I will trust b&w over curt when it come to a gooseneck setup. Here's is something that will make your rear end pucker. I had a gooseneck conversion on my last carriage and while pulling from El Paso to Houston the latch disengaged on my ball and the trailer shoved the ball thru the bed of my truck Noticed something didn't feel right but kept traveling till I got to Houston late that night. Unhooked it and noticed the trailer wouldn't disengage from the ball and further inspection showed I had already wore the medal around the bed and directly to the hitch plate on the truck. After several hours it finally came loose with the ball still in the gooseneck coupler. It had bent the ball forward when it disengaged from the latch and safety pin below it. B&w since then

Thank GOODNESS ours was NOTHING like that! The B&W seems like a great hitch and we are definitely giving them the benefit of the doubt. When you buy a new RV it seems like you are in "acceptance" mode anyway, the QC is SO FAR below what it should be (I don't care WHAT brand you are talking about) and you tend to take everything in stride. The industry has us all trained well. Our list of little issues continues to grow, and we just keep writing them down... But we are still completely thrilled with the coach and the hitch.

[Ramblin Roadrunners]

I ordered a B and W Companion Friday for a 14 Ram. I looked at a ram being installed.
they cut a hole in the bed and a frame is mounted from underneath. The goose neck ball comes up through the frame. I'm not sure what kind of plate you guys are referring to.