off road trailer coupler

mesha

By endurance we conquer
Location
A.F.
The scary part about that is, I've seen more than once those teraflex arms separate and flatten threads as a rear control arm. Kinda scares me to think it could separate and bye bye trailer.

I think that is why he said he welded a very thick washer on the end in case the threads fail. Maybe I mis-read and you are talking about a different thing.
 

Bob B

Registered User
Exactly! Theres 6ish inches of threads engaged, so failure is lowered, but incase they do, there is a thick "washer" welded to the end as a safety, so NO bye bye trailer..
 
I think that is why he said he welded a very thick washer on the end in case the threads fail. Maybe I mis-read and you are talking about a different thing.
Nope I some how missed the thick washer part.
Exactly! Theres 6ish inches of threads engaged, so failure is lowered, but incase they do, there is a thick "washer" welded to the end as a safety, so NO bye bye trailer..

As said above I missed the thick washer part somehow :doh: sounds a lot safer now :)
 

mesha

By endurance we conquer
Location
A.F.
Here is what we ended up with.

We didn't weld a washer on the backside. I don't think it is needed. There was a ton of thread engagement and if I keep it lubed it should be fine. If it starts to look suspect then I will drill and tap the inside for a bolt to retain the arm.

The bracket is made of 1/4" steel and we bent it so it wouldn't bind on full turn. The bushing got here today and I plan to assemble it tonight and then start working on the trailer side.
 

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mesha

By endurance we conquer
Location
A.F.
update:
I moved my hitch from my workbench to my shelf:(.

I will use it once I build my new trailer.
 

Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
I was thinking about this issue today and came up with an alternative to using the Tera arm. What if you replaced it with a trailer spindle stub? Basically, you could use a spindle kit for a swingout tire carrier.
 

I Lean

Mbryson's hairdresser
Vendor
Location
Utah
I was thinking about this issue today and came up with an alternative to using the Tera arm. What if you replaced it with a trailer spindle stub? Basically, you could use a spindle kit for a swingout tire carrier.

I think that would certainly work, although it would be a bit bulky.

But, what is "this issue" you speak of? I only have 3 offroad trips on mine, but a fair amount of miles both on road and off. (best guess, around 2000 highway miles, 400+ offroad miles) Zero issues with my coupler. The bronze bushings were a bit loose after the Rubicon trip, but I just snugged down the 1" nut and it's tight again. Those bushings are an intentional wear part though, so I can replace them easily.
 
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