TimD

An update. I drilled the hole to 1/8" and hammered in the 1/8" roll pin sourced from the local hardware store (we are fortunate to have a reasonably well-equipped HW store nearby). The OEM roll pin was a little bit smaller in diameter, possibly a metric size (3 mm = 0.118"). That in turn suggests the latch was made overseas, like a lot of stuff these days. Sometimes the best fix is the simplest fix. Thanks for the support and encouragement! Tim

Thank you @ScubaRx, that's worth a shot. Tim

That's the new roll pin. I suppose I could ask my travel partner (my wife) to help, haven't done that yet.

Thanks for the replies. I do have a bench mounted vise. What isn't obvious from the photo: A collar has been removed to expose the hole for the photo. The spring-loaded threaded rod needs to be pushed in far enough to expose the hole past that collar, and then the roll pin has to be positioned correctly, held in place, and either pressed or hammered in. I haven't been able to do all of those things simultaneously. I think I'm pretty handy with this kind of thing. I like the machine screw idea and have various types of thread locker on hand, but I do not have a tap set. I'm always in favor of adding to my set of tools but in this case (and at my age) I'm not sure it is worth it. I'm working with Southco to see if they will accept it in return for repair (so far they won't, not least bc. they don't have a business process for that. "We could put you in touch with one of our distributors mumble..." - that's unlikely to help. Maybe they'll offer a replacement. I have already replaced this latch on the trailer so the item in question would be a spare, or could be offered up to the community. Thanks again Tim

Howdy - One of the Southco M1 latches on our 2021 LEII failed with a bent / broken roll pin, which is an internal part of the latch. I've removed the bent pin but so far have been unable to install a new pin. Seems like a fixture is required. Southco, once you get them on the phone as they don't answer emails nor voice mails, are completely unhelpful. So, I have a $60+ latch, perfectly good otherwise, heading for the trash, or at least the recycle bin. Any tips on how to press or hammer the roll pin in? Thanks Tim

Hi folks, following up on this topic with some information we gained recently on hitch-mount bike racks used on travel trailers and RVs. From above, it looks like @Steve Morris and @MAX Burner are both using 1Up heavy-duty racks. Good plan! As it turns out, not all hitch racks are 'rated' for use by their manufacturers for 'RV' or 'travel trailer' use, independent of whether they are capable of carrying e-bikes or not. In the case of Yakima, with whom I spoke yesterday, 'RV use' means 'mounted more than 72" from the rear axle of the vehicle'. In more general terms, a rack either is, or is not, designed to withstand the more extreme accelerations and displacements imparted upon it when hung out on the end of a long trailer or RV. In case you are wondering, based on a quick measurement it is about 7' / 84" from the rear axle of our LE2 to the hitch mount. The 1Up EquipD we have used, twice and on relatively short trips of 300 miles or less, is not rated for RV use, as one can see from the chart below (used without permission of 1Up but available on their web site, somewhat buried): Fortunately, our 1Up EquipD has not failed - yet. But for an upcoming trip we've borrowed a very expensive Specialized full-suspension e-MTB for my wife to use. It is about 50 lbs., and this weight got me curious about the load rating of the 1Up EquipD. Which led me to this chart. The thought of my friend's very nice, very expensive e-MTB bouncing down some New Brunswick, Canada secondary road and into the front of the following vehicle made me reconsider our plan. 😵 The very helpful Customer Service folks at 1Up confirmed that the EquipD was not intended for use on an RV or travel trailer, and might be subject to a failure of the vertical plates holding the greater rack assembly to the hitch tongue. Further, the very helpful Customer Service folks at Yakima suggested that their HoldUp rack was somewhere between 'likely to fail' and 'might fail' when hung on the end of our LE2 and loaded with 80 lbs of bikes. So the Yakima HoldUp on offer from a friend was disqualified as a substitute for our 1Up EquipD. Until we can upgrade our rack (probably to a 1Up HD rack), moving forward we won't be using the EquipD on the back of the LE2. For this trip the bikes will go in the bed of the TV, using a fork mount, 2x10-based rack I fabricated in our driveway last night, while being devoured by mosquitoes. We may still bring the EquipD with us, empty and on the back of the LE2, so that we can move it to, and use it on, the back of the TV for day trips away from base when the LE2 is detached. Lifting the 50 lb. e-MTB into and out of the bed of the TV and securing it to the fork mount rack is a bit of a bear. The rack sales specialist at our local REI had no understanding of 'RV / travel trailer' rack specifications, BTW. YMMV. Hope this helps further inform the bike rack discussion! Tim

Thank you Cameron, they have been helpful in the past, I'll try that. Tim

The left backup light on our LEII (#701) has failed, or has become intermittent. Removing the bezel and four screws holding the LED assembly in place reveals about 1/2" of free wiring, straight into the hull, and no connectors. So, no easy way to disconnect the assembly outside the hull, in order to bench test the light. The wiring diagram does not identify a fuse for the backup lights, not to say there isn't one. Access to the lights and wiring, and in particular the backup lights which are at the bottom of the taillight stack, through the garage door is somewhat difficult, not least because the exterior garage door is in the way. At least the right hand side light is working! After removing the garage rear panel I see several layers of insulation and various unrelated (?) wires in the vicinity. So far I have not reached the inside of the hull itself nor found any connectors which might permit removal of the light assembly. Any suggestions on how to proceed? Thanks in advance! Tim

Following up now. No bikes, obviously. Tim

I will get to that next time we have the rack on the trailer. Might be a while. Thanks Tim

As mounted the rear compartment / bumper clears the back of the receiver by about 1". 😀 The receiver has a raised surround about 3/16" high, so I positioned the receiver far enough aft so that the raised portion is not atop the beam. It would be possible to move the receiver forward, but not by much, in which case it might or might not interfere with the rear compartment / bumper swing. Thanks! Tim

Our 2021 OEII came with a 2" hitch mount rack receiver but the installation was (in my view and with respect to a lot of other good work done by the prior owner of our trailer) not quite up to 'factory standard'. In fact the U-bolt-based attachment method distorted the receiver shape just enough to make installation, and especially removal, of our 1Up hitch rack next to impossible. So I sought to improve upon it. After some research I settled on a receiver ostensibly designed for use on certain Lexus GX460 models: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRKR1Q4X Drilling and attachment was straightforward given a drill press, a decent 1/2" bit, appropriate measuring tools, and a center punch. The aluminum is relatively soft and drilling oil was not used. I have not been able to get all the chips out of the interior, but did not try too hard to remove an end cap and access the box section beam interior that way. The hardware is 3 1/2" x 1/2" stainless with stainless and yellow zinc washers. We have not tested the setup on the road yet, but static fitment went fine. The receiver and backing plate are fairly heavy; according to the retailer, about 10 pounds. This item is designed for towing, when attached to a GX460; it is likely overkill for this application, but that's OK by me. A side benefit is the receiver has safety chain mounts through which a cable lock could be passed. I discussed this with Jason and he indicated the factory were considering offering a 2" receiver option moving forward. Our bike rack is 2", our cars and TV have 2" receivers, and use of an adapter was not appealing to me. In hindsight I might have painted it white, or silver 😀 Enjoy! Tim

Will do, thank you. Tim

Prior to setting out on our first trip (OE2 #701) I read up on the Andersen WD / AS hitch and the stability control in our 2019 F-150. As is here, there is a broad range of opinion out there in cyberspace on whether TV sway control should be enabled or disabled when towing with the Andersen WD/AS hitch (or any anti-sway hitch, for that matter). Driving north on the southern end of the Garden State Parkway this week, though open marshlands and with west winds gusting to 35 MPH, we experimented with turning the F-150 stability control off and on. My wife and I both felt the rig was noticeably, but not much, more stable and easier to drive with the truck's stability control system switched off. Apart from the wind, weather conditions were sunny and dry; had the road been wet we probably would have left the system on. It would be interesting to grease the AS cone and eliminate or reduce the AS function of the Andersen hitch. Via height measurements we have confirmed the WD function transfers weight to the front axle and would want to retain that function. YMMV. Best Tim

I should add that I'm not on Facebook. Thanks!