A frame appears to flex....? is this normal...?

[Sproket]

Earlier on today before I went to work I fitted a new Al-ko heavy duty jockey wheel to our van,

Its the one with the built in nose weight indicator & removable wheel, any way my question is

That when the wheel was lifted clear of the ground & up into the A frame, I noticed that that whilst

I was doing this the A frame appears to flex ..? Is this normal ..?

Does anybody know how tight the chassise to A frame

Connecting bolts should be..? So that I can check them and re-tourqe if required...?

Thanks in advance for any replies

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Sproket,

There is no such think as a totally rigid A frame, they will all move or twist a bit when a load is applied, the question is is it moving too much, and that I can't answer.

What I can relate is that I also changed a jockey wheel on a large box trailer I have. The stem was clamped to the outside of the A frame, and like you I noticed that the A frame was twisting when the load was changed. The section of the A frame was an upturned J, and whilst this has good longitudinal strength, it had very little resistance to twist, in fact it was only the fact that apex of the frame was bolted firmly to the hitch, and to the other side of the A frame that really prevented it from twisting much more.

Fortunately I had the option of repositioning the jockey wheel, to the side of cast hitch mechanism. This now support the A frame very much closer to the centre line of the trailer and the flexing of the A frame is much reduced.

As you are clearly concerned, I suggest you consult a caravan workshop who can check the relevant fixings etc.