Breaking stuff in Baja

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Bluetribal

Bluetribal

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Mar 14, 2006
Threads
280
Messages
6,004
Location
Sandy Eggo
Website
www.markkuz.com
Well, we went down to Baja for an overnighter to check out a Resort just North of Rosarito the one with the golf course. We were checking it out as a possible wedding location but it will not make the cut as this resort has seen better days.
But Sunday we woke up rolled through Rosarito and past Porto Nuevo. And from there we took HWY 1 inland and using my Baja Almanac we found basically a fire road that would take us up into the hills and loop us around back to HWY 3 where we would head to Tecate for late lunch.
Well the fire road ended up taking us past several ranches and we passed more cowboys on horse back than cars. Anyway to get to the breakage, if your going to break something in Baja this would be high on the list since it took just a minute to fix. The 'U' Bolt on my DeStacco latch sheered right off and as I checked my DS mirror I saw my spare tire tread just hanging out behind me.
The pic is a little out of focus but I will get a better one later.
bluetribal-albums-baja-09-2009-picture10467-little-blurry-but-you-looking-sheered-off-u-bolt-my-destacco-tire-swing-latch.jpg


And the Fix
bluetribal-albums-baja-09-2009-picture10468-quick-fix-broken-tire-swing-latch.jpg


So I hope the 'U' bolt will be available for purchase by it's self so I don't have to buy a whole new $35 latch. In fact I think I will buy two 'U' Bolts and keep one as a spare.


Oh and a bright spot to taking this trail for 2 hours is that we ended up in wine country and stopped in to Emeve for a wine tasting. More pics are found here: https://forum.ih8mud.com/members/bluetribal-albums-baja-09-2009.html
 
I would give DeStacco a call 1-800-990-0559 and tell them what happend and I bet they would give you a new U-bolt for free.

Glad to hear some people are still touring that part of Mexico. :cheers:
 
Yeah, the hotel actually was very busy this weekend and they screwed up our reservation but we lucked out and they had just three rooms left so we got a room as well as the other couple that went with us. I couldn't even hardly recognize Rosarito it has grown so much in I think 2 years since I was last their.
 
glad you're back alive...!

try again a few times so can get better stats on the odds! :D
 
Was there a loud BANG before the latch went? Could have been a Narco shooting at you and instead hit the U-Bolt.:eek:

I wonder if the fact that the latch is mounted horizontally put additional strain on the U-Bolt from the up and down jarring of a rough road causing it to snap. I have the same latch on my Slee but it is mounted vertical. I think the Kaymar and IPOR are mounted horizontal but use a different latch system.
 
FWIW, not the first time I have seen the latch fail in that orientation. Both cases on a Hanna bumper. Other persons failed multiple times. I believe the reason to be that the arm is not supported in the vertical direction. The latch is closed, so the u bolt is not held tight at the hinge point in the latch (the machined bushing piece) and the latch part on the bumper. However the arms of the u-bolt cycle up and down, eventually shearing the u-bolt right at the hinge point. Essentially it is side loading the u-bolt.

If you put a nylon pad between the swingout arm and the bumper to stop the whole swingarm from being able to move up and down it should help with the situation. That is what we did on the other bumper.

We have never lost a latch that I am aware off.
 
Yeah, I think there was additional strain on it with every down force on each bump. I need to score a 2"x3" of that plastic/nylon stuff to put between the bumper and the tire swing arm. Right now with the bungies my tire swing is now hitting the bumper since I don't have the latch to keep it level. So the 'U' bolt was being strained two different directions.
 
Ahh too slow, Slee beat me to it. So Slee can you sell me a piece of that Nylon? I need to buy your receiver too because I have a hole in my Hanna bumper right now that i had planned for it when I rescued this bumper from a back yard.
 
Interesting. I've never seen that either. I bet you guys are right. Different forces at work on the Hanna bumper. I keep the latch on my Slee pretty tight. (Needs an adjustment again however . . .)
 
on my Kaymar, the swingout arm when closed nestles inside a U shaped bracket that limits/prevents up and down motion, especially when being pulled very hard against a rubber pad as is the case with mine. Never heard of a failure with those, at least that I recall.
 
Been running that same latch on my DIY 4x4 labs for years over lots of stuff, mounted vertically no pad. Tight, forget the torque setting I used? every once in a while seems like it loosens somewhat and I have to tighten Seen those types of u-bolts at the HW store, Maybe I’ll pick up a spare just in case.
 
Bluetribal said:
Ahh too slow, Slee beat me to it. So Slee can you sell me a piece of that Nylon? I need to buy your receiver too because I have a hole in my Hanna bumper right now that i had planned for it when I rescued this bumper from a back yard.
Click to expand...

If you need it yesterday, take a trip to Lowes or depot and look for a rubber bumper (door stopper) accessory. Google "rubber bumper" look in pictures, and there you will find many sizes and heights...to get the right one for your swing arm. I used something similar for my custom tire carrier to address the up and down free play as well. Works fine so far.
 
Bluetribal said:
Interesting, do you mean something like this?
Buyers 6in. Precision Molded Rubber Bumpers, Model# B5500 | Misc. Hardware | Northern Tool + Equipment
Click to expand...

Maybe, it may be too tall. Best to get something like this and use large washers to finish the fit. Large washers like those that are being used on the underneath tire carrier mod....that is what I ended up using them for...tor the swing arm... rubber bumper and washers, all secured with a bolt.

Like this one better...

Google Image Result for http://www.hortonvans.com/xcart/images/P/p-16230.jpg
 
Just an update, I contacted Reid Supply Company where I originally bought the latch 2 years ago and they are able to get me the 'U' Bolt by itself for under $5 so I went ahead and ordered two so I will have a spare. Although I plan to get either a Nylon or rubber spacer to help support the vertical pressure that caused the latch to fail.
 
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