Max Coupler Wearing Out

[teotwaki]

I have read through this entire thread. And...am very sorry the OP had these issues. Also...I am not writing this to bash the OP. That crack in the assembly warranted attention, IMO and he did the right thing. However...something does need to be pointed out.

Maintenance. In dusty, watery, nasty conditions any mechanical device MUST be disassembled, cleaned and re-greased regularly. In some cases, quite frequently as unwanted debris will penetrate the finest of mechanical joints. The military lives by this mantra. It simply must be done. When in doubt - grease. Then add more.

My reason for mentioning this, based upon the photos of the pitted steel that depicted the worn pivot point of the hitch. Those pits are from debris that was ground into the steel repeatedly over a long period of time. That said - the most recent generation of the hitch seems to have somewhat solved this. HOWEVER, even that new assembly will need regular greasing and maintenance. If owners / users do not, added wear and material degradation will certainly take place.

Just my two cents and an observation.

C

Thanks for the comments. If you look back you can see that I repeatedly speak of cleaning and greasing the hitch both in the past and as advice to all owners of any generation of Max Coupler.

.... to all owners of the Max Couplers: perform that disassembly, cleaning, inspection and lubing often enough to match the demands of your offroading conditions. Apparently you cannot purchase OEM replacement parts so be prepared to replace complete yoke or tongue assemblies at full cost if your parts wear out.

I've cleaned and lubed it after big trips but is the dust and grit creating most of the damage during the trip?

I still believe that if this design is used in dusty areas you should disassemble the yoke and clean out any grit that invades the grease.

- Grease fitting will help to avoid having to disassemble the unit as often and maybe slow down metal-to-metal wear

All I can tell you is to disassemble the vehicle side of the hitch after every trip and clean out the grit and dust. Take some measurements of the play (or wobble) as it sits when new and keep an eye on the wear. Lubricate the moving parts of both assemblies often, especially because the harder metal of the bushing ("crush sleeve") is going to wear into the softer metal of the hitch. Watch the surface areas of the metal to metal contact for pitting. They don't sell replacement parts so you can buy either or both assemblies but that is it. Preventive maintenance is all you have to make it last because after that it is a throw away item.

....Have a great time with your new trailer and maintain your Max Coupler well. :sombrero:

I am curious about your comment -

- the most recent generation of the hitch seems to have somewhat solved this.

How have they solved this? Other than the zerk fitting the same hard steel bushing is fitted against the softer steel of the yoke with no seals in place. The whole assembly is still open to the elements and will still demand disassembly and cleaning after every trip (maybe even during the trips). I think the zerk fitting just makes it easier to add grease but it really cannot be expected to flush out all grit that gets in there, can it?

 

[JJBiggs]

With all respect intended...nothing I wrote was a personal attack. And, I suspect that if I offered more to my opinion (granted...it's my own based upon my own experience), more of a combative response will ensue. Simply offering added input to help current owners (like myself) combat the grime.

So with that...cheers, man. Have a great day.


C

 

[teotwaki]

With all respect intended...nothing I wrote was a personal attack. And, I suspect that if I offered more to my opinion (granted...it's my own based upon my own experience), more of a combative response will ensue. Simply offering added input to help current owners (like myself) combat the grime.

So with that...cheers, man. Have a great day. C

Combative? That's funny. I've not put any labels on what you wrote and I thanked you for your comments. I quoted what I said in the thread just to illustrate I am aware of the need to grease and repeatedly advised others to do so.

I honestly asked you for your opinion of what was improved but you have not answered the question. Not sure why you are making it personal rather than providing an answer.

 

[HudsonZRoamer]

I ordered the MaxCoupler, got it delivered two days later, install was super easy (no cutting or welding), and the hardware has been great. I took my trailer on a few trips and have been really impressed buy the performance. Chris does need to update his site a bit and make it a little more user friendly but other than that Ive had a great experience with CU Offroad.

6k Max Coupler Part # 210

MAxCoupler 6k Max Coupler Part # 210

 

[teotwaki]

I ordered the MaxCoupler, got it delivered two days later, install was super easy (no cutting or welding), and the hardware has been great. I took my trailer on a few trips and have been really impressed buy the performance. Chris does need to update his site a bit and make it a little more user friendly but other than that Ive had a great experience with CU Offroad.

6k Max Coupler Part # 210

That's good. I see you swapped out the supplied hitch pin for a straight one. Also be sure to clean out the greaseable areas of the hitch by hand and not rely on the zerk. fitting

 

[HudsonZRoamer]

No I didnt switch out the hitch pin thats what it ships with.

 

[teotwaki]

No I didnt switch out the hitch pin thats what it ships with.

Thanks. That's interesting. Mine came with the generic partially curved pin shown in some of my pictures.

 

[Shooter235]

Maintenance. In dusty, watery, nasty conditions any mechanical device MUST be disassembled, cleaned and re-greased regularly. In some cases, quite frequently as unwanted debris will penetrate the finest of mechanical joints. The military lives by this mantra. It simply must be done. When in doubt - grease. Then add more.
C

I couldn't agree more, ex-military myself. I have around 800 miles on mine now and have added this cleaning/maintenance to my other post trip duties. Still looks as good as new so far. I plan on a complete teardown at the 1000 mile mark. I will adjust from there depending on what I find.

 

[teotwaki]

I couldn't agree more, ex-military myself. I have around 800 miles on mine now and have added this cleaning/maintenance to my other post trip duties. Still looks as good as new so far. I plan on a complete teardown at the 1000 mile mark. I will adjust from there depending on what I find.

Thanks for the input! If possible take some pictures of what you see. Mine has just one major (dusty) trip on it and is still in the garage awaiting a chance for a teardown. I am mainly curious to see how much debris gets into the grease from just one outing.

 

[CKayaks]

I bought one of the AT Teardrop trailers last fall. About the time this post ran but I missed it. We have done roughly a half dozen trips so far and love the trailer. Maybe 8,000 miles; mostly road miles though. That plastic on the Max Coupler did have me worried when I bought the trailer but AT seems to be pleased with them. We shall see how well this thing wears as it is going to start getting a lot of miles on it in the coming year.

A buddy runs a business that services and repairs harvest and farm equipment. He was a bit skeptical of the Max Coupler when he saw it at the last campout. As an alternative, he said to check out Lock N Roll (https://locknroll.com/).This hitch is overkill on tow/tongue weight for off-road trailers but nothing wrong with that. The design is simple and slick. Thinking this is my replacement if I hit issues with the Max Coupler. Curious if anyone has run with this.

EDIT: Noob issue. Did not see the link to the review article that included the Lock N Roll earlier in the thread. Apologies.

 

[Martyn]

I bought one of the AT Teardrop trailers last fall. About the time this post ran but I missed it. We have done roughly a half dozen trips so far and love the trailer. Maybe 8,000 miles; mostly road miles though. That plastic on the Max Coupler did have me worried when I bought the trailer but AT seems to be pleased with them. We shall see how well this thing wears as it is going to start getting a lot of miles on it in the coming year.

A buddy runs a business that services and repairs harvest and farm equipment. He was a bit skeptical of the Max Coupler when he saw it at the last campout. As an alternative, he said to check out Lock N Roll (https://locknroll.com/).This hitch is overkill on tow/tongue weight for off-road trailers but nothing wrong with that. The design is simple and slick. Thinking this is my replacement if I hit issues with the Max Coupler. Curious if anyone has run with this.

EDIT: Noob issue. Did not see the link to the review article that included the Lock N Roll earlier in the thread. Apologies.

Not quite sure what plastic you are referring to on the coupler, the bushing is urethane.

Given the environment we all use our rigs in I think cleaning is prudent for all couplers.

We have been using and selling Max Couplers for 7 years or so with no issues. Chris has been improving the design over the years and I believe they are reliable and do the job they were designed to do.

Before we used Max Couplers we used Lock-n-roll, we had issues with procurement and with the couplers distorting and bending when jackknifed. From a design view point the coupler is overbuilt but has a serious design flaw.

 

[teotwaki]

I bought one of the AT Teardrop trailers last fall. About the time this post ran but I missed it. We have done roughly a half dozen trips so far and love the trailer. Maybe 8,000 miles; mostly road miles though. That plastic on the Max Coupler did have me worried when I bought the trailer but AT seems to be pleased with them. We shall see how well this thing wears as it is going to start getting a lot of miles on it in the coming year.

A buddy runs a business that services and repairs harvest and farm equipment. He was a bit skeptical of the Max Coupler when he saw it at the last campout. As an alternative, he said to check out Lock N Roll (https://locknroll.com/).This hitch is overkill on tow/tongue weight for off-road trailers but nothing wrong with that. The design is simple and slick. Thinking this is my replacement if I hit issues with the Max Coupler. Curious if anyone has run with this.

EDIT: Noob issue. Did not see the link to the review article that included the Lock N Roll earlier in the thread. Apologies.

Congrats on the new trailer and especially for buying from such great guys. They will take good care of you if you ever need their help.

The coupler's red urethane should last a long time (mine has many years of use). Just clean it off every so often if dirt starts to accumulate and obscure the red color. After trips involving water, mud or dust be sure to disassemble where possible and regrease the coupler's rotating parts as the design does not keep grit out. The new design is about the easiest to use.

 

[wiredinoc]

I've had one for less than a year and the bushing on the trailer side has quickly faded from red to a light orange. It is a pain in the *ss to get the pin set. Aparantly this need a ton of grease. When the trailer is disconnected, the vehicle site rattles and the female end spins when not in use. Overall I feel this product this product really sucks. It requires way too much maintenance for something that should just work. Pissed.

 

[REasley]

I too had issues with Chris, both in person (at SEMA) and via email. He did not like constructive criticism. I purchased my Max Coupler in April of 09 from AT and put many thousands of miles on it. It was one of the original series and I used it until 2016. At that point the shaft on the trailer end, even with frequent greasing, became so sloppy, I felt it unsafe to use. My biggest complaint with it was how difficult it was to hitch up on uneven ground. I have since switched to Lock N Roll. It has it's own issues, but I find it much easier to connect. We'll see how long it lasts.

 

[dstock]

I've had one for less than a year and the bushing on the trailer side has quickly faded from red to a light orange. It is a pain in the *ss to get the pin set. Aparantly this need a ton of grease. When the trailer is disconnected, the vehicle site rattles and the female end spins when not in use. Overall I feel this product this product really sucks. It requires way too much maintenance for something that should just work. Pissed.

For what it's worth, putting the pin in should take almost zero effort. It's all about having the trailer at the right height in the yoke when you slide the pin in it. The way I do it is have the pin in one hand and the trailer tongue jack crank in the other. A little crank up or down and it slides right in, super easy. I also use a an anti rattle hitch lock for the vehicle side of the coupler, which I use with pretty much anything that goes in my vehicle receiver, couplers, bicycle racks, etc. This gets rid of any rattle noises. Hope this is helpful.