anthonbloom
03-04-2017, 09:47 AM
So I tried to withdraw my sewer hose from the bumper on my 2012 Cougar SAB318 and it was stuck. Turns out that the 4" share tube had been twisted downwards and the 2" frame tube had pushed in, trapping the sewer pipe. Cause? The oscillation of the spare tire carrier twisted the bumper and that caused the failure. I made a cardboard template for a repair plate which was fabbed for me and welded into place whilst twisting the bumper back . A few months later I noticed the spare tire was leaning towards the trailer and found that the flat metal strap securing the spare wheel was V-shaped and the wheel was swinging back and forth on the tire carrier. Poor design and materials which has potential for disaster if it falls off on the highway.
I removed the tire carrier and made a safe mounting between the front landing legs. Using two lengths of 1 1/2 " square tube in the front compartment resting on the I-beam flanges I had a steel plate welded to angle iron fabbed to rest on the square tube. I used a trailer tongue jack and mounted it through a hole I cut and modified the foot so it pivots through the wheel center and then securely supports it with a couple of pins locating in the stud holes. Two 3/4" nuts welded in place of the winding handle allows extension and retraction with a ratchet or impact wrench and little kids of storage space. I have driven 3500 miles with it and it is working fine.
I removed the tire carrier and made a safe mounting between the front landing legs. Using two lengths of 1 1/2 " square tube in the front compartment resting on the I-beam flanges I had a steel plate welded to angle iron fabbed to rest on the square tube. I used a trailer tongue jack and mounted it through a hole I cut and modified the foot so it pivots through the wheel center and then securely supports it with a couple of pins locating in the stud holes. Two 3/4" nuts welded in place of the winding handle allows extension and retraction with a ratchet or impact wrench and little kids of storage space. I have driven 3500 miles with it and it is working fine.