Calling all Pelfrybilt swing out owners

Just need to narrow down the problem, then a fix. It sounds like the spindle has play in it, I can't imagine where else it could cause a wobble like that. Try opening out the swing out and grab from the bottom and pull up on the arm and see if you notice play. What I usually do when putting the swing out back on is make sure the bearings are seated correctly then hand tight the castle nut and close the gate completely and finish tightening while its closed in the correct position. After that I pull it out and double check that everything is wobble free

Double check the fit at the handle side, when its closed and pin engaged just grab the handle and see if it has play back and forth with the pin engaged. If their is that could be causing some of the movement that you are seeing

 

I have a Pelfrey HC Swingout with Jerry Cans that is supposed to be finished mid June. I'm praying I don't run into this issue as well. But would certainly want to know what to look for if it does rear its ugly head.

Subbed.

 

I'll give that a go but I remember I did have play in the spindle before but fixed that and it's still doing the wobble. You have an email you could pm me so I can send you a video of it? See if it's anything like what you have.

 

Is your latch nice and snug when it's in the closed position? It has to be either the hinge assemble or the latch side that is causing this. If those two have no play then it might just be normal deflection. I have a heavy 35" tire on mine and it will move forward and back on bumps. I know mine is just normal movement and have pretty much rammed the bumper into the ground hard without issue.

 

Yea the latch is nice and snug and when the gate is open and I move it up and down the pretty much all the movement is from the suspension, not much flex at all. The bottom of the gate seems like it's not moving its all up at the top, I figured there might be a little wobble but not to the point that I can feel it through the truck after hitting bumps and definitely not the constant truck shaking on the freeway. Wish I could see one of your guys' gates and see how much wobble there is compared to mine.

 

To add to my post, I cannot feel the swingout w/tire shaking in the truck while driving.

 

Yea this is what I'm most curious about. Even low speed, when the back end goes over a speed bump for example I can feel it wobbling for a second or two after I'm over the bump. Which isn't the end of the world, but the freeway stuff is brutal.

 

Maybe try and GoPro video the hinge while your driving. Perhaps there is play in it but only when you hit bumps while driving?

 

If the bumper mounts are solidly tightened, I would think that the movement has to be coming from a poor fitting spindle - swing out interface. If there is only a 1/16 or an 1/8" amount of movement near the axis of rotation that will result in much more movement at the end of a long lever arm (ie.the top of the spare moving back and forth).

 

Did you guys torque that castle nut to any specific torque setting?

 

Just tight, it's pretty big so I'm not too concerned with over tightening it. Sending you a PM

 

Im sure @I3uller will chime back in but after watching the video its a pretty good wobble, never realized the standard bumper has a completely different spindle placement/design compared to the HC version

 

I have a standard bumper too and it wobbles, but not enough to shake the truck or for me to be concerned about.

 

You ever kick one of those spring door stops and it just keeps going back and forth, its similar. After watching the video I can see how it could start shaking the truck, its no different than a person on the back jumping up and down with the amount of weight that is involved

 

if the frame bolts are torque'd and still feel a "shake" in the gate, I think the bearing alignment in the spindle is a little off..

when I installed mine, I had to have a helper lift the left side of the gate while I tightened the spindle nut...and would slowly "bouce" the gate and feel out any bag engagment. when I was done, I could bouce the gate and aee that the bumper flexed from the weight and no "shakes" in the gate. the spindle nut torque is not that high either, but enough to feel solid and align the cotter pin

 

Anyone else experiencing this? It's my only hesitation to getting the standard rear swing-out. I do a lot of interstate driving so it's a concern.

 

I have an older version of the standard bumper with swingout and installed a "tube" internal gusset from Pelfreybilt. Mines fine now. If the current bumpers come with the gusset, I don't see any issues. I'm pretty sure with any brand swingout, you will have some forward to back spring movement.

 

Doesnt matter what bumper and swingout you get, there is gonna be movement. When you have a spare tire and fuel cans on a swingout that mounts in one spot on the bottom corner of the gate, it's gonna happen. Sure gussets may help, may even help a ton, but the movement will never go away.

 

Yeah I'm totally ok with movement and understand it's gonna happen - as long as there's no death wobble at speed I'll be happy.

 

Every now and again I get a consistant wobble that that moves the truck slightly, but that's only under just the right road surface, almost when the road has many 'whoops' right after another, but even then it's nothing that's alarming. I also made my tire carrier onto a bumper that wasn't necessarily designed for it, IE no bracing in the corner.