Is this an acceptable method of attaching a trailer tongue?

[s219]

As a mechanical engineer, my first reaction is -- that's an awful lot of bolts in a small area of aluminum, especially right near the very end of the A-frame (which I assume is C-channel). I'd really expect the bolts to be a lot more spread out and go farther back along the A-frame.

 

[dstig1]

Can you contact the manufacturer? They should be able to answer your question. I would be careful changing the bolts. Contact between aluminum and steel can cause the aluminum to corrode. If that is a factory set up they probably did the engineering to determine the correct alloy bolt needed.

I think you mean stainless steel. SS bolts are higher "nobility" than aluminum and can cause the slum to corrode.

It sure does look like it sits low to me too...

 

[dieselcrawler]

Steel + aluminium = galvanic reaction. Stainless steel will not cause this from my experiance but most stainless hardware is no stronger than grade 2 to less than grade 5.

 

[JCByrd24]

I don't see a problem here with the bolted connection. Steel and aluminum can cause galvanic corrosion but in this application it will likely not be a problem. There are lots of applications in automobiles of steel/aluminum connections that are deemed perfectly acceptable, even threaded steel fasteners into aluminum. Aluminum trailers are assembled with steel fasteners (look at a boat trailer).

Aluminum when welded is significantly weakened local to the weld and aluminum couplers don't seem to exist, so you really have no choice. Sometimes you'd see a plate welded to the end of the tongue vertically and coupler bolted on tp that, but I haven't seen that with aluminum and it would not be preferable because of the welds. Every boat trailer I've seen has a bolted coupler, with fewer bolts and a less beefy tongue. They even make pivoting tongues. I just google image searched aluminum car hauler, this is a common setup, a lot of them using only 2 bolts per side.

I'm also a licensed mechanical engineer.

That all being said, if you have 800lbs of tongue weight you are likely exceeding the ratings of your trucks hitch, the ball mount, and the coupler...you should likely be limiting tongue weight to 500 lbs or less or getting a WDH.