www.iFourWinns.com

Hi, just got my new H180 with gatorhide trailer. The trailer has a swing away tongue. Is there a trick to removing the pin from the swing away tongue? Seems like its frozen. The grip handle on the pin has bent under my attempts to twist and pull it out. Tapping it from below with a hammer moves it a little but not all the way out. Cant find anything in the manual or trailer paperwork other than to lift up on the tongue while trying to pull the pin but that didnt work at all. Any ideas? Thx

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2010 H180
VP 4.3 190

I have this happen between boating trips every time. They seem to get rust in there no matter how much I lubricate the pin.
Put some pil on the top and hammer it out from below. Then get some sandpaper and clean up the pin, then grease it. Then leave it OUT of the hole when not towing.
Works for me!!

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Brian
2006 Horizon 220
350mpi Mercruiser
Jeep Grand Cherokee V8

Odd. Have you tried lifting on the tongue while you lift the pin? Maybe it's in a bind. I do think greasing the pin is a good idea whether you have this problem or not.

Related to this, it's not a bad idea to keep a spare pin in your tow vehicle. There have been stories of people stealing them, and they're cheap.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Curses to whoever steals these! First it was stolen chocks I heard about, then stolen wiring harness adapter thingys, and now these durn pins. You basically need a spare everything in your tow vehicle. I now put the adapter in the vehicle, and have a spare, and I just find rocks or logs to use as chocks and certainly lock the trailer hitch assembly aas well as the hitchball. Now I'll have to remove the pins, and maybe get spares.

To add to this : a good friend had a near catatastrophe last year because they almost put in without the plug - it was gone. She suspects someone stole hers while it was in the storage yard where she keeps her boat. She scouted the area but couldn't find it. Maybe it just fell off the connecting wire/chain. Oh yes, and I definitely have an extra plug.

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2005 Horizon 250

Mine is stuck also. My guess is the previous owner never swung the tongue. This is one of my winter projects as I don't need it to swing, but it would be nice to make a little extra room in the Toybox while she's in hibernation. I like the idea of greasing the pin. I will definitely do that once I get it freed up. And I do keep a spare pin on the truck. Have before I even had the boat. I guess if you live in Iowa, you just keep a hitch pin in your truck. It's probably state law.

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2005 FW Horizon 250
8.1L VP DP

Mine used to be real tight and inevitably would skin my knuckles every time I pulled it out.

Cleaned the pin up with a bit of emery, deburred the holes in the tongue with a file and greased the pin. Now is it firm, but manageable and I still have skin on my knuckles! I grease the pin at least a couple of times per season.

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Alec

2006 Horizon 190
VP 4.3GL/SX, Sunsport

I always store boat and trailer in the shed with the draw bar swung away, of necessity due to length of shed. I always spray the pin with CRC and leave it out when not in use. I also always spray plenty of CRC and the foldaway jockey wheel which I keep folded up when in shed and use axle stand to support the trailer.