Got your email - thanks!

I think Bill is feeling a bit defensive but I took this a bit differently. I don't think he was saying you or anyone else was necessarily at fault since he doesn't have all the info. He was just passing on a possibility that many folks would have missed. I know I would have - and did. Fortunately, I think we all likely have reasonable trailers and aren't trying to pull something that would be better suited to a pickup.

My suspicion is also that the bottom is flexing. It may have been better to put 2 pins in the bumper mount to prevent the drawbar from rotating on the single pin. However, I think that reinforcing the bottom of the trunk will be adequate.

At least we have some options in trailer hitches - I can't find a thing for my wife's MB C230K coupe. The kayaks go on top of the car instead of using the trailer. The S pulls the trailer just fine.

I'm going to pursue this to see if we can come to a complete resolution. Please feel free to jump in - don't be offended by comments that are currently out of context. The more info we have, the better.

 

You're welcome.

Also, I wanted to remind everyone that it explicitly states in the owner's manual that the Honda S2000 is not designed to tow a trailer.

Since the GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) is only about 400 pounds more than the unladen weight, there is no way to tow a trailer and stay within the recommended GVWR of this vehicle. Even putting 2 big guys in the car causes you to reach, and even exceed, the GVWR!

That said, the designs of the Gendron and Da'Lan hitches at least partially rely on the bottom of the trunk for support. As long as stresses to that area are minimized, there shouldn't be a problem. As a scientist, I wonder WHY some people have had tearing issues and others have not. I think that Bill Gendron, to his credit, is trying to understand the failure mode and hopefully arrive at a solution. If it's a simple one, like aligning the trailer with the hitch, all the better. However, based on pedalfaster's report, it looks like there's another overlooked variable.

 

Had my 01 up on rack yesterday. I have a DeLan. It uses 4 bolts with washers on both sides of trunk. No evidence of cracks or stress yet. Only 300 towing miles so far. Hope the reniforcment plates fix the issue.

 

Yup, seconded. I think that this kind of wear is to be expected when you're subjecting a car to abuse it wasn't designed for. I don't view this damage any differently from shaggy's tearing the front sway bar bracket off of his car at the track last week because, like the rest of us, he's using a sway bar two and a half times stiffer than stock. As such, I just took my car to a body shop, got the trunk floor repaired, added some reinforcing plates like jguerdat's and Conedodger's, and carried on towing. It didn't even occur to me to complain to Gendron.

Having said that, if we can figure out which hitch abuses the car the least, and thus is least prone to causing damage like this, then that's a beneficial exercise. The Hammerly's looking pretty good right now, but in Gendron's defense, it's also worth noting that out of presumably at least a dozen Gendron owners on this board, only two of us have had issues so far.

Steve

 

Havent been able to get a reply from Hammerly via PM or email. Anyone know what's up with his hitch availability. If it's not available, need to look at other options....

 

He sent me an E-mail stating he is looking into product liability insurance and the cost effectiveness of business deals. He is holding off on building any more hitches until these issues are worked out. If you are in a hurry, look elsewhere. I am waiting for him for now, but that is my choice.

 

I pulled the trunk apart today and verified that I had no damage (limited trailering so far - maybe 500 miles). I put in a stainless steel backing plate and used the fender washers as normal washers (between the plate and the nut). I noted the washers had a significant cone shape to them where the nut had pulled them into a shape due to the nut on top and the hole in the trunk below. I flattened them out before reusing them.

A couple of things:

1) There were/are some plastic grommets in the holes of the trunk. I left them there - did anyone else remove them? Maybe that's a difference.

2) I torqued these to the 45 lb-ft called for in the instructions. Did anyone else miss this step?

Here are a couple of shots of my older (1990) trailer on 8" wheels attached - is anyone else's trailer more or less angled than this? Mine angles up slightly.

 

Got an update from Hammerly. Still held up with liability insurance costs. No pending date yet.

 

Sebringer, thanks for the Hemmerly update!

jguerdat, great pics, this should help people see and compare the angles their trailers hook up at.

 

I think any trailer hitch mounted with bolts through the trunk floor pretty much demands a doubler plate on the upper side of the trunk floor. Otherwise, cyclic fatigue is going to cause the bolts (even with big washers) to tear out.

If you are looking for factors for why some tear out sooner than others, I would start with:

1) the magnitude of the load and the number of cycles

2) corrosion factors (dampness, salt, etc.)

3) the drilling process for the holes (properly deburred, drilled slowly to avoid excess heat, perfectly round hole of exactly the right size, etc.)