I have a bachmann full dome that has low couplers to the point where I can pull them apart with my hands. The trucks are not attached by a screw, buta more permanent connection.
If you cannot shim the coupler istelf to correct the problem or replace them with overhung pieces (and I’m not sure they exist - check Kaydee for that), you may need to drill out the pivot pin and tap the frame so you can shim and reattach the trucks. If the couplers are floppy loose this may not work anyway as they may deflect when you take up slack and uncouple anyway. Hope that helps - J.R.
Sorry but what do you mean by a full dome? and what scale are you running HO or N? As far as I can figure you don’t have much of a choise but to shim the trucks some how or use offset couplers. Remove the trucks form the car body and measure the size of the pic if it’s larger then a typical Kadee shim washer then you’ll have to fab something out of some material maybe card stock?
All the Bachmann I have had where screw mounted, not that I have had a lot of them. Are you sure it is not a Tyco? Tyco uses a push in pin that holds the truck.
Are the coupler’s mounted to the trucks or the bottom of the car?
If you are using knuckle couplers and they are mounted to the bottom of the car Kadee makes a raised shank coupler.
If you could post a picture, it is worth a 1000 words.
Cuda Ken
For a long time Bachmann also used a push in pin type system. Each truck had two pins that fit into one hole. The pins were somewhat larger than those used by Tyco and the trucks were held quite tightly. Just grasp the truck by the side frames and pull it straight away from the body. You may have to rock the truck slightly but it will come out.
Do you need to keep the truck mounted/ talgo coupler due to tight radius? If not you may choose to body nount the coupler. Styrene shims to the Kadee box will allow to adjust the coupler height.
If this is not an option and coupler droop persists due to truck mounting then an offset Kadee knucke should be used. The Unserset couplers come in 3 lengths, w/ the medium shank the same as a #5. Short= #31, #41 Med= #37, #47 and the Long= #34, #44 The #30 series are plastic shank and the #40s are cast metal like the #5
Try shimming the coupler up with styrene.
I have solved the problem with this type of truck mounting by removing the truck by squeezing the truck mounting pin and pulling it out. The pin is split to allow it to be squeezed for removal. Then fill the hole in the car body with a dowel rod glued in. After the glue dries sand it flush, drill and tap for a screw to fasten a new wheel set. Hope this helps you.
If you want to go the lazy way, look into Kadee # 118 couplers. These are “tight lock” couplers that WON’T come apart in normal operation when mated to another 118. They are a drop in replacement for # 5’s and still do the magnetic uncoupling thing.
At a WGH show I was at a few years ago, the Kadee booth had a string of HO cars with 118’s on them hung vertically from a coat rack.