Reciever hitch mod.

[NIsaacs]

After 10 years of heavy hauling, my factory '01 hitch was starting to crack on the ears that bolt to the truck frame. After welding the cracks and adding a gusset on each side, I used a 9/16" x 3" square shouldered u-bolt to support the square reciever to the factory step bumper. I call it my new class 5 hitch



Nick

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

It would be safer and less prone to litigation in the event of an accident if you went with an aftermarket hitch like Reese or Drawtite.

 

[AH64ID]

My OEM hitch didn't last 4 years of medium duty towing on dirt roads.

Like Joe mentioned I would look into an aftermarket hitch, they are stronger and better than the OEM ones.

 

[NIsaacs]

I am going to respectfully disagree, I doubt I can do better. I looked at Curt and Reese class 5 hitches, they are an identical design of what I have, including a 2" reciever. They no doubt are made out of heavier material, however they still drop 6" below the frame and are 15" from the rear frame bolt mount, to the center of the ball. This huge overhang distance/weakness, is due to the spare being in the way. Tell me how any free hanging hitch can support as much as mine bolted to the bumper, 6" from the ball?

It is a sure bet that Dodge did not make my hitch, it was outsourced to a hitch builder (after market).

Safer, accident and litigation? If that's the case there would not ever be any home built anything. If you didn't build/rebuild, I would not have been able to run my logging/trucking operation for 20 years. Factory parts broke daily... .

Nick

 

[HBarlow]

The hitch receive on my old '01 cracked years ago. I replaced it with a Kurt rated for thousands of pounds more tongue weight and gross towing weight. It was built much sturdier and wasn't very expensive as I remember. I bought it from Southwest Wheel in Lubbock.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

I agree that many things can be home built and entirely satisfactory. OTOH, the factory rear bumper might as well be made of cheese, it is so weak. Merely tapping it in the parking lot gives a big dent; it is only about . 060" thick although it does have an inner structure for part of it that is stronger. Not knowing how heavy a trailer you tow, what you have done may be OK; but then I ask why the factory unit cracked if it is basically sufficient.

 

[Blu-meanie]

On my '01 I replaced the factory hitch with a Class 5 Hidden Hitch and no clearence problems with the spare. I would replace that hitch or the bumper, but it's your stuff.

 

[NIsaacs]

but then I ask why the factory unit cracked if it is basically sufficient.

It lasted 10 years like it was. If I had to guess, I would say it is now twice as strong as before. Remember, I added a 1/4"x1. 5"x3" gusset where it cracked. The top of the bumper (skin) has a 1/4"x3"x10" plate, bolted with the 3 large bolts to the inner, main part of the bumper. The u-bolt is clamping the reciever tube to the main structure. What makes the hitch weak, is the 6" drop and 15" overhang that creates a huge leverage on the original mount. With the u-bolt, I am 11" closer to the ball with some added support. Even if the bumper is only rated for 500#, that capacity is right over the top of the reciever instead of 6" below and 15" back from the rear most mounting bolt of the hitch mount to the frame.



Nick

 

[JR]

Nick, I've got total faith in your professional shade tree engineering

If hitches are welded together in the first place, they can very well be welded back together as long as the material has not been bent, torn, or otherwise weakened from corrosion, etc. My guess would be it most likely cracked from years of stress, not necessarily from overloading but only you know that. Generally an overloaded hitch will bend before the weld breaks or tears unless it was a shotty weld to begin with. A good weld will be stronger than the steel itself. We have built many various lifting devices over the years where I work and hung tens of thousands of pounds from them. It sounds like you know what your doing, if your comfortable with it, thats all that matters.

For reference, the OEM bumpers may be paper thin and not withstand much of an impact, but the section where he tied into looks to be 3/16" to 1/4" thick and is tied directly into the frame. Essentially it is as thick as the hitch itself.

 

[HBarlow]

This Curt class 5 is at least twice the price I paid for it back in around 2003 - 2004 but it a fine quality receiver:

http://www.curtmfg.com/HitchLookup/find?mount=Rear+Mount&year=2001&make=Dodge&model=Ram&style=2500+or+3500%2C+Long+bed+only

 

[NIsaacs]

Harvey, I almost bought one, some of the large dealers have them in the $250 range. However, anyone can throw new parts at trucks, I still like to repair stuff, plus it is usually cheaper and my wallet is kinda shallow



Nick

 

[NIsaacs]

Nick, I've got total faith in your professional shade tree engineering

but the section where he tied into looks to be 3/16" to 1/4" thick and is tied directly into the frame. Essentially it is as thick as the hitch itself.

Thank you JR, you have a good eye. Your observation skills are actually seeing what you look at



Nick

 

[AH64ID]

Harvey, I almost bought one, some of the large dealers have them in the $250 range. However, anyone can throw new parts at trucks, I still like to repair stuff, plus it is usually cheaper and my wallet is kinda shallow

Nick

Amazon has it with free shipping for $199.

There are things I will fix, and things I replace.

 

[HBarlow]

I understand, Nick. You're an old do-it-yourself guy.

 

[azwiz]

It would be safer and less prone to litigation in the event of an accident if you went with an aftermarket hitch like Reese or Drawtite.

like he says, very dangerous, check manufactures rating for trailer weight and tongue weight it should scare you if your towing heavy like you say.

here's a REAL hitch that will do the job, I've been running it for a couple of years now and it does the job great

jmo


http://www.torklift.com/products/superhitch_everest.php

http://www.torklift.com/products/superhitch.php


watch the videos on both pages