Good info WITH pics on the Reese Titan V hitch:

http://www.rv.net/forum/Index.cfm/fu...022827/p/1.cfm

I would also recommend a 30,000 lb. ball. It's overkill, but they don't cost much more than the 10,000 or 15,000.

Since you're looking at your hitch, a quick look at your safety chains is also a good idea. Chances are they're inadequate. Most of what you see on trailers is Gr. 30. This makes for a nice shiny decoration but not much more. I'd bypass Gr. 43 and at a minimum use Gr. 70, which is DOT-certified transport chain. This is what's required for chaining loads onto flatbed trucks. I use Gr. 80 which is proof tested alloy, certified for overhead lifting. You might cringe at the price but it's cheap insurance. Mounting is crucial as well. If you run it through a cross-bolt and hook it to a hole punched in a 3/16" plate on the hitch, you might as well not bother.

Not sure that is good advice. I beleive that if you weld to a frame and are not certified to do so then you can void the carrying capacity of the frame. I know that if you weld on big truck frames that is the case. You need to be certified to make those welds. When you weld you can easily make the metal around the weld weaker. That is why ussually when you see a failure on stuff like this it is near a weld not on the weld. That is why most truck cross members are riveted in not welded.

Jon

This was on an F450 which is mild steel. The truck frames you're referring to are on class 6 thru 8 trucks (mediums and tractors). They're made of chrome moly steel and heat treated. Welding on them affects the heat treatment of the steel and can lead to failures. You are correct- never weld on a big truck frame. That's why everything is riveted or bolted. Most are labelled with a welding caution as well.

I also should have been clearer- this wasn't some exercise in barnyard engineering. I had our in-house engineer design it and it was welded up here in the shop. Designing and welding any structural element for any vehicle should be left to professionals. Most cities have plenty of fabrication shops that are more than able to handle the task. Truck body companies can do it as well.

so the chain is provided by the trailer manufacture.......there are ratings all over the trailer so it is reasonable for a normal person to assume the chain provided is up to the task of the ratings on the trailer......no?

so cris cross and securing the chains to the holes in the hitch provided by the hitch manufacture are not good enough either?.......installing the chains in this manor is covered with an illustration in the installation manual for the hitch.......so, what the hitch manufacture reccomends isnt good enough?.....what do you suggest?

Yeah...but you can bet your A$$ that the truck was waxed, the rims polished and the tires had ArmorAll on them!

Tank....where did Tim get that hitch.....out of a box of CrackerJacks? Looks like you got a nice surprise!

Seriously....glad you caught that.

I should preface this that my boat on the trailer weighs about 14K# so what I'm doing could be scaled down for a smaller boat.

If the chain on your trailer is silver plated and unmarked, it's grade 30. If DOT wants 70 just to hold loads down (static), I'd want that or something even tougher to endure the shock loads of a runaway trailer. Gr 43 is usually black and Gr. 70 is usually iridited (gold-colored). Above that, there's typically a certification tag attached and in 70 and up, the links will be marked. I wouldn't trust any chain that I didn't know for sure had the proper load rating.

Those little holes stamped in that 3/16" thick plate aren't going to hold anything. On the other end, if your chain is bolted through to the trailer's tongue, most likely it will tear out from there as well. My chain goes under the hitch and loops around the main center beam of the trailer. It's linked with a hardened d-ring. It goes around the main draw tube on the hitch and is terminated with proof-rated grab hooks.

Can you send a picture?

I installed the reese "beast" on my HD2500, just pulled a 312 from Fl. to Calif. and the freeways in Miss and LA. are horrable,my teeth came loose and even broke a transon strap in two, however my rig came through with flying colors.