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You want to avoid this....Broken hitch!!!
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We drug the boat down to Long Beach last weekend for the SCOPE poker run. When we got back I was cleaning the truck and saw the hitch looked a little slanted. I checked under the truck and saw this!!!!!:eek:
Thank GOOOOOOD it didn't come completely off while towing. I checked with our local trailer place and to slap a new hitch on it'll be 4 hundred. Not bad, but sh!t, I don't want to shell out 4 hundo for something I don't (or didn't) need!:rolleyes: My wife (god love her) said, "hey, call the hitch manufacturer and see if they'll cover it" due to her structural steel background and noticing the mounting points looked weak. I was like, yea right! they're going to tell me to pound sand. Hitch is at least 2 years old and there's nothing saying I didn't violate the load rating except my word. Spoke to them (putnam hitches) and they were SUPER cool (so far) guy said they've updated their hitches to guseted hitches instead of bent steal (exactly what my wife was talking about) due to past failures. Guy helping me said, I would get a call back to confirm they'll send me a new hitch but he was locating the hitch closest to me to send to me. So, knock on wood, so far so good. We'll see. It's nice having a wife thats smarter than me SOMETIMES:D:D I figured, upgraded class V hitch 15k carrying 16k dist weight and 1700 tongue weight. 1 ton GMC dually crew cab 4 wheel drive. You'd think I was well covered! NOT!:rolleyes: Let this be a lesson to all of you....GO CHECK YOUR HITCHES!!! |
Good catch!
On a side note, my Rover's hitch is actually part of the frame. |
you're a lucky man....
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Tank,
I had a ball snap on me once and dropped the trailer w/ boat (29 Kryptonite) at 55 mph. The scariest 30 seconds of my life. The safety chains held and I collected the tongue of the traier under the rear axle of the truck and limped to the shoulder. I probably would have lost it if I didn't have a 3500 dually! When I looked at the hitch all that was left was the stud. There must have been a defect in the ball itself. Only minor damage to the trailer, the boat and truck were fine. |
WOW, very lucky! I have the newer gusseted hitch, and they are stronger unit than what you have there. While you are replacing, I would go with all new Grade-8 bolts and associated hardware as well. The WD hitch was not a savior for your case, but it probably would have been a lot worse had you not been using such a setup.
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Wow ! You ever hit anything or been hit from the rear ?
Looks like from the rust in the separation that it's not brand new . Definitely a good idea to keep checking . When I tow my Top Gun it never seems like the hitch is working too hard . But an impact could do damage . Good Luck Paul |
Damn, that's scary!
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the breaks are rusty......looks like its been like that for awhile:eek:
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Might have been the cheap hitch Tim bought for it. :violent-smiley-045:
Tank next time bring in the professionals. you write the tickets and I'll tow the boats |
i was towing a bobcat with all the implements(9000lbs) in a brand new dump truck with factory hitch through the saddle bunch keys (about 12 miles north of key west ) and it got to feeling funny,pulled over and all the welds were broken except fo a one inch weave,this was above the safety chain hooks, i had dreams of the bobcat passing me on the road(hey, that looks like ours)
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Just to let you guys know.....The scope poker run was actually two weeks ago and I live on the beach....Raw metal rusts over night!
And no, never rear ended, never backed into anything. The hitch company said this wasn't the first time they heard of this prob. thus going with guseted mountings. |
Originally Posted by bgchuby01
(Post 2306988)
Might have been the cheap hitch Tim bought for it. :violent-smiley-045:
Tank next time bring in the professionals. you write the tickets and I'll tow the boats |
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I had a 1996 chevy 3500 , the hitch did the same thing,Its just tore.
The Draw Tite guy said he see's it all the time , for me to upgrade to the class 5 hd rated at 15k.it was made out of a thicker metal than the one that came on the truck. I found a pick of the new style hitch that come on the new chevys.they fial in a differant way:eek: |
Originally Posted by thisistank
(Post 2306991)
Just to let you guys know.....The scope poker run was actually two weeks ago and I live on the beach....Raw metal rusts over night!
And no, never rear ended, never backed into anything. The hitch company said this wasn't the first time they heard of this prob. thus going with guseted mountings. Man, that must of been a clear day when you took that picture. Anacapa looks so close, you could throw a rock and hit it! When can we do a SB run? Scot's itching to get that Baja back out in the ocean! I got a new job so I actually have to plan my time now! :D |
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Originally Posted by BajaFresh
(Post 2307009)
Dang, I'm going to have to check mine tomorrow. Good thing you married Kelly (for a number of reasons!).
Man, that must of been a clear day when you took that picture. Anacapa looks so close, you could throw a rock and hit it! When can we do a SB run? Scot's itching to get that Baja back out in the ocean! I got a new job so I actually have to plan my time now! :D Strip, that hitch tear is SCARY!! |
Tank,
When your hitch was changed they used the original back bolts to remount the new hitch. I had a Reese Hitch installed the same way. I came across a forum saying that Reese used a larger sized bolts than the factory. When I called Reese they said not to use the factory bolts. The Reese bolts are bigger. Not sure if it's the same for your manufacturer. Dan |
Originally Posted by thisistank
(Post 2307014)
Al, I'm workin' f*ckin' weekend! But if you guys get the chance to roll out a few days I'm down for a Santa barbara run. Good time of year to run. That pic was taken almost exactly a year ago. That's what the water looks like tonight too. It's been REALLY nice here the last few weeks.
Strip, that hitch tear is SCARY!! Ive been searching the net finding a lot of stuf on GM hitch failures.I not trying to jump your thread knowing its a different hitch, but it looks like the gov is investigating the newer GM style hitches. I will be looking at my hitch tomorrow!!!! Looks like all GM hitches from 2001-2007 and up are made on the tube style http://nhthqnwws111.odi.nhtsa.dot.go...92007-1234.pdf US dept of trans, |
Well, the place I'll have replace this hitch is going to beef up the frame (using steele plates running along the frame) and upgraded nutts/bolts.
board member Tim Mccray owned this truck for a year before I bought it from him. the first thing he did was replace the stock hitch wit this one. At the time it was the biggest hitch on the market. He was worried about the truck (and hitch) towing a loaded straight bottom tiger with big power and's so he sold the truck to me and bought an F350 King Ranch. |
ouch!!!! I just installed a Putnam classV 16K hitch on my truck. This scares me. I'll check mine to see if it the new style ( I bought it new on e-bay). Maybe I'll put the stock Ford class III back on... Just kidding. Mike
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Man Tank you are one lucky SOB. Looks like your frame is bent also at the mounting points. May want to take a look at that. With flexing metal like that it will rust prematurely so that could be old or new damage. Next time buy a Ford and you will not have to deal with suck silly under rated crap :D:D Oh ya I bet the hitch says MADE IN CHINA on it :D:D
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Wow. Lucky you caught that in time. :eek:
Looks like a classic fatigue failure from stress corrosion cracking. |
This summer I was towing our ski boat with a 3/4 ton gmc and hit a bump and then heard the dreaded dragging sound. Completely sheared one side and held by about 1" of metal on the other. Luckily I was on a side road traveling about 15 mph and I was only towing 3500# and not 7000#.
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When you go to the Putnam Hitch; make sure you use the square backer plates that come with the hitch. Only problem is the Putnam hitch ships with Grade-5 bolts. You want to upgrade them to Grade-8.
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I was turning a corner towing an 863 Bobcat and planer when my 10k lb solid shank ball mount snapped clean off right across the bend just foreward of the ball. I think my azz sucked up half the leather on the seat when it happened.
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What after market hitch do you guys think works best for a 3500 dually? Mine is an 07 with the tube steel.
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Originally Posted by Rcrapsey
(Post 2307247)
What after market hitch do you guys think works best for a 3500 dually? Mine is an 07 with the tube steel.
or Reese Titan - V |
Anything over 10K# is too much for a ball mount and a bolt-on frame hitch. I've seen way too many of them break or come off in one way or another. When I pulled with a pickup, I had the hitch made to my specs. It was 1/2" plate, continuously-welded to the side of the frame. I have never, nor would I tow with a ball over 10K. Pintles may clunk but I've never seen a broken one.
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I'm curious.. if thats a class 5 hitch, how are there only 3 mounting bolts per side?
All of the class v hitches I have seen have had 5, sometimes 4 per side, and look a hell of a lot beefier than that. Good thing you caught it in time! EDIT: I took another look at the pictures, I do see the 5 bolts. |
Good info WITH pics on the Reese Titan V hitch:
http://www.rv.net/forum/Index.cfm/fu...022827/p/1.cfm http://www.hidden-hitch.com/Merchant...5288_2_500.jpg |
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.
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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.
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Originally Posted by Chris Sunkin
(Post 2307269)
Anything over 10K# is too much for a ball mount and a bolt-on frame hitch. I've seen way too many of them break or come off in one way or another. When I pulled with a pickup, I had the hitch made to my specs. It was 1/2" plate, continuously-welded to the side of the frame. I have never, nor would I tow with a ball over 10K. Pintles may clunk but I've never seen a broken one.
Jon |
Originally Posted by Audiofn
(Post 2307515)
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. |
Originally Posted by Chris Sunkin
(Post 2307415)
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.
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? |
Originally Posted by pullmytrigger
(Post 2306984)
the breaks are rusty......looks like its been like that for awhile:eek:
Yeah...but you can bet your A$$ that the truck was waxed, the rims polished and the tires had ArmorAll on them! :D :D Tank....where did Tim get that hitch.....out of a box of CrackerJacks? :D 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. |
Originally Posted by Chris Sunkin
(Post 2307917)
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. |
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.
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