I guess i dont know what you guys are looking at. My hitch is held on by nuts, bolts, and washers.

FWIW, the 10.x you see on the head of the factory bolts is the metric near-equivalent to a Grade 8. Metric bolts have numbers to represent their strength grade, SAE uses hash marks. 3 hashes = Grade 5, 6 hashes = Grade 8.

There's probably only 3 bolts/side on the frame rail plus a couple attaching to the bumper, above the receiver tube. Which ones were missing? Was it actually loose?

Only having bolts (essentially screws) that thread into holes in the frame? That must be a 1/2 ton thing.

I said HOLES in the frame, I never said anything about holes in the HITCH

The truck is a 2500HD-and yes it was loose...I got the call:eek:

Well, after you get out the German Torque Wrench... "Guudenteight"; maybe you can contact this guy for some zip-ties for additional support:

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...d.php?t=181258

:D

Do the bolts really screw into the frame, or are there nuts that are welded onto a piece of steel (like the factory Ford setup) or nuts welded to the back of the frame rails?

When I installed my Putnam, and upgraded to Grade 8 bolts, I got them long enough that I can double nut each bolt.

Its always better when you can get two nuts in one shot. :drink:

The bolts thread into ready-made nuts that are inside the hitch frame. Either way I did not want to start a nuts and bolts war. Only wanted to know if anyone had this happen to them. I see now that is has been a concern for some folks and should be a concern of mine for as long as I own a tow hitch. As far as opinons, I'm leaning towards thinking that perhaps someone wanted it and failed to remove it all the way for whatever reason... Not sure but the biggest problem for me is having to think of "who" & how many families would have been impacted if this thing came off at 60+ MPH. Make your hitch part of the maintenance routine. I am.

We'll see you at Desert Storm this year!!