removing a pinbox
Can anyone tell me the proper way to remove and then reinstall a factory pinbox from a fiver? I want to remove it so I can weld a receiver hitch on it.
Forum Discussion
NEnative wrote:
Ependydad, I had originally drilled 4 holes to bolt the receiver to the pinbox but I can not get my large fingers far enough into the box to get the nuts and washers on the front 2 bolts so I will weld then together.
On each bike rack receiver my father-in-law built for me (I've had 2 since I upgraded pinboxes), we just tapped and screwed the hitch onto it. On the Trail Air, he even cut the screws off to the depth of the receiver and pin box so it didn't interfere with the air bag.
I used the first one for a couple thousand miles. I had the second one for 2 1/2 years of fulltiming/moving every 8 days on average on this setup with 2 or 3 adult bikes (1 heavy, 1 moderate, 1 fairly light weight).
Do what you need to, but removing the pinbox and welding it seems like a lot of work. :)
I also wonder- could you balance the washer and nut on an extension to get it up in there (assuming you have a straight shot out of the bottom). Seems like an exercise in frustration, but still might be easier than dropping the pinbox to weld on it.
