Hitch - Weight Carrying Capacity
Was reading some other active posts in towing section and have a question on weight carrying capacity that does not seem to get addressed. I also want to expand my knowledge of course. Is this cap...
Forum Discussion
TomG2 wrote:The point at which bolts fail was not the question I posted nor was it the basis for either reply above. However bolt tension comes into play as far as how tension is distributed on the bolts holding the receiver to the frame which was my question. If your post was not meant to be sarcastic, I apologize and as stated above by Berky, if the bolt is not in tension, it is loose, so the bolt has an initial tension due to tightening. Then you add the load from the hitch and/or WDH. This load adds more tension to these bolts. Then you have incidental and sometimes extreme loading from bouncing up the road adding more tension, but dampened by the suspension. If to much tension is added, the bolt breaks.
What if they are 1/2" Grade 8 bolts torqued to 140 foot pounds? And why do we care?
