When to replace the hitch pin?
The pin for holding the hitch into the receiver is the only real thing holding our trailers to our trucks. Mine is new, but it got me thinking, how often should it be replaced?
Forum Discussion
^Nope, but those may be good numbers for aluminum or brass or something. Hence why there’s no such thing as an aluminum hitch pin. You could rip 15000lbs in half just puttin the wood to it pulling your camper out of the driveway. (Not literally but it likely would not make it to the first campground.)
Any good hitch pin and maybe even the cheap $3 ones is going to have a shear strength FAR greater. Take normal 36ksi yield mild steel (that’s tensile strength). Ultimate tensile is more like 50ksi. Round numbers and approx.
Hitch pins are or should be 50-60-80ksi steel and shear is about 80% of tensile.
The factor of safety is 5-10 or idk maybe more.
Now bending is a different story. And why those silly reducer inserts for the trucks with 2.5-3” hitches are a horrible solution to being cheap with your hitch stingers.
The insert creates a short bending moment in the hitch pin and can and will easily pretzel a hitch pin. (And Waller out the holes in your hitch receiver, generally prior to bending the pin.)
I’ve cut off numerous bent pins due to those stupid little accessories.
Any good hitch pin and maybe even the cheap $3 ones is going to have a shear strength FAR greater. Take normal 36ksi yield mild steel (that’s tensile strength). Ultimate tensile is more like 50ksi. Round numbers and approx.
Hitch pins are or should be 50-60-80ksi steel and shear is about 80% of tensile.
The factor of safety is 5-10 or idk maybe more.
Now bending is a different story. And why those silly reducer inserts for the trucks with 2.5-3” hitches are a horrible solution to being cheap with your hitch stingers.
The insert creates a short bending moment in the hitch pin and can and will easily pretzel a hitch pin. (And Waller out the holes in your hitch receiver, generally prior to bending the pin.)
I’ve cut off numerous bent pins due to those stupid little accessories.
