Broke my hitch pin today

[Whangler]

Today, 900 miles in to a trip to Wyoming, driving hwy 26 near Palisades reservoir, 2 lane road with few turnouts, I heard a snap sound and soon felt as though truck had lost power. Drove another hundred yards or so before i found a pullout. Pin was gone and stinger held in by the chains. Well, the breakaway switch worked as it should. Ironic that i never carried a spare until just b4 this trip. Whew! that could have been ugly.

Wondering about the cause.
1. 5 year old, 20k miles distressed pin?
2. #1 above due to excessive rattle? Its a 3" receiver with an adapter for 2" stinger.
3. I tried one of those u-bolt anti rattle devices for the first time on this trip. Could that have done it?



It was one of those locking hitch pins btw. Truck is a '15 Silverado 2500 hd pulling an arctic fox 25r that weighs about 9k loaded.
Thanks,
Dave

[Grit_dog]

Whangler wrote:

Hannibal wrote:
Do you even need a WDH with your rig? I use a Curt 2.5” ball mount on our 2020 F-250 to tow our 32.5’ Jayco 28RLS. Tongue weight is 1,081 lbs.

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch-Ball-Mount/Curt/C45456.html

That, is a good question.

And I gave you the answer 5 pages back.
Your weights and truck, totally unnecessary to use a wdh.

[Grit_dog]

Michelle.S wrote:
That's the reason they make clamps like Quiet Hitch. Tightens things up and stops the slop.

Yes but not as a bandaid (quiet hitch) on top of another bandaid (adapter sleeve(s)).
The Ferd guys have to use 2 adapters to get down to a 2” shank. That’s as sloppy as throwing a hot dog down a hallway!

PS cheap/easy hack for schloppy hitches….fender washers.
When I was using a hitch extension with the ole TC on the truck, the slop would literally allow the hitch ball to move up and down a couple inches when on the end of a 2’ extension plugged into a well used receiver.
Couple fender washers under the extension and couple under the hitch shank, whatever Thickness of steel shim you can jam in there, works great. Took the majority of the schlop out.

[Grit_dog]

JRscooby wrote:

deltabravo wrote:

Retired JSO wrote:
Just weld the adapter to the stinger and be done with it.

It will still have a lot of slop and play in it.

How would there be more play than just the normal looseness of a ballmount in receiver?

You’re semi correct, theoretically it wouldn’t, but you must not have used these adapters. “IF” you welded it solid in the loaded condition it would probably work. But you still have to account for the slop Between the shank and adapter and may just break the welds or stress the adapter since it’s not a tight fit.
Bottom line, the adapters are fine/meant for infrequent and light use. They are a detriment in real towing situations.

[Whangler]

Hannibal wrote:
Do you even need a WDH with your rig? I use a Curt 2.5” ball mount on our 2020 F-250 to tow our 32.5’ Jayco 28RLS. Tongue weight is 1,081 lbs.

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch-Ball-Mount/Curt/C45456.html

That, is a good question.

[Hannibal]

Do you even need a WDH with your rig? I use a Curt 2.5” ball mount on our 2020 F-250 to tow our 32.5’ Jayco 28RLS. Tongue weight is 1,081 lbs.

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch-Ball-Mount/Curt/C45456.html

[Michelle_S]

That's the reason they make clamps like Quiet Hitch. Tightens things up and stops the slop.

[JRscooby]

deltabravo wrote:

Retired JSO wrote:
Just weld the adapter to the stinger and be done with it.

It will still have a lot of slop and play in it.

How would there be more play than just the normal looseness of a ballmount in receiver?

[Timmo_]

Maybe I missed it, but did the OP ever locate the "broken hitch pin"?

Could the issue be "operator error"? And not "equipment failure"?

[deltabravo]

Retired JSO wrote:
Just weld the adapter to the stinger and be done with it.

It will still have a lot of slop and play in it.

[noteven]

Whangler wrote:
OK fellas,OP here, mea culpa. Its a 2.5" hitch receiver and I'm using a genuine GM reducer to 2". There's a bit of play between the reducer and the hitch receiver and lots of play between the 2" shank and receiving end of the adapter.

I should have known that all these HD trucks would have a standard equipment hitch receiver that fits available WD shanks. Now I see there are readily available 2.5" WD shanks that fit my equalizer system. Thats what I shall get after this trip.
Thanks for your help!

Ya had us going there fixing that 3" problem for ya! hahahaha

Anyways there is a whole herd of 2-1/2" receiver WD shanks available to choose from. You are away to the races.

[noteven]

mkirsch wrote:

noteven wrote:

deltabravo wrote:

Whangler wrote:
I've never liked that 3"-2" adapter set up. Think I'll visit the welder when I get home for some mods to the receiver.

Replace the hitch shank with a 3" version.
"Modifying" a trailer hitch by welding on it is never a good idea.

Hi deltabravo - why do you question welding a hitch shank using proper workmanship?

How, exactly, do you ensure "proper workmanship?"


I'm not an expert in welding. Most people aren't.

I do not know what goes into the design of a hitch shank. Most people don't.

I don't know anyone who could tell me with certainty that something as critical as a hitch shank is constructed with "proper workmanship." Most people don't either.

How do I know that someone didn't just lay a pretty "stack of dimes" but got ZERO penetration in the weld? How do I know that the builder didn't put too much heat into the weld making it brittle? Short answer is I don't, until the trailer decides to part company with the truck. Then it's too late. Will the fabricator stand behind his work, or when you point at him and say, "His fault," will he claim to have never seen you before in his life?

At least something commercially made has a big nameless faceless corporation and a fat liability policy for the other guy's lawyers to go after.

If you do not know good welding workmanship from not good, why do you talk about stacks of dimes, heat control etc

How does a mild steel welded piece fail, generally?

Trust me - a trailer hitch shank is not a huge challenge for a professional welder anywhere there is a certification program for the trade.

[Lynnmor]

Whangler wrote:


I should have known that all these HD trucks would have a standard equipment hitch receiver that fits available WD shanks. Now I see there are readily available 2.5" WD shanks that fit my equalizer system. Thats what I shall get after this trip.
Thanks for your help!

That's the right way to do it. Just so you know, there are many made with the 3" receivers and there is little that will fit.

There have been reports of pins being bent when using the adapters going from 2-1/2" to 2".

[Retired_JSO]

Just weld the adapter to the stinger and be done with it. You can buy extra adapters and a cheap hitch shank if needed for say a utility trailer etc.

[Grit_dog]

noteven wrote:
I has another question for the OP - why is there a "3 inch" receiver on a pickup truck?

Or does it have 3x3x .250 tubing reciever which = 2-1/2" inside which would be the 2-1/2" receiver hitch like my Ford F350?

Alot of newer Super Dutys have 3" receivers now as well.