Some aftermarket receivers create more problems than they were intended to solve.
The rear frame section on the utilities version of the GMT800 is quite a bit thinner than the GMT400 it replaced. I used to have the exact thickness dimensions, but they are not handy right now.
The foregoing is true even for the 2500 series that uses open C channel rear sections formed with stiffening lips on the flange edges, as opposed to the fully boxed channels using even thinner material on the 1500 series.
The point is, some of the beefy, heavy, aftermarket hitches can actually cause more frame damage in the area where those hitches join the frame.
One poor design that I have seen is where the side plate of the aftermarket hitch has outboard facing flanges. Poor design for a GMT800, because unlike the GMT900, which is very similar on a 2500 Utility, the upper and lower frame flanges are not tied together on the open inboard side.
With an aftermarket hitch that has outboard facing flanges, the weight on the hitch wants to pull down the inboard edges of the open frame flanges... and this cannot be counteracted with a side plate that would tie the frame's web with the hitch side plate.
Bah, I'm having too difficult of a time trying to word this....
Just recognize that there are some hitch designs that are better than others, and the sheer weight of the hitch is not necessarily indicative of good design.
The upside down U shaped double side plates that the GM factory hitch uses to mate to the frame is a great design, in my opinion. I haven't seen damaged or buckled frames from the factory hitches like I have with Putnam (no longer in business) hitches, as an example.
Of course, the complaint about the factory hitches is not where it meets the frame, it is where the ball mount is attached. Despite seeing many of the pictures and reading many of the posts, and despite personally participating in many of the discussions years ago when the issue was more timely, and despite ordering in a Reese Titan 45013 to keep on hand for this application, I stayed with the factory hitch and it has continued to perform within it's specifications.
That being said, I do understand why people are concerned about that center section. I have seen some observable flex here in my setup tests years ago, and I found that it was due to the tongue weight being greater than I had "guessed". I would spend $100.00 on a Sherline tongue weight scale before spending $200.00 on a new hitch. I haven't seen any flex since keeping the tongue weight scale on hand and using it with every weight configuration change.
