Twisted Receiver Square

[Paforeleft]

I was in process of buying a new Chevy Silverado when i noticed that the receiver square was not parallel with the bumper and/or the ground. I estimate that it was off 1/4" from level for the 2" receiver
See pictures. I plan on towing a 25 foot travel trailer using WD hitch. I am concerned the general quality and aesthetics as well as possible uneven loading with the WD hitch.

The manager thought it was "within Spec" however when asked what the spec was, he didn't know. I looked at around 10 more trucks and they all looked fine.

I didn't complete the purchase and i am waiting until Monday for the service manager to say whether he thinks it is acceptable or will commit to fixing it. I love the truck but i am really hesitant to purchase it with the hitch like that.

I'm sure this problem has surfaced before. What are peoples thoughts this is acceptable and if there will be any effect on towing.

[lbrjet]

I wouldn't buy that truck. Who knows what else is wrong with it.

[cummins2014]

dodge guy wrote:
I’m sure it wasn’t welded properly, I’ve seen that before with new vehicle parts. It’s probably not detrimental to the hitch and will not fail. But it will not work correctly with a WD hitch. Not to mention it would drive me nuts looking at a crooked hitch whenever I walk up to the truck.

It's possible it wasn't welded properly , most likely a tack weld broke after coming out of the jig, and the welding heat pulled it out of square .

[MFL]

dodge guy wrote: "Not to mention it would drive me nuts looking at a crooked hitch whenever I walk up to the truck."

^ Good to hear I'm not the only one! I'd have to check every time before getting in the truck, to see if it was looking any better. 🙂

Jerry

[dodge_guy]

I’m sure it wasn’t welded properly, I’ve seen that before with new vehicle parts. It’s probably not detrimental to the hitch and will not fail. But it will not work correctly with a WD hitch. Not to mention it would drive me nuts looking at a crooked hitch whenever I walk up to the truck.

[Grit_dog]

Hopefully it works out for you. Dealership is the wild card here though.
Talking to anyone in the sales side of a car dealer, I can liken to talking to my in-laws. Never sure what their response will be but certain that it will be somewhere between inapplicable and not making sense at all.

[Paforeleft]

So the salesman said that the decision on whether it is something that needs to be fixed has been passed onto the Chevy technicians or Engineers. I think that it is pretty apparent that it is not correct. I will pass on the truck if they don't replace the hitch.

I am pretty sure that the problem is that the hitch square and surrounding metal was welded onto the hitch tubes at an angle. Nothing is adjustable. The light wasn't good and the ground was dirty so i didn't spend much time under the truck.

I am willing to take my chances with the diesel.

[Grit_dog]

I thought the Old Navy slogan was Great Styles at Great Prices!
Maybe I’m thinkin of a different Old Navy…lol!

[Boomerweps]

Grit dog wrote:
Is there some adjustability in the mounting holes and maybe it just needs re-aligned? As the chance that a brand new hitch is bent or fabricated that far out of tolerance is very slim.

I’ll have to find the pics of a row of new F150s with the droopy hitch tubes and post them here. Everybody gets lazy and let’s things go when they should not.
Old Navy saying, “You get what you INSPECT, not what you EXPECT.”

[Grit_dog]

dodge guy wrote:
Now that you say it’s a diesel I would skip it. Look for a non problematic gas engine, with a good hitch!

Like a 5.3 or 6.2? Lol
At least my lifters were replaced under warranty…twice. (Well, one side and then the other side about a month after I got it back from the first repair….)
To be fair, it was during the Rona and the service mgr told me they should have done both sides but they were only getting 3-4 sets of new lifters per week :E and they opted to save a half a set for the next guy because they had more failures coming in than parts to fix ‘em.
And this was at a very small local dealer not a big volume dealer.
Pick your poison I say. They’re all the best truck ever or a steaming pile of poo depending on the day….

That said, somehow it seems the ‘Mericans haven’t seemed to master the 3 litre diesel platform, somewhat unilaterally. Which is curious since they’re SO widely used in the rest of the world for far longer than been available here. (Save for FCA who picked them up in the late 2000s via their Daimler connection.)
At this point GM has the only baby diesel. Ram dc’d them after 10+ years. Ford never got off the ground with them and Nissan was a total flop.
The one big difference is GM is an in-line configuration which is inherently more desirable for a couple reasons.
I haven’t heard (read) horror stories about it. Personal opinion is it’s no more risk than LS motors with valve train issues and Fords with cam phasers and whatever and Hemis that are not bulletproof but may be a bit more reliable overall than the other 2.
I do know a local construction company that has been running baby Dmax trucks since they came out. Got a few of them that are over 100k mi now and more newer ones. And they’re still running them. That says a little for their performance.

[mkirsch]

dodge guy wrote:
Look for a non problematic gas engine

Where would you find one of them, at least in a GM product? My understanding is they STILL haven't fixed the seizing lifter problem on the variable-displacement 5.3's.

[bucky]

Check the option list for that truck. They may have missed checking that box when they ordered it and had one installed by a bonehead.

[Groover]

The hitch may be part of the bumper. Installing a new bumper may be the required fix.

[QCMan]

During assembly the guy on the drivers side pushed up and the guy on the passenger side pulled down. Wouldn't be the first time.

[Grit_dog]

Is there some adjustability in the mounting holes and maybe it just needs re-aligned? As the chance that a brand new hitch is bent or fabricated that far out of tolerance is very slim.
Regardless, it’s a half ton and it’s a hitch, so replacement hitches are not very expensive if it’s the right truck. Although any decent dealer would fix the issue. Not all are decent….lol.