Receiver Hitch Pin Hole Repair

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zmotorsports

zmotorsports

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If anyone is interested in a receiver hitch pin hole repair/modification, I have a documented article on the last one I performed.  I decided to document this one just in case anyone else is having a similar issue and needs some guidance on a repair/fix for this common problem.

Any comments or feedback would be greatly appreciated.  Sorry for having to attach a link to that OTHER forum but I was having issues posting it here as my pictures were too large.

Mike.

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/25280003.cfm

 
Mike,

I just replaced the hitch receiver on my Dutch Star.  It looked like a carbon copy of the one in your pictures.  I used a Drawtite one that bolted in to the existing mount although I did have to drill 2 holes in the MH frame to make it fit.  Total cost including new bolts was less than $275 and took about 4 hours including trips to the hardware store for bolts, a trip to a machine shop for a couple of cuts to the 4" beam and miscellaneous stuff.  Of course it took me over a month due to my various infirmities.  :mad:
 
Mike,

Beautiful job.

I have a different problem with a receiver that maybe you can offer some insight into.

The receiver is the factory installed one on a Fleetwood Tioga Class C. The Jeep Rubicon that we tow has a 4.5
inch lift and 33" tires, as well as a custom fabricated front bumber with built-in mounting tabs for the tow bar. As a consequence, the tow bar would slope upward at a pretty severe angle to attach to the Jeep.

My solution involved buying an 8" Hi-Low hitch from Roadmaster and mounting it "upside down" so that the tow bar is perfectly level. Therein lies the problem. Either the ID of the receiver is too large or the OD or the Hi-Low is too small (I suspect the former). As a consequence, the Hi-Low slops around in the receiver, both up and down and sideways - leading to all kinds of wierd noises when towing.

Since Roadmaster is a pretty well respected company, I  suspect that the supplier of the factory receiver is the problem. I really would like to fix this. Would you recommend replacing the receiver or is there a better solution? What brand of receiver would you recommend if this is the way to go?

Thanks,

Bill
 
arcticfox2005 said:
Mike,

Beautiful job.

I have a different problem with a receiver that maybe you can offer some insight into.

The receiver is the factory installed one on a Fleetwood Tioga Class C. The Jeep Rubicon that we tow has a 4.5
inch lift and 33" tires, as well as a custom fabricated front bumber with built-in mounting tabs for the tow bar. As a consequence, the tow bar would slope upward at a pretty severe angle to attach to the Jeep.

My solution involved buying an 8" Hi-Low hitch from Roadmaster and mounting it "upside down" so that the tow bar is perfectly level. Therein lies the problem. Either the ID of the receiver is too large or the OD or the Hi-Low is too small (I suspect the former). As a consequence, the Hi-Low slops around in the receiver, both up and down and sideways - leading to all kinds of wierd noises when towing.

Since Roadmaster is a pretty well respected company, I  suspect that the supplier of the factory receiver is the problem. I really would like to fix this. Would you recommend replacing the receiver or is there a better solution? What brand of receiver would you recommend if this is the way to go?

Thanks,

Bill
Click to expand...

Bill, I have a similar situation.  Our Jeep ZJ is lifted 4" w/31" tires and as well as a bumper in which I fabricated and incorporated the tow points into the new bumper so we don't have to mess with adapters. 

The Jeep sits much higher than the receiver on the coach so I purchased a length of hitch tubing as well as a small receiver and fabricated my own setup that steps the towbar up approx. 8" so when hooked up with the Jeep the towbar sits fairly level as per recommendations by Roadmaster.

The problem I had was some amount of 'slop' in the tubing that I purchased when residing in the receiver on the coach.  I didn't feel that it fit tight enough.  Tongue weight was not an issue but I felt the fit could be a little more closely matched.

I welded some small beads on both the top and bottom of the stinger and then ground them flat so they would take up some of the slop when installed in the receiver.  This has worked well and the slop has been eliminated.

I have also seen another idea that I thought was a good one which is have a large diameter bolt/nut on top of the hitch just behind the hitch pin.  Drill a hole in the receiver tubing so the bolt would fit through and then weld the nut on top of the receiver tube.  Once the stinger is in place tighten the bolt down putting pressure on the stinger and holding it in place and preventing it from rattling.

Mike.
 
Bill, I only needed a 2" inverted receiver to level my tow bar but it still had some slop in it. I don't think it is a problem of the manufacturer, I think that it is designed that way so in case a little rust or debris builds up in the tube you can still get the receiver out.  You can fix it like I did with a "hitch immobilizer" clamp. It just slips over the hitch and receiver tube and you tighten it down.  Takes the slop right out.  You can buy one from Road Master for $25-$35 or do what I did. Went to the near by Pep Boys and picked up a leaf spring clamp for about $7.  I added a double nut to each side to keep it from loosening up.  Works great.
 
Great job, Mike.  I also have an 03 Dynasty... probably getting close to the way your "before" picture looks.  Can I buy bushings from you and get a local welder to do the job?  What do you charge to do the modification? 

.. Rick P.
 
I have also seen another idea that I thought was a good one which is have a large diameter bolt/nut on top of the hitch just behind the hitch pin.  Drill a hole in the receiver tubing so the bolt would fit through and then weld the nut on top of the receiver tube.  Once the stinger is in place tighten the bolt down putting pressure on the stinger and holding it in place and preventing it from rattling.

You can fix it like I did with a "hitch immobilizer" clamp. It just slips over the hitch and receiver tube and you tighten it down.  Takes the slop right out.  You can buy one from Road Master for $25-$35 or do what I did. Went to the near by Pep Boys and picked up a leaf spring clamp for about $7.  I added a double nut to each side to keep it from loosening up.  Works great.
Click to expand...

These are both great ideas.

However, I can't use either one of them!

The factory receiver is tucked right up under the rear bumper, with about 1/32" of clearance between the top of the receiver and the bottom of the bumber. Also, the rear face of the receiver is flush with the rear face of the bumber. No room to fit the clamp (which I bought from Roadmaster) and no way to drill the hole for the bolt. So, what now????? I guess Mike's idea of the welded beads on the sides and top of the tube will be my best bet. I tried a similar approach earlier - use epoxy to glue small metal plates to the top and sides of the tube, but the epoxy failed and the plates were just loose in there.
 
arcticfox2005 said:
... and no way to drill the hole for the bolt. So, what now????? I guess Mike's idea of the welded beads on the sides and top of the tube will be my best bet.
Click to expand...

How about drilling the hole for the bolt on the bottom of the receiver tube and tightening the tow bar that way.

Or can you drill and tap some holes, mine were 1/2", in the tow bar and then tighten them through the existing holes in the receiver???
 
Jim Godward said:
How about drilling the hole for the bolt on the bottom of the receiver tube and tightening the tow bar that way.

Or can you drill and tap some holes, mine were 1/2", in the tow bar and then tighten them through the existing holes in the receiver???
Click to expand...
I guess it could be a CYA statement from the mfg, but every hitch I've seen states something on the order of "Do not drill, weld or otherwise alter..."  But, I can see how drilling new holes might weaken the hitch or tow bar towing capacity.
 
rpasetto said:
Great job, Mike.  I also have an 03 Dynasty... probably getting close to the way your "before" picture looks.  Can I buy bushings from you and get a local welder to do the job?  What do you charge to do the modification? 

.. Rick P.
Click to expand...

Rick, the last several ones of these have been running $200.00.  That is to machine the bushings and weld into the receiver hitch.  I could machine you some bushings, they take about an hour so you would be approx. $50.00 plus shipping. 

Mike.
 
easist way to fix the slop problem is to weld flat washers on the top or bottom of the reciever...just fill in the center of the washers and grind the welds flat.two washers 6 inches apart and no more slop.
John
 
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