Guess how much this hitch can handle

[antiqueford]

I called up the bed manufacturer and asked how much their hitches are rated for. The answer I got was. "Whatever the ball can handle, like 5000lbs I think." ???

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The drop, as well as the bed frame rail are 4x1.5" channel. The plate is 3/8".

The plate is bent because the ball appears to have been loose for some time now.

What do you guys think this is capable of handling? Of course, at the very least I will flatten the plate and reinforce it with an extra 3/8" piece.

What I really need is a receiver tube in there. I can't imagine it's up to class V specs though.

If I were to add the receiver tube, its a 9" drop from bottom of frame to hitch plate, so I'd use 3/8" side plates off the bottom of the truck frame, and run a 4" tube crossmember. Then the receiver tube would be welded through the crossmember and also fully welded where it passes through the existing plate.

I don't plan on hauling more than 10k, but I'd like to be confident my hitch can handle it.

Just wanted to run my ideas by you guys and see if anyone has any input for me! Thanks in advance for any ideas/advice.

 

[Devon Harley]

I would not put more than 2,000 pounds there. I would not put anything above that at all it could brake very easy when you get cut off and have to slam your brakes which the trailer could go under you truck and wreck you and anyone behind or in front of you.

 

[Devon Harley]

You could run a cross brace from the frame to it add your metal smooth all welds and re weld and add a heavy primer or a spray clean to protect the welds.

 

[OLDBULL8]

All manufactured hitches have to be DOT approved for sale. A self designed and installed hitch is the responsibility of that person. I would never never tell someone what there hitch could pull or what the verticle load could handle.

Your pic's sure look like a homemade hitch to me. Just because the ball is stamped 5000 lbs., don't mean that it will handle that on a poorly designed hitch. The ball won't break, but the mount might.

The post/thread should be in this forum, "Towing and Hauling"

 

[antiqueford]

Where from the frame should I run it? You mean I need more triangulation right? The problem is that just forward of my mudflaps you can see in the pic are my shackles, so there isn't any way to tie it back to the side of the frame really

 

[antiqueford]

Old bull, the bed is manufactured by J&I. Its model is NS. The hitch option is simply referred to as "reinforced hitch ball mount". I could not find a DOT stamp on it anywhere, and as you can see from my phone call to them, their staff is not very knowledgeable. This is not a homemade hitch.

My truck is a '93, and the bed is either much older, or has not aged as nicely as the rest of the truck. It's unlikely the manufacturer can tell me much about it either.

 

[RLDSL]

THer two pieces going down on each side could pull a lot, butwithout a bunch of restructuring, they are fairly worthless by themselves.. Those things are just hanging out there in the breeze. nothing tieing them forward to speak of. On my Western Hauler bed, they rate the factory receiver very conservatively at 10k and that sucker is in the lower bumper that is tied into everything with massive bracing at structural points and even the whole skin is 3/16 plate

THe way that thing is sitting, you wouldnt want to pull more than a light utility trailer about 4500-5000 max ( heck, my cars can pull near that safely, but they have better looking hitches)

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

I don't see normal hauling doing that damage.

My guess is that someone dropped a loop of chain over the ball and went to lungeing at it, trying to yank out a stuck combine or somesuch.

Were it mine, I would remove those two balls and straighten the plate back to it's original shape.

Then, I would weld a second layer of 1/2", either on top or underneath, just so long as it doubles the thickness.

Then, I would weld on and gussett a 2" receiver tube; depending on hitch-height concerns, either onto the bottom, or on top, through a square hole.

Also, I would add gussetts from the two plates where the flat bolts to the frame to the two channels that support the hitch.


For strength reasons, I very much prefer a straight up and down, perpendicular, support for the hitch, rather than those like your's which angle back; being already angled back, you lose much of the advantages of angled gussetts; also, you lose a BUNCH of clearance between truck-flat and goose-neck trailer, necessitating the ball be too far rear-ward to compensate for this loss of clearance.

 

[redneckaggie]

I believe that hitch would handle all that those bed to frame mounts would, I think you are seriously underestimating the strength of steel. If it were me I would brace back to the frame from the lower 3/4 of the channel iron, or tie the frame together through the center and brace back to that

 

[antiqueford]

Here are a couple more pics.
I looked to see if I could add gussets where midnight rider suggested, and found this 1/2" gusset already in there. It is fully welded to the flatbed frame channel, the hitch drop, and the 1/8" rear treadplate that is the rear vertical part of the bed.

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Also, this will clear up how the drop legs are tied into the flatbed. You can see the bolt plate at the bottom center of the pic. It is welded inside the crossmember channel, which is about 2" wider than the frame. The hitch drops are in effect sitting on top of the crossmember as well.

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Needless to say, after seeing that gusset, I am much more comfortable towing something as is. I don't feel adding a receiver tube would require the 4" tube crossmember I was originally expecting to need. I still would like to tie something forward though.

 

[88beast]

i would run a piece of 1/4 wall 3 inch tubing across the back with a reciever welded to it and the tubing welded to the channel and plate then top it off with more plate to add a step etc there but as it sits not much as 3/8 plate bends easily with a force applied when braking

 

[sle2115]

I cut mine off and put a receiver on it, 10,000 with 15,000lb WD. Never looked back!

 

[antiqueford]

Ok, new plan:

Flatten lower plate.
Box inner side plates in (the ones just outside the hitch mount holes).
Punch receiver tube through on top of the plate.
Add 3/8" gussets to the receiver tube that extend all the way out to the drop legs.
Use similar channel to the drop legs to tie forward to the truck frame, bolted to frame with two half inch bolts per side. Welded on the bottom end to the angled plate and the new receiver tube gussets.

A pictures worth 1000 words. I'll draw it up later.

Mods, Oldbull8 is right, I'm kinda in the wrong forum. If you want to move it to towing and hauling I'd appreciate it.

 

[diezelcrazee]

I agree with redneckaggie, its probably better than you think. I would just straighten that bent hitch area, and double it with 3/8 or 1/2 plate and call it good. These J & I beds are all over Texas and Oklahoma on farm and ranch trucks, and I dont think there is anybody much more abusive to a truck than farmers and ranchers. (don't ask me how I know )

 

[antiqueford]

As I said, that gusset on the drop leg makes me feel a lot better about it. Tying it forward to the frame would give me extra peace of mind, but probably unnecessary for my hauling needs. I do need the height adjustability of a receiver though.