I am thinking about replacing the hitch on my TV (04 Chevy 3/4 4x4.) I have read the posts about possible failures. My TT is rated at 5500lbs UVW, 7700lbs GVWR. My question what would some of you mor experienced RV'ers do, replace it or not?
kagriffith71 wrote: I am thinking about replacing the hitch on my TV (04 Chevy 3/4 4x4.) I have read the posts about possible failures. My TT is rated at 5500lbs UVW, 7700lbs GVWR. My question what would some of you mor experienced RV'ers do, replace it or not?
Thanks for any and all help/opinions.
Alan
The problem here is you only hear from the very few that have a problem and not the vast majority that never have a problem. GM has hundreds-of-thousands if not millions of those receivers out there that have never had a problem and a few that have. All manufactured products have a few with problems including the manufacturers that you are considering buying a replacement from.
I wouldn’t even think of wasting money on something like that unless you actually have a problem.
I am not replacing mine! This is the 3rd GM truck that I have had and have not had any problems. I would keep it and look it over very well when hitching up.
2006 CHEVY 2500HD 6.0L 4.10 Ext Cab
Wife, 4 kids ALL BOYS!1, 3, 8 and 9 year olds), and our dog RIGZ.
NEVER A QUIET MOMENT!
I dont want to sound like I am arguing. but I really have wondered about the round tubing and how it attaches to the frame rails. The bad comments here really just got me thinking harder about it. With more than all due respect, I don't want the problem to be at the expense of a failure related accident.
Until now I have said the same thing... an awful lot on the road and a few failures. Probably won't affect me. I would agree that someone towing something light would probably never have a problem. But for those of us hauling long and heavy stuff... well maybe.
There also seems to be more documented failures now.
Everytime I hitch up and watch that hitch flex I wonder if I should change it out. I guess that for a couple hundred bucks I can take this concern off of the table. Thats what I am going to do.
I replaced my hitch (same as current models) but only did so because I wanted a lot more capacity for a dump trailer I use at my cabin. I went with the Titan hitch and doubled my hitch rating (I don't use the full capacity of the new hitch).
I have my stock hitch laying in my garage and was working with it to fabricate a hitch for the rear of my fiver. I decided to go from scratch but not because the factory hitch wasn't strong enough. It would have required too many modifications to make it fit my new application. I'm giving you some background because I studied the factory hitch looking for a hint of a weakness and couldn't find any. It is a very robust design. In high stress applications, I like to see the weld bead broken up so that if a crack in a weld occurs, it will stop at the end of a weld bead and not continue to propogate across the entire weld. The stock hitch has this. In addition, you would have to have more than one weld fail to drop something. Even if the entire weld broke along the tube to flat metal stock (the part that bolts to your frame), the tube isn't going anywhere. It is held by the cutout in the 1/4" flat metal stock and the weld on the other side. Yes, if you didn't hear the banging around, the weld on the other side could break but even then, the two bolts holding the receiver to your truck bumper would have to shear to allow the tube to slide out of the cutouts.
I'm sure you could imagine some failure mode that is "single string" but I couldn't find one. The receiver tube has multiple gussets keeping it welded to the round tube. Overall, my engineering assessment is that this is a pretty stout design.
The one thing you do have to be watchfull for is that the bolts, holding the hitch to the frame, are properly torqued. Mine did come very loose on one occassion.
kagriffith71 wrote: snip....My question what would some of you mor experienced RV'ers do, replace it or not?.......snip
If you are towing in the higher tongue weights (above 1,200) and TT weights (above 7,000lbs) limits specified on the GM OEM receiver, I would at least check it periodically for any weld cracks and/or pin box bending. If you experience considerable "up-ward" pin box flexing in order to engage your WD's (assuming everything is set properly), definitely keep an eye on it.
I replaced mine only because I did experience some weld cracking, considerable flexing, and my pin box was bent up. I tow with 1,200lbs loaded tongue weight, and my TT loaded is 7,800lbs.
IMO, if you are towing consistently in the "extreme" upper weight limits of the OEM receiver, I would recommend up-grading it.
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