cheap metal on receiver or something else?

[franco-bolli]

The image below is from a 2021 Ram 3500 with a factory installed class V hitch. According to the "Towing Basics" document put forth by FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles), a Class 5 hitch should be good for 1800Lbs tongue weight.
My Trailer usually scales out at 8800 to 9300 lbs with a tongue weight of between 900 to 1000 lbs depending on the trip.
I'm using a Blue Ox WD hitch. The truck has a little over 20000 miles on it and I would guess that 17500 of that is towing.
Any ideas what could cause the deformation in the receiver? I rarely hear any slack in the hitch when connected. It's deformed enough that I will need to pry the insert out because it won't slide out. It seems to be just on the one side. The pin is original.

I'm suspecting it might be the curve ended pin I'm using, that has been moving, ever so slightly (at first) with the shank, that has deformed this. I flipped the pin in the hole to get a better picture of the deformation.  The metal must be getting cheaper, this type of issue didn't occur with the 2004 Dodge I had.

Any comments about going to a straight pin, that's easy to remove when I don't want to tote the hitch everywhere and adding Hitch Clamp?
I've looked for a hitch clamp that will fit a 2021 RAM, but haven't found one that fits the 2.5" ID OEM hitch with a 2" adapter.

Maybe I should replace the shank with a 2.5" one.  At Blue Ox, it's $295. I'm sure there are others out there that will work.

Thanks for the feedback.

Edited October 11, 2022 by franco-bolli
added detail

[Kirk W]

I can't tell much from the picture. Can you post something better?

[ms60ocb]

Is the hole in the Blue OX Hitch also enlarged? If so I would drill both holes out and use a Grade 8 bolt.

 

[Darryl&Rita]

Damage from a bent end hitch pin. Throw them out and replace with a proper pin. Damage is on the border of what I'd tolerate. Repair involves welding and machining back to size.

[franco-bolli]

thanks for the replies.
Granted, I could use a grade 8 bolt, but then need to carry tools to remove it. Not too big a deal, but a lot less convenient than pulling the pin.  The Blue ox shank is a 2" version, so an adapter is needed to accomodate the 2.5" receiver.  There in lies the issue, I think, clearances for the shank to it will slid into the 2" adapter, and clearance from the adapter to the receiver, and then tolerances built into the pin hole and the pin so that they will allow for quick disconnect. The whole thing can move, but not clunk under trailer weight. The moving is creating the wear.
@Darryl&Rita when you say, get the proper pin, I presume the thought is that the pin that was in there was not the correct size? It was a 5/8" pin in a 5/8" hole. Sure the pin could have been longer so that the angled part of the pin was not always up against the receiver.  I had presumed that there would be no issues with the pin touching the receiver and that the metal of better grade.

I think the direction I'll take is to find a shank that fits the 2.5" opening and get a straight 5/8" pin. 

I'll also let the dealer have a look, just in case they conclude that they think the metal should have been a better grade as well.

Cheers

FB

[Darryl&Rita]

This:

 

not this:

 

Note the secure collar to prevent the wallowing of the angle getting into the hitch material. The extra length is also benificul, especially with a 2 1/2" reciever.

[franco-bolli]

@Darryl&Rita

 Gotcha, thanks for posting the pictures.  
I think I have a clear direction now.

[Customer1]

Bent pins wallow out the hole over time, I always use locking straight pins.

[fpmtngal]

I have a locking straight pin but am getting some of the same deformation on my F350’s receiver.  I’m using an Andersen hitch with a 2-1/2” bar, so no sleeve.  It has two holes - the one I was using was the extended length one, so I could open my F350’s tailgate with the trailer attached.  My trailer is only 5700 lbs with 750 lbs tongue weight, could the fact that it is further back than most hitches put it make that much difference?  Would a hitch clamp help?  There is a certain amount of play between the bar and the receiver, but not a huge amount.  The last couple of times I’ve towed the trailer I’ve used the second (shorter length) hole, can’t tell if it makes a difference or not.

[Darryl&Rita]

Fpmtngal, you bought your truck used, correct? Previous owner may have started the wear, with a too short bent pin. There was a lot of premature wear inflicted when the 2 1/2 hitches came on the market from people using an old pin that was just, just long enough to fit. Ask me how I know this. Ever since, we've used only straight pins.

[fpmtngal]

20 minutes ago, Darryl&Rita said:

Fpmtngal, you bought your truck used, correct? Previous owner may have started the wear, with a too short bent pin. There was a lot of premature wear inflicted when the 2 1/2 hitches came on the market from people using an old pin that was just, just long enough to fit. Ask me how I know this. Ever since, we've used only straight pins.

 

No, I bought my truck new over 2 years ago.  I used a 2” bar and insert for only 1 trip before getting the 2-1/2” bar and the locking pin for it.  I don’t remember now what pin came with the original hitch (whether it was a bent pin or a straight pin with a knob on one end), but it did have a cotter pin.  It was a little short and the cotter pin got caught and mangled on that one trip I took with it.

I only just noticed the damage recently, but I suppose it could have happened earlier.  Someone on another board who uses the same extended hitch I do mentioned that he had this issue with his receiver, though he has a 3” receiver and bar (no idea what he uses for a pin though).  The next time I unhitched it was harder to remove the pin/bar and I noticed the damage.  My friend put it down to using the extended bar with the trailer further back than it would otherwise be, with that causing more movement/stress on the receiver.  That does make some sense to me but I wonder if something else is going on instead.  And would a hitch clamp help?  I understand the U-bolt type of “quiet hitch” thing (had one but the U bolt sheared off), but I think there are other types of hitch clamps.  I’ve never noticed my hitch being particularly noisy, so would be looking for something that stops free-play between the bar and the receiver.

Edited October 13, 2022 by fpmtngal

[franco-bolli]

I took my truck by the dealer to have a chat about the issue. 
Oddly, one of his first comment was to switch to a 5th wheel trailer.
An interesting response to say the least.

Ultimately, neither he nor the local service manager could make a determination if this was warrantable so he took pictures and will be sending then "on up the line" for others to review.

Warrantable events are cracks in the metal, or breaks in welds.    I was able to produce a CAT weight slip showing the vehicle / hitch was not overloaded for the longest trip I took this summer.

I mentioned to him that if this is the wear I get in 17000 miles of towing, by the time the truck gets to 50k, I'll need to replace the hitch! I didn't know the hitch was to be a consumable.

I've ordered a straight pin and a 2.5" shank as replacements, regardless of the dealer conclusion.

Thanks again for the feedback and sharing your experiences!

[fpmtngal]

I’ll be interested in whether they consider the issue warrantable.

I must say that the answer “get a 5er” is certainly - umm - creative.  I looked at 2 different ones (the AF small 5er is nice) and came to the conclusion that there’s no way I could manage one on my own.  I’ll stick to a travel trailer.

I took another look at my hitch and receiver, then ordered a hitch clamp.  There’s a certain amount of play with it, I don’t know if a clamp will help in my situation, but figured it was worth a try.  Is the damage on both sides of the receiver or only one side?  I’m curious.

[franco-bolli]

 

On 10/13/2022 at 1:03 PM, fpmtngal said:

I’ll be interested in whether they consider the issue warrantable.

I must say that the answer “get a 5er” is certainly - umm - creative.  I looked at 2 different ones (the AF small 5er is nice) and came to the conclusion that there’s no way I could manage one on my own.  I’ll stick to a travel trailer.

I took another look at my hitch and receiver, then ordered a hitch clamp.  There’s a certain amount of play with it, I don’t know if a clamp will help in my situation, but figured it was worth a try.  Is the damage on both sides of the receiver or only one side?  I’m curious.

On the driver side is worse. At some point, I must have flipped the pin.  When I get to a campsite and I know we will be there for a day or so, I pull the shank just so it won't flop around and I won't accidentally walk into it. Not to mention the opportunity of skewering the car behind me when I park!

this hitch clamp shows promise at least for my truck, but the reports are that locknuts need to be added. 

Hitch Clamp

I owned a AF 24-5L and found it to be very maneuverable when backing and stable on the road. I sold it because neither of us could stand up on the side of the bed. We were in a constant crouch when we weren't sitting on the bed.  That's one of the main reasons we went to a trailer, but still would like to find a Arctic Fox 27L 5th wheel.

Edited October 15, 2022 by franco-bolli

[fpmtngal]

That’s the hitch clamp I just bought - it seems better made than the first one I tried.  I’ll be checking it out tomorrow - I’m heading out tomorrow for a week (Phoenix to Vegas and back).  I normally remove my bar when I’m going to be somewhere for a few days also, though I’ve been getting lazier about that recently.  I don’t have lock nuts for it though - it’ll be interesting to see if the nuts work loose over the trip.  

[franco-bolli]

Yesterday, the new 2.5 shank and the straight pin have arrived. Its actually a Blue OX shank but not at the cost I first saw. I tried to get it locally, but they were still real close to $250. I found an OEM Blue OX shank for $157 on Amazon, and installed the WD Head on in this afternoon.
I checked the trailer tongue weight, still about 880 lbs, before I towed it to the sewer dump station for the last trip of the year. I didn't notice any real difference in towing experience with the new shank. There is still a fair amount of movement, both up and down as well as sideways when it's not connected to the trailer.
I had to knock the 2" to 2.5 " adapter out with a punch, it was jammed in with the bent metal from the deformed hole in the receiver. The holes in the adapter, looked as normal as they did when I purchased the truck, no deformation at all. They were sort of oblong to start with.
I haven't purchased the anti rattle item yet, but will probably get the one that I gave the link for above.  I chatted with a mechanical engineer friend and he explained where the forces were going with that anti-rattle device.

No word back from the dealer yet about their decisions about warrantying weak metal or???IF it comes to replacing the hitch later down the line, I'll look for for one that better distributes the load to the frame.
Thanks again for sharing your information and experiences.

[fpmtngal]

I towed using the Trimax hitch clamp from Phoenix to Vegas and then a short hop from Vegas to Pahrump.  The clamp took out the free play (and mine had some also) and it seemed like the trailer behaved better - less play between the truck and trailer in crosswinds and uneven surfaces.  The nuts didn’t loosen up.  I haven’t yet taken it and the hitch off, but will before Friday - I’m going to put the bar in the other (extended) hole, which moves the trailer back far enough to be able to open the tailgate.  I think that will be more telling - I suspect that moving the trailer further away from the truck would accentuate any sloppiness.  I’ll see whether taking the clamp off then putting it on again will affect whether the nuts would work loose quicker.

[Hill_Country]

I put a bicycle rack with hitch extension on my fiver.  I could watch it on my rear camera and was shocked at how much movement there was in the hitch.  I put hitch clamps - the square U bolt things - on the hitch and extension and they are now rock solid.  No movement and no wallowing out the pin holes.  Haven't had any problem with the nuts coming loose, either, but I use split ring lock washers and keep them reasonably tight with w wrench.