GMC 2500HD Owners Beware.

boatdoc · 08-02-2008, 07:26 AM

Hi folks;
I own a 2006 GMC Sierra 2500 HD with 6500 miles, of which about 1600 miles is towing loads below 5000 Lbs. Truck is eqipped with factory HD hitch. During return trip from camping I felt as something was not right with the hook up. Upon close inspection I have discovered that the two bolts holding the hitch to the bumper have backed out most of the way and were ready to fall out. While those two bolts do not carry much of the load, they do balance the spread of the load along the hitch front to back. By being backed out more than 1/2" the trailer weight was carried by bolts which attach the hitch to the frame. I feel that this may not have been an issue but, the ball is two feet back from those bolts. The two foot distance acts as a cantilever and I wonder how much stress the remaining bolts have received during towing. The two back bolts have only flat washer, no lock washer and I am not sure if there are nuts inside the bumper. I will be returning the truck to the dealer with this issue,
and I will report on it next week. For now check your hitch attaching bolts to the bumper. Thanks, "Boatdoc"

Pick · 08-02-2008, 07:48 AM

I have a 2003 with 56K on it and no hitch problems yet. Will have had the truck 4 years in September. I did notice that the pin hole in the receiver on the passenger side is starting to wear or elongate. Not sure why it is doing this on one side only. I tow a boat, horse trailer and flatbed carry-all, as well as the Airstream with this truck.

**moosetags** · 08-02-2008, 08:25 AM

The GM factory receivers through 2006 are junk. They are not up to the job of towing a heavy trailer with a WD hitch. I pull an '05 25FB with a 2005 GMC Yukon XL 2500. The welds cracked on the OEM receiver, and it scarred the crap out of me. I replaced it with an aftermarket Class IV receiver. When I took the factory receiver off, I realized that it was pretty light duty. It weighs about 20# and the bracing bars are about 12" long. The Class IV replacement weighs 65# and the bars go about 30" under the frame.

I recently purchased a 2004 Suburban 2500. The first thing I did was replace the crappy factory receiver.

Brian

Silvertwinkie · 08-02-2008, 08:52 AM

I've had a similar exp as Pick has with the elongated pin hole which they replaced my hitch under warranty with the same type of hitch. Next round, when this one acts up, I will be going with a Reese replacement.

2dabeach · 08-02-2008, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moosetags

The GM factory receivers through 2006 are junk. They are not up to the job of towing a heavy trailer with a WD hitch. I pull an '05 25FB with a 2005 GMC Yukon XL 2500. The welds cracked on the OEM receiver, and it scarred the crap out of me. I replaced it with an aftermarket Class IV receiver. When I took the factory receiver off, I realized that it was pretty light duty. It weighs about 20# and the bracing bars are about 12" long. The Class IV replacement weighs 65# and the bars go about 30" under the frame.

I recently purchased a 2004 Suburban 2500. The first thing I did was replace the crappy factory receiver.

Brian

Brian

What after market Class IV receiver did you replace the OEM with?

hookedonclassic · 08-02-2008, 02:46 PM

I was just on-line looking and Putnam has a nice Class 5 that looks like a good replacement. I know Jack C has one on his GMC van to go with his 30' slide. For my TV it looks like a model #25182 at about $159.

mustang · 08-06-2008, 05:00 PM

I love my super duty. With that tow cammand sytem. 5.4 engine and the new torque shift tranny. My race car trailer weighs in at 11000 lbs slightly higher and it is a dream. I sold my last chevy rearend issues fuel pumps brakes. I had it I had a heavy duty ford and it was a tank. My 2006 superduty as seen in my photo area is the absolute best I have had so far

ROBERT CROSS · 08-07-2008, 02:50 PM

2006 3/4 Suburban OEM and Reese class five replacement.

This tv is new to us this past March. After six trips this Season I think we got things just about figgered out.

The Reciever replacement was done before it was put on the road.

Set up for our favorite AS fun we weigh in at 15940 lbs. Trlr. 7580 lbs Just would not feel safe using the OEM.

**moosetags** · 08-02-2008, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2dabeach

Brian

What after market Class IV receiver did you replace the OEM with?

I replaced my OEM receivers with Draw-Tite Class IV Ultra Frame Receiver Hitches - Part #41930.

I first bought one of these for my 2005 Yukon XL 2500 in September, 2006. I got this one from a dealer in Fort Beach, Florida, and had them install it. It cost about $375 installed. I am very satisfied with its performance having pulled Lucy over 20,000 miles with it.

In April of this year, I purchased another one of the same receiver for my newly acquired 2004 Suburban 2500. I purchased the second one from etrailer.com (800-298-8924) for $242.95 with free shipping. I installed this one myself, and it was not difficult. If you get this one, I would suggest getting the 3" Connector Mounting Box (part number 18157). It costs $6.10 and does a nice job of mounting the TV wiring outlet.

If you order any Class IV receiver, be sure to specify 1500 or 2500, they are different. Here are a couple of pictures of the Draw-Tite on the Sub.

Brian

markdoane · 08-02-2008, 09:13 AM

You should replace the factory hitch with an aftermarket receiver.

Here's another warning. Some of the aftermarket receivers mount only to the frame and don't have the bolts that attach to the bumper. Some of them do. You can't tell fom the websites because they usually have pictures of "generic" hitch receivers.

However, if the website says "requires factory bumper" that's a good indication that its the style with the bumper bolts.

**moosetags** · 08-02-2008, 09:53 AM

All Class IV/V receivers that I have seen attach with heavy bolts to the frame rails and do not attach to the bumper at all.

Here's a photo of the OEM receiver that was on my '05 Yuk XL 2500. You can see how the welds were cracking and beginning to separate. When this happened, I took it to the GMC dealer. They offered to replace the receiver with a new one of the same type. I decided that replacing a junk receiver with the same junk receiver was foolish. Our Lucy is much too valuable to be trusted a junk receiver.

Brian

Journalist · 08-02-2008, 11:00 AM

I'm a member of a Chevy truck forum as well. The OEM hitch failures are very well documented there. When buying any Chevy/GMC truck, I'd advise making sure the truck has the towing package, but ditch that receiver first thing for one that is actually made to pull more than the occasional Jet Ski.

markdoane · 08-02-2008, 10:56 AM

Maybe the Quadrasteers are different? All the late model Sierra, Yukon, Tahoe have a couple of bolts that attach to the bumper, in addition to the four bolts to the frame rails.

**moosetags** · 08-02-2008, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markdoane

Maybe the Quadrasteers are different? All the late model Sierra, Yukon, Tahoe have a couple of bolts that attach to the bumper, in addition to the four bolts to the frame rails.

No, the Quadrasteers are the same as the others. It's the OEM junk receivers that bolt to the bumper. Most of the aftermarket Class IV's and V's attach to the frame only with 6 heavy duty bolts.

Brian