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Old 08-02-2008, 06:26 AM   #1
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GMC 2500HD Owners Beware.

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"
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Old 08-02-2008, 06:48 AM   #2
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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.
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Old 08-02-2008, 07:25 AM   #3
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Get Rid of OEM Receiver!

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
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Old 08-02-2008, 07:52 AM   #4
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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.
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Old 08-02-2008, 08:13 AM   #5
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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.
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Old 08-02-2008, 08:53 AM   #6
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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
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Old 08-02-2008, 09:56 AM   #7
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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.
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Old 08-02-2008, 10:00 AM   #8
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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.
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Old 08-02-2008, 12:03 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by markdoane View Post
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.

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Old 08-02-2008, 12:42 PM   #10
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My previous post must not have made the trip. I have a '01 Chevy 2500hd with no problems with cracks on welds, no rust and no backing out of bolts and no elongation of receiver tube locking holes. I wonder if it isn't a case of substandard receivers from the manufacturer?
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Old 08-02-2008, 12:54 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by davidz71 View Post
My previous post must not have made the trip. I have a '01 Chevy 2500hd with no problems with cracks on welds, no rust and no backing out of bolts and no elongation of receiver tube locking holes. I wonder if it isn't a case of substandard receivers from the manufacturer?
Yet.
I'd keep a close eye on it, especially if you are using any sort of weight distribution hitch on a regular basis.
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Old 08-02-2008, 01:04 PM   #12
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Yet.
I'd keep a close eye on it, especially if you are using any sort of weight distribution hitch on a regular basis.
Based on other posts, that would be the smart thing for me to do. Thanks.
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Old 08-02-2008, 01:21 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moosetags View Post
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?
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Old 08-02-2008, 01:46 PM   #14
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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.
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Old 08-02-2008, 02:19 PM   #15
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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
There are aftermarket receivers that attach to the frame with six bolts and to the bumper with two more, same size. Seems like overkill to me.

Hidden Hitch has a fine one.
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Old 08-02-2008, 02:44 PM   #16
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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
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Old 08-06-2008, 12:05 PM   #17
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Hitches commonly develop elongated holes in receivers when the use of the common J-shaped retaining pin is used.

The problem is the curved side of the pin tends to create uneven pressures and corresponding wear on the receiver hole.

Although the elongated hole probably does not present much of a problem except in appearance, people who want to prevent it can put a hose clamp on the pin at the curve to stop it from contacting the hitch. Or, they can use a type of retaining pin that is not J-shaped.
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Old 08-06-2008, 04:00 PM   #18
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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
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Old 08-06-2008, 10:21 PM   #19
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I would like to also add that My SuperDuty came with a V5 rated hitch. I noticed that chevy does come standard with a V4 I wonder why
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Old 08-07-2008, 05:53 AM   #20
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Anyone have any experience with a Curtis Class V on a Chev/GMC product 2004 style? I saw one at Mills Fleet Farm yesterday for a Dodge and it was very heavy duty.
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