Hitch Set Screw, or is the winter just getting too long?

[SteveH]

Well, I have a friend who has a saying, "nothing is ever useless....worst case, it can be used for a bad example".

After towing a while with the set screws in the receiver, I've found it has problems. The side set screw comes loose rather quickly. This is even using a grade 8 bolt, and blue Locktite on the threads.

The relevance of my friends saying in this case is that these facts tell me something. First, it tells me there is indeed movement of the hitch in the receiver when towing, as I suspected. Second, it tells me there are some rather strong forces at play making it move.

I'm fortunate to have made a new friend at the vintage rally, and he told me he had experimented by inserting two pennies between the hitch and the receiver, and his results were two smashed pennies, which supports my finding of movement there under great force.

In retrospect, I think the set screw idea will work if TWO set screws are used on the side plane, one in front, and one in back. This would greatly increase the strength of the system, because with one set screw in the middle, the hitch has leverage to "work" back and forth in the receiver. Up and down movement seems not to be a problem as the bottom set screw does not become loose. Unfortunately, two set screws are not a practical option for me as the forged Reese hitch I have does not have enough material in the center to let set screws front and rear work.

The free space between my hitch and receiver was almost .120", and so I've searched around the trailer parts stores here, and have forund a receiver constructed from thicker metal, resulting in a free space of about .060". I am now in the process of removing the original receiver from the stock cross member in preperation for installing the new heavier piece. I will fabricate a shim with this setup, and hope a shim with four contact points will secure the hitch from movement, and be able to withstand the forces.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by SteveH

I am now in the process of removing the original receiver from the stock cross member in preperation for installing the new heavier piece. I will fabricate a shim with this setup, and hope a shim with four contact points will secure the hitch from movement, and be able to withstand the forces.

Steve,

Excellent....
I replaced the OEM for different reasons but with the added benefit of reducing the slop factor. I admire your candid approach to the attempted repair. It helps us all. Thanks

[SteveH]

Just one more update here for those that are interested....I removed the original receiver from the truck with the help of a welder friend who has a plasma cutter, and welded the new tighter fitting one in place. The original had .120" clearance between it and the Reese hitch, and the new one has .060" clearance, so I figured a .060" shim would work, but I was wrong. To get it to fit, I had to mill it down to .055", and now it works. Not as easy to install and remove as before, but OK.

I have also towed with it for a few hundred miles, and it's better than before I started this "experiment", but not as good as when the set screws were tight.

In the future, I may install set screws on this one, change to a solid hitch insert, and that would do the trick, I think.