I have a 1997 F 350 CC 4x4 diesel. I have a draw tite hitch rated at 5000 lbs towing and 500 lbs tongue weight and 8000lbs and 1000 lbs with a weight distribution hitch. I tow a 30 ft camper max gvw 7000 and a 28 ft car trailer max gvw 10000. I tow a 40 ford in the car trailer and the total weight is 7000. I use a weight distribution hitch on both trailers when I tow. The bolts on my hitch come loose and the right side bolts have broken. I have tried grade 8 bolts and even stock draw tite hitch bolts. I have been told I need a 10000 or 12000 lb hitch. Any Ideas?
That hitch is too light for your truck. You do need a hitch that is rated minimum 10000 weight distributing. As to the broken bolts. The holes the bolts go into on the truck frame are probably now oversized from the hitch moving around. I would put on a new hitch that is the right size, and if the bolts are in the same mounting spot and are the same size make sure they are very tight. If they still seem to be getting lose, drill out the truck frame and hitch to a bigger size so you have clean holes in the truck frame, and tighten them down accordingly. You might also have a very heavy tongue weight, but your truck carries it well, so you aren't aware of it. The heavy tongue weight could be stressing out the hitch.
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1996 F250 4x4 ext. cab, long bed 5 spd. 3.55ls, Tymar Intake, Tymar 4" downpipe and 4" exhaust. AIC, B&W turnoverball, EBPV brake, tranny temp gauge, boost gauge, and egt gauge. 235k miles and thousands of $$$$ in maintenance and repairs.
500 lbs tongue weight is a class 3 or 4 hitch. Get a class 5. The hitch your using now must be flexing quite a bit to allow the bolts to break. Class 5 hitch will give you a 1200 lbs tongue rating.
Are you positive they are grade 8 bolts? Grade 8's have 6 slash marks. 5's have only 3.
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Just eating rainbows and butterflies
Well sound like what I figured Nickkent. The holes are tight on the bolts. I think the hitch is flexing too. My truck pulls the trailer without a problem. Thanks for the info. I did use grade 8 bolts Kanmam. I have never seen one break before until now.
If your trailer only weighs 7000 lbs, and you hitch is rated for 8000, you don't need a new reciever. I have done a bit of studying of fasteners. Nuts coming loose means that the bolts are not tight enough. PM me with the bolt diameter and i will give you a set of instructions for bolt selection and torque.
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2006 GMC K3500 CC DRW 4x4
1994 F-350 DRW PS w/ zf5
1996 Town Car
OK, they look like 1/2" bolts on mine. Proper torque for a 1/2" grade 8 bolt is 119 ft-lbs dry. Make sure there is no burrs or anything like that, and use washers.
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2006 GMC K3500 CC DRW 4x4
1994 F-350 DRW PS w/ zf5
1996 Town Car
If your nuts are coming loose you might try using nylon lock nuts. I had a
situation with the mounting bolts and nuts holding my air bags to the frame
coming loose last year. I retorqued the original nuts to spec and then
double nutted with nylon lock nuts on top of them and so far, no problemo...
You don't want the nuts coming loose because then things can move around and
cause damage, things break, etc. So you wanna keep the hardware tight
and periodically check to make sure everything is tight. Use Grade-8
hardware...
And many years ago I had a similar problem with the front lower shock mounts
on my old F-100. The original shock mounts were riveted on but eventually
broke and were replaced by a shop during a trip. The hardware eventually
came loose destroying the shock mount brackets. I solved that problem with
Grade-8 hardware and double nutting with nylon lock nuts on the outside.
Am I missing somethign here? He tows two trailers that weigh about 7k lbs. His hitch is rated for 8k lbs. This is not under the capacity, although close. I don't understand why everyone keeps saying that he needs a new hitch. Where are you guys getting this information or coming to this conclusion?
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2006 GMC K3500 CC DRW 4x4
1994 F-350 DRW PS w/ zf5
1996 Town Car
Linear Mode
