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Old 08-20-2015, 06:55 AM   #1
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My hitch receiver cracked.

So while I'm returning to Michigan from my winter stay in San Diego my reciever hitch cracked. I'm towing a 2014 Shockwave T24FQ MX Toyhauler & my tow rigg is a 1997 GMC Suburban 2500 with 454 vortec - heavy duty.

I didn't realize what had happened at the time but was aware something not good had occured as I noticed upon refueling the truck that the trailer tounge & ball assembly seemed to be a little lower than what me eyes were used to. Not much mind you but maybe an inch.......... At the time I chalked it up to 'inspect all down there when I get back 'home'.... hitch, shocks, springs, etc. blah blah blah........

Well when I got 'home' and got the trailer situated & settled back in on my piece of boondock heaven I looked 'downunder' and noticed a small but 2" long crack on the passenger side of the receiver and thought WTF! I dropped the Burb off at my mechanic and let him know bout the crack and that I needed a new hitch blah blah. The next day he calls me and asks me to drop by he's gotta show me sumpthin' and when I get there he shows me that the truck frame has buckled where the receiver is attached and that's what caused the hitch receiver to crack........ he continues that my burb needs to be sent to a frame repair fabrication shop where they can cut, fit, & weld reinforcing plates to get the strength back in the frame.

Bottom line 18 years of Michigan's winter salted roads had finally taken the toll on my 1997 Burb. I told my mechanic to forget it. It was still good to drive for me to work out of but don't tow anything. The next week I bought a brand new 2015 Ford F-250 Superduty that I'll use exclusively to tow my Shockwave till the Burb completely dies.........

Thanx........INTJohn
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Old 08-20-2015, 07:09 AM   #2
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Your lucky to make it home with out incident. Yep ruff roads and salt will it your lunch. Later RJD
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Old 08-20-2015, 07:22 AM   #3
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I'm surprised about the frame being buckled, but the receiver being broke is not a shocker. It's been pretty common in GM vehicles for years.


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Old 08-20-2015, 07:24 AM   #4
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Heck, that would have been one funny utube video!
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Old 08-20-2015, 07:29 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tonkatoy77 View Post
I'm surprised about the frame being buckled, but the receiver being broke is not a shocker. It's been pretty common in GM vehicles for years.


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Really! Wonder why since GM does not make them, and the other companies probably use the same source. Just curious
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Old 08-20-2015, 07:44 AM   #6
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My father's ford 350 cracked as well and his mechanic said 8d it was common for them as well... I think it is just a thing that can happen to any vehicle under the right circumstances. But the op's sounds like it was the frame that caused the failure. I used to drive a diesel 2500 suburban for work. They were beasts.

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Old 08-20-2015, 08:39 AM   #7
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Just curious, how much weight was the receiver hitch rated for ?? There should be a sticker somewhere on the hitch that shows that.

What brand of WDH was used ??
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Old 08-20-2015, 08:53 AM   #8
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After (18 yrs) of Mich.salt you are hard pressed to have a Hitch Assy.let alone a Sticker! Youroo!!
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Old 08-20-2015, 09:44 AM   #9
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After (18 yrs) of Mich.salt you are hard pressed to have a Hitch Assy.let alone a Sticker! Youroo!!
Haha! How true.
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Old 08-20-2015, 09:56 AM   #10
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I found a cracked hitch mount on mine shortly after we bought it.

I bought my 2001 Mirada last fall. I discovered a cracked angle bracket that the hitch was mounted to. It appeared to be old and I suspect most likely resulted from the previous owners maybe overloaded the hitch tongue weight (maybe one of those motorcycle carriers that plug into the hitch)

Anyway, I welded the crack and installed a 1/4 think angle bracket over the existing bracket to add additional reinforcement.

Cracked Trailer hitch mounting bracket | 2001 Coachmen Mirada 300QB

..
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Old 08-20-2015, 03:34 PM   #11
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Congratulations on the new F250

Quote:
Originally Posted by intjohn View Post
So while I'm returning to Michigan from my winter stay in San Diego my reciever hitch cracked. I'm towing a 2014 Shockwave T24FQ MX Toyhauler & my tow rigg is a 1997 GMC Suburban 2500 with 454 vortec - heavy duty.

I didn't realize what had happened at the time but was aware something not good had occured as I noticed upon refueling the truck that the trailer tounge & ball assembly seemed to be a little lower than what me eyes were used to. Not much mind you but maybe an inch.......... At the time I chalked it up to 'inspect all down there when I get back 'home'.... hitch, shocks, springs, etc. blah blah blah........

Well when I got 'home' and got the trailer situated & settled back in on my piece of boondock heaven I looked 'downunder' and noticed a small but 2" long crack on the passenger side of the receiver and thought WTF! I dropped the Burb off at my mechanic and let him know bout the crack and that I needed a new hitch blah blah. The next day he calls me and asks me to drop by he's gotta show me sumpthin' and when I get there he shows me that the truck frame has buckled where the receiver is attached and that's what caused the hitch receiver to crack........ he continues that my burb needs to be sent to a frame repair fabrication shop where they can cut, fit, & weld reinforcing plates to get the strength back in the frame.

Bottom line 18 years of Michigan's winter salted roads had finally taken the toll on my 1997 Burb. I told my mechanic to forget it. It was still good to drive for me to work out of but don't tow anything. The next week I bought a brand new 2015 Ford F-250 Superduty that I'll use exclusively to tow my Shockwave till the Burb completely dies.........

Thanx........INTJohn
Congratulations on the new F250 You will enjoy it. I just bought one myself. The 6.7 is quiet and strong!
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Old 08-20-2015, 06:09 PM   #12
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Thanx to everyone for your responses. Yeah - the problem was/is the rear 3 feet of the frame & hitch receiver have a really bad case of salt cancer......

My mechanic said it would cost about 1000$ to reinforce the frame and then cost of new receiver. I new sometime in the next couple years I was going to need a new truck as my burb has 290,000 miles on it ,etc. I'll still be able to use it for my work and hopefully get a few more years out of it and keep miles off the new F-250. Will just use that for towing my Shockwave. Also, I didn't get the diesel but the 6.2 gas - couldn't bring myself to spend the 8000$ xtra for diesel when I no longer need to tow 15000 pounds around anymore........

Thanx again for your responses, etc...............INTJohn
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Old 08-20-2015, 06:28 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tonkatoy77 View Post
I'm surprised about the frame being buckled, but the receiver being broke is not a shocker. It's been pretty common in GM vehicles for years.


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Only if you live in the Northern states that use a lot of salt will this issue arise. I Have never seen this in all my years owning a Chevy truck cause I have lived out side the danger zone of salt. Later RJD
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Old 08-20-2015, 06:38 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by aceinspp View Post
Only if you live in the Northern states that use a lot of salt will this issue arise. I Have never seen this in all my years owning a Chevy truck cause I have lived out side the danger zone of salt. Later RJD
EZackly.......and I live not far from Lake Michigan where we get about as much lake effect snow as Buffalo NY. Sometimes it seems like Eleven months of winter and 1 month of poor skiing........

Thanx........INTjohn
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Old 08-20-2015, 06:50 PM   #15
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intjohn,if your bumper pull trailer weights (15000lbs) your in (5th wheel area)! The old Burb with 290000 miles did real good! Youroo!!
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Old 08-20-2015, 07:12 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by intjohn View Post
So while I'm returning to Michigan from my winter stay in San Diego my reciever hitch cracked. I'm towing a 2014 Shockwave T24FQ MX Toyhauler & my tow rigg is a 1997 GMC Suburban 2500 with 454 vortec - heavy duty.

I didn't realize what had happened at the time but was aware something not good had occured as I noticed upon refueling the truck that the trailer tounge & ball assembly seemed to be a little lower than what me eyes were used to. Not much mind you but maybe an inch.......... At the time I chalked it up to 'inspect all down there when I get back 'home'.... hitch, shocks, springs, etc. blah blah blah........

Well when I got 'home' and got the trailer situated & settled back in on my piece of boondock heaven I looked 'downunder' and noticed a small but 2" long crack on the passenger side of the receiver and thought WTF! I dropped the Burb off at my mechanic and let him know bout the crack and that I needed a new hitch blah blah. The next day he calls me and asks me to drop by he's gotta show me sumpthin' and when I get there he shows me that the truck frame has buckled where the receiver is attached and that's what caused the hitch receiver to crack........ he continues that my burb needs to be sent to a frame repair fabrication shop where they can cut, fit, & weld reinforcing plates to get the strength back in the frame.

Bottom line 18 years of Michigan's winter salted roads had finally taken the toll on my 1997 Burb. I told my mechanic to forget it. It was still good to drive for me to work out of but don't tow anything. The next week I bought a brand new 2015 Ford F-250 Superduty that I'll use exclusively to tow my Shockwave till the Burb completely dies.........

Thanx........INTJohn
All that miles in what seemed like a good vehicle why buy a Ford? I have a 2010 gmc Sierra 2500HD that pulls my Toy hauler with power to spare. Just wondering? But I am not a Ford fan.
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Old 08-20-2015, 07:17 PM   #17
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Sounds like the burb has been good to you. Can't complain about that.

Sounds like you got a nice new truck to boot.

Vin.
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Old 08-20-2015, 07:43 PM   #18
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290k and 18 years, the suburban had a nice long life. Don't know if they use the Calcium Chloride pre-treatment in MI but in New England, that stuff eats cars and bridges.
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Old 08-20-2015, 07:57 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aceinspp View Post
Only if you live in the Northern states that use a lot of salt will this issue arise. I Have never seen this in all my years owning a Chevy truck cause I have lived out side the danger zone of salt. Later RJD

Salt or no salt, I'm still surprised. I would have thought the hitch would have let go before a frame buckling. The hitch and the frame are being exposed to the same salt, and the hitch is the weak point. Just do a Google search and you will see what I mean about GM hitches being weak.


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Old 08-20-2015, 08:37 PM   #20
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All that miles in what seemed like a good vehicle why buy a Ford? I have a 2010 gmc Sierra 2500HD that pulls my Toy hauler with power to spare. Just wondering? But I am not a Ford fan.
lol......actually every pik up I've ever owned has been a Ford.
bought a 1982 new till I bought the burb....... 224000 miles i think
bought a 1991 new 263000 miles sold it a year ago.
Bought the burb new 1997 290,000 and still going strong - just can't tow anthing with it anymore.

This new F250??? future rermains to be seen - it'll be my last truck tho and it should NEVER see a Michigan winter as by Dec 1 I'm in San Diego and don't return to Mich till April 1; so I expect it to easily last for the rest of my healthy life.

Thanx.........INTJohn
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