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Car Forum / Ford / Ford Trucks / June 20062004 F150 Trailer Tow Hitch (slightly broken)
I got rear-ended a few weeks ago in traffic and the impact broke the two bumper brackets welded to the two-hitch, the ones underneath the footwell where the license plate is mounted. You can't see the bolts with the footpad installed. Insurance claim is in the works, but just curious once I get the new trailer hitch if the old trailer hitch would be good to anybody. Except for the two brackets the rest of it, harness, etc. everything else is fine. I figure someone with some cutting and welding tools could probably make good use of it if they didn't have a hitch on their truck. Fabbing and welding a couple of brackets would be in order. Any thoughts, is this piece worth salvaging or should I just forget it altogether? Given the price of a new two-hitch I thought it might make someones day. Thanks >I got rear-ended a few weeks ago in traffic and the impact broke the >two bumper brackets welded to the two-hitch, the ones underneath the [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > >Thanks Tuffcall because you do not know what other damage or crakc may be present that you cannot see. Best to scrap it I think. ----------------- The SnoMan www.thesnoman.com > Tuffcall because you do not know what other damage or crakc may be > present that you cannot see. Best to scrap it I think. > ----------------- > The SnoMan > www.thesnoman.com Well maybe conservatively, but if you look at the thickness of the steel on a two hitch you get a great idea of how sturdy these things are. And the brackets I think were designed to give way on a rear end collision. Thanks There should be no reason why even a modest welder couldn't salvage that hitch. > I got rear-ended a few weeks ago in traffic and the impact broke the > two bumper brackets welded to the two-hitch, the ones underneath the [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Thanks  Signature********************************************************************************************************************************** David F. Mishiwiec Sr. "He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual; he tells lies without attending to it, and truths without the world's believing him. This falsehood of the tongue leads to that of the heart, and in time depraves all its good dispositions." - Thomas Jefferson (August 19, 1785) ********************************************************************************************************************************** >There should be no reason why even a modest welder couldn't salvage that >hitch. I still disagree. It is not the damage you can see that is a concern to repair, it is what you cannot see. ----------------- The SnoMan www.thesnoman.com >>There should be no reason why even a modest welder couldn't salvage that >>hitch. > > I still disagree. It is not the damage you can see that is a concern > to repair, it is what you cannot see. I'm with you on this one. Besides, it really isn't worth spending money to have a broken one repaired. You can buy a decent class IV hitch for not much more than a hundred bucks. Why bother taking the chance? Stephen N. > I'm with you on this one. Besides, it really isn't worth spending money > to have a broken one repaired. You can buy a decent class IV hitch for > not much more than a hundred bucks. Why bother taking the chance? > > Stephen N. Penny smart and pound foolish. Used to get people coming into the shop wanting to buy $20 dollar tires for their boat trailers, after all they would say "their just for the boat trailer", to which I would ask, "How much is the boat worth?" falls in the same category. Whitelightning As a welder, I disagree. A hitch is made of steel. Steel shows damage easy. Usually, steel bends, not breaks. Welds break. A decent welder could referb the hitch if need be. I haul a 10k plus trailer for work about 30 times a year, I've had to replace the tongue on the trailer once due to a mva, I had no doubts when I cut off the old one and stick welded a new one on. >> I'm with you on this one. Besides, it really isn't worth spending money >> to have a broken one repaired. You can buy a decent class IV hitch for [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > >Whitelightning >As a welder, I disagree. >A hitch is made of steel. Steel shows damage easy. Usually, steel [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >replace the tongue on the trailer once due to a mva, I had no doubts >when I cut off the old one and stick welded a new one on. As a guy with a engineering back ground that has seen a lot of NDI tests over the years (Non Destructive Inspection) I have seen a lot of good looking parts prove to be bad from hidden cracks that are undetecable otherwise. Being that this hitch was in a wreck and they are not that expensive to get a new one, why waste the time not to mention that if you weld it and it fails and someone is hurt they could come after you and clean your clock and bank account when they found you used or welded a hitch that had been in a wreck and unless you have some records of some valid NDI tests on the part to support your claims that it was good, your goose is cooked. Why set yourself up? ----------------- The SnoMan www.thesnoman.com > As a guy with a engineering back ground that has seen a lot of NDI > tests over the years (Non Destructive Inspection) I have seen a lot of [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > your claims that it was good, your goose is cooked. Why set yourself > up? All valid points. The hitch will be removed from the vehicle when it is replaced and can be inspected. They cost over $400 new, so not exactly cheap. The "wreck" in question was about a 10-15 mph rear-ender. Not much of a collision. The steel on the hitch is almost 1/4" thick. Again, the impact on the bumper broke off the two bumper mount brackets welded to the hitch, by design. The hitch itself was not touched by anything but the bolts mounted through the bumper footwell shearing through the mounts on impact. >> As a guy with a engineering back ground that has seen a lot of NDI >> tests over the years (Non Destructive Inspection) I have seen a lot of [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >anything but the bolts mounted through the bumper footwell shearing >through the mounts on impact. I understand but sometime sudden shocks are harder on parts thana slow steady overload. I may be alright but in today world with some of the shark lawyers out there it just is not worth it. ----------------- The SnoMan www.thesnoman.com >>> As a guy with a engineering back ground that has seen a lot of NDI >>> tests over the years (Non Destructive Inspection) I have seen a lot [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > shark lawyers out there it just is not worth it. > ----------------- My 2004 F-150 4x4 was recently rear-ended and they replaced the bumper and the entire receiver hitch. Like you said, it is better to install a new receiver instead of finding out too late that there was some hidden damage. I just got back from several days of camping and everything worked fine. The repair technicians did a really good reapir job. >> As a guy with a engineering back ground that has seen a lot of NDI >> tests over the years (Non Destructive Inspection) I have seen a lot of [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >rear-ender. Not much of a collision. The steel on the hitch is almost >1/4" thick. Yikes. I bought a new OEM hitch, bumper, bumper frame, trailer wiring harness, bumper cover and license plate lights for less than $900 total out the door after being rear-ended October of 2004. I'm pretty sure the hitch didn't cost almost half of that. In my case I was hit while at a stop light by some guy doing an estimated 45mph at the time of the collision. His poor Honda Odyssey did not survive. :) |
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