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After I drove and parked my 2003 Tahoe in Upstate NY for 10 winters I moved to NC in late 2013. Sometime after my last event last year I noticed my trailer hitch receiver was tilted up. I inspected it and saw a lot of rust but nothing that looked to serious but I decided to replace the receiver because it was bent up, the receiver was pretty worn and the tilt would screw with my equalizer bar settings.
Today I pulled the hitch off the Tahoe and I found the circular cross tube the receiver is welded to half rusted out on the passenger side and about a quarter rusted out on the driver's side. It was buckled at the rust points. I don't know how much strength was left in the tube but I am glad I wasn't towing the Vette on the trailer this year. If that tube failed the receiver, my rear bumper, trailer hitch and trailer would have gone by by, the breakaway brakes wouldn't even activate since I attach the cable to the receiver. It gives me a chill to think of all that rolling down the road without guidance or brakes.
If you live in a Northern State inspect your receiver for damaging corrosion. Mine rusted from the inside out. NY State uses a salt/sand mixture to clear the roads in the winter and the sand goes everywhere including getting trapped inside the frame where it remains wet for months. When I took the hitch off the Tahoe and flipped it over sand started pouring out of the rust holes. I had spent many a spring day with a hose washing the a buckets worth of sand from under the vehicle but I never thought of using the hose to flush sand out of that receiver cross member.
Thought I would take a few pictures to show the amount of corrosion. One of them I have my finger stuck through the side of the tube. All I had to do was press a little and my finger went right through the side of the tube. I bought a replacement hitch at a Charlotte junk yard that had been on a 2004 Yukon with over 200K miles. It looked brand new with the factory black paint on it and a couple of scratches from having a hitch inserted in the receiver several times.
Once I dumped the old one in the garbage can all of the rust inside the tube started breaking loose and left a pile on the bottom of the can.
Bill
Last edited by Bill Dearborn; 03-27-2015 at 03:18 AM.
Those GMT800 hitches are made of beer cans welded together I swear. A lot of good those safety chains would have done, huh?
Yeah, they would have kept the receiver attached to the trailer. The center part of the receiver had two bolts going into the bumper but the bumper isn't designed to take a 5500 lb load so I don't know how well it would have held up after the tube let go and all of the weight was on the bumper.
Wow that's really bad. I inspect the welds on my hitch every time I tow.
The welds on this one look fine. These rust holes were in the rear of the hitch (toward the front of the vehicle) and at the top so they weren't easily seen until I had removed the hitch.
The scary part is that the twist in the bar probably occurred while you towing - maybe loading/unloading - but still you didn't have much meat left when you think about the stresses that towing exerts on the hitch.
Thanks for sharing.
Yes sir. Replaced my factory one with a class IV Curt. Another word of caution, the rear frames on the suburban are not as strong as the pickup rear of frame.
Last edited by yooper; 03-28-2015 at 02:03 AM.
Reason: pictures
That's sobering. I have a 2002 F150 with low miles, but just replaced the gas tank due to leaking from a rotted seam. It's impossible to see every nook and cranny under a truck, it just argues to be on err on the side of safety. That was essentially a class one hitch doing class 4 duty!
That's sobering. I have a 2002 F150 with low miles, but just replaced the gas tank due to leaking from a rotted seam. It's impossible to see every nook and cranny under a truck, it just argues to be on err on the side of safety. That was essentially a class one hitch doing class 4 duty!
My Tahoe sat outside in front of the house in Endicott for 10 years (winter and summer) along with being driven in the winter. I washed under the vehicle every spring and was usually able to get at least a bucket full of sand/salt from the rear area. I just didn't get it all.
I put the same style hitch back on and while I had the hitch off I checked the frame in that area and although rusty it is still solid.
Hi Bill! I do the same thing, usually getting soaked and chilled to the bone. The grit and salt are relentless, but the amber rustproofing that is runny does a good job. But, since you moved, your worries are over!
03-26-2015, 08:53 PM
Towing Issues if you Live in Northern States
