Stuck Receiver Hitch

[Joshua M. Smith]

Hello All,

I've been unable to unhook my receiver hitch (I've got the tow package).

The ballmount looks like it's been in there forever. I'm the second owner, and I'm not sure what the first owner would have towed. So far as I know he owns no trailers.

My dad said it looks like it might have been welded. Well, I took a brush to it. No welds, but the thing's really in there.

I tapped around on it a bit tonight with a large ballpeen and small sledge hammer. I was going to spray it down well with PB Blaster or Rust Eater, but I found I was out of both.

I hooked the sucker up to a stout tree and tried to yank it out that way. No go.

I was going to replace the whole hitch unit but a couple things are stopping me. First, I flat don't want to spend the money. I'm getting ready to go back to college at the ripe ol' age of 28. Second, though I thought the thing was too rusted to be safe, it's just on the surface. I did a thorough inspection and I'm good.

It's just that dang ballmount.

Does anyone have any tips on how to get it out? I'm still at a loss as to how to get PB Blaster in where it counts as well.

I can't be the first one to encounter this on this board.

Help!

Thanks,

Josh <><

[ericn1300]

use an electric heat gun like a Wagner paint stripper, or a propane torch. try to aim the heat at the reciver only to expand it then bang on the hitch portion to break it loose. might take a couple of heating and cooling cycles but it should get the job done. you can spray it with a garden hose to accelerate the cooling cycle and maybe jolt it loose faster. be careful if you use a torch, the gas tank is back there too.

[Joshua M. Smith]

Thank you. I was reluctant to use a heat gun because of the metal temper. I wouldn't use a torch. I take it the heat gun won't hurt the temper at all?

Thanks,

Josh <><

[ericn1300]

Originally Posted by Joshua M. Smith

Thank you. I was reluctant to use a heat gun because of the metal temper. I wouldn't use a torch. I take it the heat gun won't hurt the temper at all?<><

it's cast iron, not tempered steel. you can tell the difference by the weld point on the hitch at the the swing joint and the welds on the receiver body. if they can weld on it, you can heat it with no problems.

[Joshua M. Smith]

I see said the blindman... Never got much into welding. Thank you.

Josh <><

[ericn1300]

let us know how it works out. wire brush off the rust both inside the reciver and on the hitch when you get it out and use lots of white grease on the hitch before you put it back in. grease the ball lightly both before each use and after to inhibit rusting, the chrome plating wears off fast.

have you seen those lighted reciver inserts that are the latest fad? they run off the trailer connector. i bought one and rewired it to light up a Christmas wreath on my spare tire.

[Josh Smith]

Originally Posted by ericn1300

let us know how it works out. wire brush off the rust both inside the reciver and on the hitch when you get it out and use lots of white grease on the hitch before you put it back in. grease the ball lightly both before each use and after to inhibit rusting, the chrome plating wears off fast.

have you seen those lighted reciver inserts that are the latest fad? they run off the trailer connector. i bought one and rewired it to light up a Christmas wreath on my spare tire.

A couple months late here... but this is how it turned out: I was unable to take out the service head/ball mount. It just would not get out of there. I spent a month spraying it daily with PB Blaster and then ruined a 2 ton jack pushing on the ball.

Sooo... I got a cutoff wheel adapter and some cutoff wheels, and used a drill on the ball itself. I was able to put the correct size ball on for the boat.

Should I ever need to use sway control, I'm just getting a whole new receiver. I'm not going to trust that one over 2500lbs or so.

Josh <><

[ericn1300]

What size ball did you put on? 2 inch is pretty standard now and most rental equipment is 2 inches. If your boat trailer is 1 7/8 (very common) you might want to change the trailer reciever to 2 inch. Pretty easy to do, there are bolt on recivers available but i would recommend tack welding it in a few spots too just to be safe.

[Josh Smith]

Originally Posted by ericn1300

What size ball did you put on? 2 inch is pretty standard now and most rental equipment is 2 inches. If your boat trailer is 1 7/8 (very common) you might want to change the trailer reciever to 2 inch. Pretty easy to do, there are bolt on recivers available but i would recommend tack welding it in a few spots too just to be safe.

I took the 2" that came with it off and put on a 1-7/8" for the boat.

Though I don't see any cracks, I'm not going to be pulling anything larger with this particular receiver. I don't quite trust it.

We have hitch balls galore laying around here, all different sizes. Additonally, my parents, who don't live too far away, have a couple different service heads they no longer use. I could get one of those when and if I decide to tow heavier than a ton.

I do camp a lot, and a lot of the time I go with my parents as well. However, they only have one tow vehicle at this point, a Chevy Silverado with the tow package in the configuration they used to call the heavy half ton.

I still remember the day they drove the TrailBlazer away to trade for the Cobalt. I was at their house at the time, hunting in my woods (they "gave" that part of the property to me under the condition that shoot I game out of sight of my mother).

They drove back in the Cobalt, and my dad got out, didn't say anything, but handed me a 2" ball for my hitch. I figure that means I get the priviledge of pulling the boat to the campsite. I really don't think that little Cobalt is quite up to the challenge... heck, my '85 Cherokee with the 2.5L motor, my first car in fact, topped out floored at 55mph (give or take for hills) when pulling that boat. It's not heavy but it's a deep V and has an awful lot of drag.

Josh <><