I just bought a 92 chevy 2500 6lug 6.2 diesel that has a hitch on it. It is covered with surface rust and has no markings on it. Is there anyway of telling what class a hitch is by looking at it? It has a 2" reciever. I'm getting ready to buy a 14' tandem utility with 3500lb axles. It will carry 2,000 lb load daily. Should I be worried about the rust? It isn't flaking.... Thanks, Soupy
usually the weight ratings are stamped into the steel on the flat next to the ball... I'd take a wire brush to it and see if there might be remnants of a stamping there... clean it all up, check for cracks, make sure all the bolts to the frame are good, spray it with rust inhibiting primer and some black paint and call it good. with that trailer you're looking at pulling about 3100+/- lbs. loaded so there's not too much stress on it. New hitches aren't too expensive for that truck, so replacing it for peace of mind might be worth it.
Possibly "Original Stock Equipment" with a group package of 9? Might look on your door tag/glovebox/build sheet. I'd bet either way it came with it from the factory... the aftermarket hitch companies like to put their names on every square inch of tubing to advertise their crap to the guy behind you.
Unfortunately it did not come with a Manuel but I did order one online and should be here soon. Also... I had this truck painted White (work truck) right after I bought it and the body shop left the tape over the label on the door. When I went to pull it off it peeled most of the ink with it. I can make out bits and pieces, but not all. So you can see that I don't have a lot of info to go on at the moment. I can read that it has a GVWR 7200 lb, GAFR 3600 lb, and GARR 4800 lb. I was unsure if this truck being the smaller 2500 from that year would had come with a stock hitch. I guess I will call the local dealer and see if I can get some info and maybe a new door tag. Thanks for your help!!!
I'd bet you'll be okay with it. There's jeep guys pulling those trailers around here left right and sideways. I don't get behind them, but they do it. I used to pull one quite often behind my burb and it seemed harder on it than my loaded carhauler does now. I'd worry more about making sure your brakes are up to snuff than if the hitch will pull it or not.
I was going to swap the hitch for piece of mind but I noticed that the first set of bolts thread into the frame. I'm worried that I might break them off inside the frame and be screwed. I tried to loosen them with a good size breaker bar without over doing it and they didn't budge.
Yeah, heat works, just keep it on the bolt head. Then cool it fast with PB blaster. But don't get it too hot, no more than a dull red bolt and nothing on the frame. Be careful since that will make the bolt brittle if you've exceeded the metal's critical temp. If that does not work, leave it setting with the PB for a few days and try again. If it does break off, you’re still not lost. Just center punch and drill out. If it is too hard to drill, then heat the bolt fragment and drill with a HSS or Cobalt bit. You can then use a nut on the back side, or tap it the back side is not accessible. Another thing I’ve used after twisting off a bolt is to set a nut over the bolt fragment and weld it on through the hole. This works great if there is any bolt above the surface. I’ve even made a series of hot “spot” welds stacked up to form a nub to grab with vise grips. The extreme heat of welding pretty much always breaks loose the threads and it comes out easily.
