Hitch - cracked

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shanerrs

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Glad I found this before I towed something again. - See picture and crack on the end of it... on both sides.

IMG_1944.jpg
 

Quijote

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That is an odd failure mode. Hard to imagine that area being particularly stressed. Was this new when you bought it?
 

ktm525

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Have you been leaving it in? It seems like a high leverage rack could exert that like a double motorcycle carrier or the like. OR perhaps it was grounded while it was on against a rock.?
 

PaulLR3

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I'm thinking grounded when pulling out of a steep driveway. The weight of the LR4 hitting it into the ground may have cracked it.
 

Quijote

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Good call. I hardly ever tow, so that loading mode didn't occur to me, but that is about the only scenario that would explain it.
 

toddjb122

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Wow, that's an odd failure. Be curious to get some more info from @shanerrs on how it could have been hit/stressed.

That's the rear of the receiver with the crack, correct? Maybe he was towing something heavy that got very unblanced and exerted a LOT of upwards pressure on the front of the hitch, causing and extreme pivot to the back of the hitch. Like backing a trailer up an extreme angle or something. Still shouldn't fail, but informative to know it is possible and what setup caused it (lotta play in the trailer, excessive length on front or back of the receiver, ...? just wild guesses)
 
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Quijote

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Wow, that's an odd failure. Be curious to get some more info from @shanerrs on how it could have been hit/stressed.

That's the rear of the receiver with the crack, correct? Maybe he was towing something heavy that got very unblanced and exerted a LOT of upwards pressure on the front of the hitch, causing and extreme pivot to the back of the pitch. Like backing a trailer up an extreme angle or something. Still shouldn't fail, but informative to know it is possible and what setup caused it (lotta play in the trailer, excessive length on front or back of the receiver, ...? just wild guesses)

Exactly. As a mechanical engineer who designed lots of stressed machinery components I find investigating mechanical failures pretty fascinating.
 

cperez

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That is an odd failure mode. Hard to imagine that area being particularly stressed. Was this new when you bought it?

TBH that spot looks like a very logical failure point based on tongue weight issues, flexing, maybe the drawbar bottomed out with a trailer attached, etc. But I will agree that it doesn't look like the first place I'd expect a failure on this strange OEM piece. I'm sticking with my Rhino hitch.
 

johnnwalters

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shanerrs, if you're looking for a replacement let me know. I've got one very cheap!
 

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