73 c10 hitch on a 68 c10

[dmsteele92831]

Ok, so I read somewhere on one of the postings that you can use a 73 and up hitch on a 67-72 truck (I have a long bed). I can't remember which posting it was from but a guy said you would have to drill holes and make spacers (or buy them at Home Depot to compensate for a 1/2" lower. There was a guy off Craigs list that had a hitch off a 73 so I drove my truck over and made sure I everything would line up. I figured I could make it work with drilling holes and making/buying spacers. I sanded it down and painted it just for good measure then used the existing holes on the hitch and drilled new ones into my frame. Now my question is... since I have spacers in there should I be fine with just two bolts per side? I tightened them down quite a bit and used threadlocker as well just to be safe but I want to make sure there's not a chance of a bolt shearing off. I used 1/2"X2" bolts from Home Depot (not sure what grade they are, but they're used for construction so they should be strong). Attached are pics. Let me know what you think and let me know if I should drill holes in the middle of the bolts that are in place now and add another bolt/spacers to each side. I will be pulling a 19' trailer max.

[dmsteele92831]

and a pic from behind

[dmsteele92831]

TTT

Well, whatcha think... am I safe?

[Olden Days]

You need at the minumum another bolt at the rear most postion on each side as that is where the greatest leverage against that hitch will be. An you want minimum grade 5 bolts, dont guess what they are, make sure. Home depot sells a lot of grade 2
I cant tell cause the bolts are shiny in the pics but do you see at least 3 raised line marks on the head? that would be grade 5. grade 8 has 6,

[OldCreek]

The hitch I have on my '72 burb rest on top of the frame and that offers quite a bit of support. Also, I have three 9/16" bolts on each side. They are spaced fairly close together. I can't see them going anywhere! Also, there is a metal 1/8" plate that runs along the frame rail.... not so much to be a spacer but to distribute the stress from the bolts along the frame.
i.e. I wonder if placing a plate between those upper washers and the frame rail would help keep the frame from bending/ripping at that spot.

I wonder if having 4 bolts is strong enough to carry a heavy tongue weight? It seems this is how most of the hitches out there are mounted and I haven't heard of them ripping out of the frame..... maybe others can chime in.

[OLDIRON69]

You need to use grade 8 fasteners no matter what. They are normally a green color. Use lock washers and an impact to tighten them down. Don't carry anymore than what the hitch is rated for. The flat plate sounds like a good idea. Please use grade 8 though!

[dmsteele92831]

There are three raised line marks on the head.

I'll see if there is room in the frame to mount another bolt near the back of the hitch. I'm not sure there is (if you look at the last pic in the first post you can see the frame notches in).

Otherwise I may need to make a bracket that connects to the top of the frame and then extends out to bolt to the hitch.

[dmsteele92831]

Where do I get grade 8 bolts at?

[Olden Days]

Originally Posted by OLDIRON69

You need to use grade 8 fasteners no matter what. They are normally a green color. Use lock washers and an impact to tighten them down. Don't carry anymore than what the hitch is rated for. The flat plate sounds like a good idea. Please use grade 8 though!

Grade 8 dont hurt, you can use them if you want but grade 5 is all they use from the factory on hitches and in fact recomended because they can stretch before breaking where as grade 8 will not stretch but will break, although at a much higher breaking point. people argue this back and forth and just say use what you makes you happy. Either one for this application will suffice.

[dmsteele92831]

Alright, I think I figured out what to do, I will get a 1 1/2"-2" wide steel bar at Home Depot and cut it to fit near the top rear of the frame. Then I'll drill another hole through the hitch and the frame and bolt down the back to bolts to the steel bar.

See the top right pic, and you'll know what I mean.

Sound like a good idea?

[Olden Days]

I must not be seeing something that is obvious, but why cant you drill and bolt right where I circled?

[dmsteele92831]

The frame doesn't line up with that hole, it's just open air. That's why I figure I can drill to the right of the red box where the frame is. If you look right at the edge of the red box you can make out that the frame stops there. Besides if I could put a bolt in that hole then THAT would make things too easy!!!

[Olden Days]

sometime I can miss the obvious even if it is stated . Now I think I am starting to get the pic. If you have already bolted it to the furthest rear point you can on your frame , then I would make a trip to a weldor to add some frame on there.

[dmsteele92831]

I think I can drill just to the right of the red box though and the connect those last two bolts with a bracket on top of the frame. I'll post pics when I'm done. Thanks for the help and the input!!