Weekend trip cancelled. Rusted hitch. How to fix?

[Bryan L.]

We were all excited to go camping for the weekend but when I went to hook up, I looked down and said, "Uhoh." My second-grade son said, "That looks dangerous!" When a kid says that, it's time to stay home!

Where the hitch is welded to the frame member is totally rusted through. I can flex it with my hand and figure after I hit about three really big bumps, I would have had a trailer hanging on to the van by its chains. I'm just glad we noticed it when we did. So, how do I fix this? Just get another hitch and weld it on like the old one or is there a better solution? Thanks.

Bad phone pic. I can see daylight through some of the weld.

[Hambone]

I would get a new coupler, reweld on....old coupler could be comprimise where it has pulled away from frame

[Ron in BC]

The first step, whether you buy a new coupler or not, is to take a grinder with a cutting disc and separate the coupler from the frame. When the coupler is off the frame you'll be able to see if the coupler has been compromised too much to weld back on.

It really depends if that's a fatigue crack, separate from the weld or the weld it's self lacked sufficient penetration into the coupler.

Ron

[Eddie Longest]

Bryan
Good catch. How is the weld on the inside of the frame rail? Should be OK, but its not holding anything but the two frame rails together.
I have to replace a hitch on an older fifth wheel because of no lock so I have been studying the Scamp top welded hitch. Looks like they are using a 7K 2" angle frame hitch.
On your hitch I would cut the old one off and install a new hitch. The new hitch needs three cross supports added to prevent flexing of the unsupported sidewalls of the hitch. The supports should be the same thickness metal of the hitch and as tall as the sides. One across the back, middle and one under the front weld. The lack of support allows the hitch walls to flex and workharden the metal at the weld. Make sure the chains are attached to the frame and not the hitch.
The fifth wheel has some of the same support issues as yours. On the fifth wheel they use the same hitch but they cut the rear angle, bend the sides in and reweled the sides. I plan to weld cross supports on my 5th wheel to add strength to the hitch.
I am not a fan of top welding these hitches.
Eddie
Added info.
On the newer 5th wheel hitches Scamp used plate metal to replace the cut off sides. I still think the sides of these hitches need to be tied together to add strength.

[Bryan L.]

Thanks for the responses. The rust-through is actually in the coupler plate and right at the edge of the bead. I can feel an edge on the underside of the coupler plate where it has weakened and rusted through almost all the way around. It was really held on by the last couple of inches of good metal toward the rear on each side. I'll hunt around for a new hitch and see about welding it on with some more support. Thank you for that suggestion. I only have a 120V Mig so I may have to hire this one out as that's some pretty thick metal. It's not the same as the old VW metal that I'm used to welding!

[rgrugg]

Is your avatar picture your tow vehicle?

[Bryan L.]

Ok, I finally cut this off today. After I cut a few inches off the back of each side, the coupler just fell to the floor. I am left with a sheet of metal on the bottom where the two frame rails come together that is welded on the inside of each rail and seems pretty stuck on there. Can I just weld a new plate to the bottom of this plate? Getting inside and grinding away the inner welds from underneath does not look fun at all. I would think that this is almost a stronger solution than what was there before as the weight of the frame would distributed on to that plate and then more evenly distributed to the coupler that I will weld on to the bottom. Thoughts, opinions? Thanks.

Rgrugg, that is not my tow vehicle! Just a fun hobby of mine!

[Francesca Knowles]

It's a bit close up for me to tell for sure, but: in the pic you posted first, it looks as if the coupler is welded to the bottom of the tongue- is that right?

Some pics of what you're left with now that you've started cutting would be a great help...

Francesca

[Bryan L.]

Pictures? Of course!


This is the old one that I cut off.



The plate underneath that I am thinking about just leaving there.


I don't even know if I could get my welder in there for this part of it if I put in a new plate after removing this one.

[Donna D.]

Bryan, my 1988 Scamp has the coupler (from the manufactuer) in the exact same position. Hitch heigh is right at 21" right now, if it was on the end or above the frame... it would add hitch height. Not something I'd want... from the pictures those welds look good. Are they?

[Bryan L.]

The welds for the piece that is left are great. I'm just wondering if I can just leave that there and weld the new plate right to the bottom of the piece that is still there from the old one. It would only add 1/8 - 1/4 inch to the hitch height at the most. I'm no engineer but I would think that me grinding and cutting away that piece might do more harm than good.

[Francesca Knowles]

Well, I got nothin'- I didn't even know there was such a thing as a coupler attached to the bottom of a tongue. The several trailers I've owned have had the type that goes over the top...

I'll be most interested to watch how you solve the problem, Bryan!

Francesca

[Gene Masse]

A good welding/machine shop should be able to rebuild that for you. I'd take it to a professional.

[Bryan L.]

I'm having trouble just finding a coupler that is as small as the one that was on it. All the ones I find are about a foot wide at the rear and I need one that is about six inches wide at the rear. Francesca, I'll be interested in how this turns out too!

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

I didn't even know there was such a thing as a coupler attached to the bottom of a tongue.

I agree with Francesca. That beveled end of your tongue sloping down looks unique! Usually the tongue's frame rails just come straight together and the coupler is welded to the top and to the sides increasing strength. By welding yours to the bottom, the hitch height was changed at the expense of the strength that would have been in the vertical welds on the coupler.

[Donna D.]

Frederick, not on my 1988 Scamp! As I mentioned in a previous post, it came from the factory that way.

[Carol H]

Bryan mines the same - I am assuming yours had the 1 7/8" coupler on it? If so give Scamp a call as they have changed them to 2" couplers and have upgraded a number of peoples older trailers as well for them. They should be able to tell you how to go about doing it and what to use to do it.

I too would like to see how you get it done! As its on my list of things to do one day in the not to distant future.

[Donna D.]

There's a big group (994 members) very active on Facebook: The Boler and a similar group on Facebook, I own a Boler Bolerama is just about dead because of Facebook...

[msinger919]

Originally Posted by Bryan L.

Ok, I finally cut this off today. After I cut a few inches off the back of each side, the coupler just fell to the floor. I am left with a sheet of metal on the bottom where the two frame rails come together that is welded on the inside of each rail and seems pretty stuck on there. Can I just weld a new plate to the bottom of this plate? Getting inside and grinding away the inner welds from underneath does not look fun at all. I would think that this is almost a stronger solution than what was there before as the weight of the frame would distributed on to that plate and then more evenly distributed to the coupler that I will weld on to the bottom. Thoughts, opinions? Thanks.

Rgrugg, that is not my tow vehicle! Just a fun hobby of mine!

Sorry to go off topic, but is that a Puch Maxi in your avatar pic? I'm a bit of a moped enthusiast, a horder if you ask my wife! Do you take it camping?

-Mike

[mary and bob]

I think I would start with a piece of 1/4" wall square tubing, either 2", or 2 1/2", with a coupler to fit, and adapt that to the tongue, reinforced with plate, or gussets. The square tube could be cut into the end of the tongue and extended back as far as possible and reinforced as necessary. One of those things I would have to see to make a plan. One time I replaced a similar coupler with one that was wider and had to machine a couple steel wedges to make it fit.