I got rear ended in my truck a couple weeks ago and had some pretty costly damage. The body was all straight, no panel damage, but the grill & fog lights, front and rear bumpers and the front tow hooks and hitch were replaced, some front and rear frame straightening and a multitude of other small stuff.

My question is about the hitch. It's not the factory hitch, but some bolted together after-market one. Are the bolt together hitches sub-standard to the OEM one?

Is there anything else I should be looking at? I don't want to end up with any problems with the equipment that has been replaced/repaired.

Thanks for any information and/or advice.

 

How many bolts has it got?

 

Chris..

You didn't say? Are repairs covered by ins? If so, seems to me the damaged "welded" frame mounted hitch/receiver should have been replaced with OEM hitch. JMO!

I would not have settled for anything less, unless for a very good reason. Then, given that reason why/why not, go from there.

Good luck...OT

btw...I dont know about bolt together hitches, never had one.

 

Raoul:

It looks to be a 3 piece hitch and there's 4 bolts on each side. (not counting the 8 bolts attaching the first two pieces to the frame rails)
It's a Putnam Hitch, and this is what is on the sticker:
Class 4
Wt. Dist. 12000
Tongue Wt. 1200
Wt. Carrying 8000
Tng Wt. 800

Old Timer:

Yeah it's covered by the insurance, but the body shop says that if there is an aftermarket alternative, they are required to use that one by the insurance company. If this hitch is sub-standard I'm going to fight it, I just don't know much about hitches and trucks as this is my first one.

 

Chris I'm going to give it to you straight.
The hitch they put on your truck is superior to what was there before.

It's a Class IV, higher numbers all around, (higher numbers than your truck can handle)
You now have a lifetime warranty on the hitch (didn't have that before)
Putnam has been around 40 years.

Since you got rear ended I guess you have the right to complain about this hitch subsitution and demand OEM but, if you win I think you will have shot yourself in the foot.

http://www.putnamhitch.com/Default.htm

 

On further examination, the only thing that concerns me is their site says "No 17 inch Spare" for that hitch.

You don't have 17" wheels, do you?

 

Thanks for all the info Raoul! My biggest concern was that it was not as good as the OEM one. If it's better than that's a bonus.

I do have 17" rims though, I'll have to look at the spare when I get a chance today. Thanks for taking the time to look that up for me.

 

Spare seems to fit just fine.

 

I hope you actually cranked it down and back up!

 

No, that would entail more work than my lazy butt would like to do. Definitely looks like there's plenty of room though. I have almost a 1/2" between the frame rails and the spare and the hitch is like an L shape where it bolts to the frame with the angle on the outside edges of the frame rails. Definitely the 17" spare in there and it is tight. I'm guessing it's all good. Thanks again for the help Raoul.

 

I have to comment on what the body shop told you there..... My wife has been an insurance agent for 10 years and goes on ad nauseum about stuff like this.

basically, the insurance company is required to pay to "restore your vehicle to 'pre-loss' condition". The insurance companies don't seem to want you to know that both the body shop and the insurance company itself work for you. You have the right to use the body shop of YOUR choice - regardless of what the company "recommends". You have the right to insist that the body shop use only OEM parts for your repair - even though the insurance company will tell you that aftermarket parts are just as good.


I understand that insurance companies are in business to make money, and the way that they do that is by controlling costs, and I have no problem with that. However, it is our responsibility as customers to 'keep them honest'.

It could very well be that the body shop that the insurance company contracts with does excellent work, and those aftermarket parts could very well be as good as what the manufacturer uses - just remember that it is up to us to make that decision, not the insurance company.

Good luck,

Allen

03FX4

 

Thanks, Allen (03FX4). That's exactly why I was asking the questions about the hitch. From what it sounds like the hitch they gave me is better than the OEM hitch I had, so I don't think I'll complain too much.

The only concern I have is that a guy at work has been saying that the bolt together hitches are not as strong as the welded ones no matter what they are rated for. He was pushing me to take it back to get the OEM one. So far it looks as if Raoul thinks the new one is better than the OEM, so unless I get a contrary opinion I might let this slide.

 

I agree that it looks like the hitch you got is better than the OEM Ford unit so you lucked out there.

But since you asked if there is anything else that you should be looking at, I'd check to make sure you got OEM bumpers. I've seen some aftermarket ones that rust in 2-3 years, especially in salty winter areas like NH and IL. Some of the less expensive ones would not have the durability and weathering testing behind them that Ford does.

I know this is all late in the game to fix things, but like 03FX4 said it's your vehicle and you are entitled to factory OEM parts.

Did you ask about getting your wiring plug bracket fixed yet?

 

I know the ratings for your bolt together hitch are higher then the OEM one, but is it the "hidden hitch" type? Meaning, do you see the entire hitch bar under the bumber or is it like the OEM one and just the receiver part is below the bumber??

I've heard that bolts, even grade 8 ones do not have the same shear strength as they do tension strength...... Again, it's rated higher then the stock one, so who knows......

I've seen "aftermarket" hitches for our F150's that are welded and are exactly like the OEM ones, but have the higher ratings that yours has for only around $125.00.... I've been thinking of replacing my OEM one for one of these, but I don't really come close to the my OEM Class 4 ratings anyway, so I've not worried about it too much.

I'm sure your's will be fine for the towing that you would ever encounter. If you do tow more then you'll probably exceeding the trucks ratings anyway and that's a whole different post!

 

Yeah, they're supposed to fix that when I take it back in for a latch that was backordered for my fiberglass bed cover. They have been very cooperative and seem to be conciencious about making sure the truck is right.

Thanks for the tip about the bumpers I'll take a look at that when I get a chance. They told me that all the work they did is guaranteed for as long as I own the truck, I just hope that stands for the parts they used as well as the work.

Thanks again for all the input guys, if you think of anything else I should look at let me know.