What does everyone think about how much slop is to much with regard to the fit of the reciever into your factory trailer hitch? Just got a new F-150 and forgot about my reciever under the seat when i traded my old truck in. Went today and bought a new Reese reciever and there just seems to be a lot more slop (side to side and up and down) than the one i had on my previous truck. Previous reciever was a shelton.

 

I know EXACTLY what you mean. This becomes especially detrimental when using a weight-distribution hitch, as the upward pitch reduces its weight-distributing capability...

Anyway, my factory hitch was the same way, too much slop. So the dealer replaced it under warranty with a new one. Same thing. So then I took my drawbar and tried it on several new F150's on the dealers lot. They were all the same, with lots of slop/play.

So I went through the hassel of replacing it with a Draw-Tite hitch. Unfortunately, this included buying the Ford non-tow pkg bumper support, plus the new hitch... So $500 later, there's very little play, and the W/D setup is much more effective.

 

I have alot of slop in mine, and as a cheap fix I just used a shim and wedge it in on the top of the tow bar. IT has worked great for me, but I'm not pulling a huge load.

 

Man that is not what I was hoping to hear. I was just thinking about taking the reciever back and maybe tring a different brand. So do all of the newer 150 hitches have this slop? My 2002 with the factory hitch was very snug, what changed?

 

Well the whole design of the hitch changed. It is no longer "just" a hitch. It is incorporated into the rear bumper support. Thus the reason that I also had to buy a non-tow pkg bumper support when I went with an aftermarket hitch... My guess is that the newer hithces are made by a different supplier, who has different tolerances.

 

Just wrap somthing around the square tubing before you slide in the receiver. A rubber or silicone sleeve might work wonders and quiet down any rattling there is.

 

It really depends on what he's towing. In my case, I tried to shim it with some grade 8 washers on top of the drawbar. But because I was using a W/D hitch, the upward force of the W/D system actually imbedded the washers into the top side of the receiver square. The result was a deformed receiver.

But what you're saying may work fine for very light-duty towing, or just to quiet it down when not towing (although I always remove the drawbar when not in use).

 

I always remove it when not in use. The washer idea is good, I am thinking about maybe welding a few to the top of the drawbar. The biggest thing i tow is a boat, 4,000 pounds loaded with fuel and gear. I just stopped at my dads on the way home from work and compared it to the drawbar and hitch on his 2003 superduty they feel the same in regard to slop and he regularly puts a 6,500 pound trailer on that truck. Even if I dont weld some washers onto it I think it may be alright.

 

You should be ok either way.... I just like to take out all slop possible.

I bought the synthetic "wood" shim in the top and pound it in as far as it goes, then snap it off. Then run some tape around just to hold the shim from sliding out. Has worked GREAT for me so far.

I use these...

 

Well I was thinking of solutions for those that don't weld/have access to welders. I'm sure it would be fairly easy to find some thin metal stock that would eliminate the slop in the hitch, and it could be welder to the hitch or the receiver for permanent use.

 

other than noise, why bother? look at pintle hitches. they have lots of slop...if it can even be called slop...and usually are in excess of 10k lbs.

my hitch has maybe 1/8 of slop up/down and almost none side/side. I don't understand how that can even affect a wd hitch. especially as your trailer should have some slop on the ball so the trailer can turn

 

I just dont like the extra jolts from the hitch moving around in the receiver, personal preference really.

 

ah, kind of like that annoying clunk when inertia brakes activate...now that drives me up the wall

 

I know from dealing with people that leave their draw bars in their recievers all the time that i am glad there is some slop. Ever try and pull a draw bar that has started to rust along with the receiver inside the opening. Man if it weren't for that wigglling back & forth you might never get that thing out.

 

I have a Draw-Tite front receiver on my truck that came set up for the Draw-Tite J-pin, which takes the slop out of the hitch. The J-pin needs an extra hole in the side of the reciever to work, so I just got out the electric drill, popped that extra hole in the side of the factory reciever on the rear, and now I use J-pins front and back. They tighten with a wrench, and they have a built-in key lock. The end of the J reaches thru the hole and presses the drawbar tight against the side of the receiver when you tighten the nut. It's pretty simple and works quite well.