Solution for Draw-tite Front Mount Hitch Not Fitting With Slight Gap

Updated 03/25/2019 | Published 03/22/2019

Question:

Guysand Gals, in process of assembling the front hitch receiver I just received from you, something seems to be off Ive included a bunch of pics below, the gap between the tire cradle and the receiver bar is on the order of 1/4. Nominally I would just crank down on the bolts and deflect/bend the mating surfaces, but there are welded cross angles on the cradle about 9 or so inches away from the ends of the cradle such that there is a lot of stiffness that would induce a lot of load into the joint - this just doesnt seem correct. Only other option which is not what the instructions show or describe might be to put the washers in-between the cradle and receiver bar that would eliminate close to 3/16inch of the 1/4inch gap, but dont think that was their intent - appreciate any light you could shed on this issue

asked by: Oren

Expert Reply:

Sometimes hitches can get slightly bent during shipping and this can be fixed by bending the hitch back into place as long as the hitch only has a slight bend to it. If yours isn't lining up I can almost guarantee that is what happened. Some people will use open steps for leverage, vices and even car jacks to apply controlled force to bend the hitch back. In your case you could start all of the bolts and then torque them all down to allow the hitch to bend back into place.

You will want to look for flaking paint and physical stress marks on the hitch before and after you attempt to bend the hitch back. If you see any of those signs on the hitch you should not use the hitch on your vehicle as it has been fatigued to the point of not being safe to use.

I attached a help article on this for you to check out as well.

expert reply by: Jameson C