What's with "hitch pins" for sale that say "not rated for towing"?

[CNC Dan]

I think they mean not for highway use. IE: not D.O.T. rated.

 

[aeblank]

Re: What's with "hitch pins" for sale that say "not rated for towing"?

Entertaining all the technicalities in engineering.
For me, it was saltwater testing. Certifiably pure salt? Hmmm.
Table salt has iodine. Does it matter? NO. Can you certify it? Nope.
Like the $10 gauge that you pay $80 for with the certification.

 

[Coyote machine]

Re: What's with "hitch pins" for sale that say "not rated for towing"?

Amazon.com : Curt Manufacturing 21578 5/8 In Hitch Pin and Clip Black Zinc Bulk Color: Black Model: 21578 Car/Vehicle Accessories/Parts : Car Electronics

The above says: 'dot certified' when searched for on Google. I can't get it to show the way it's listed when I searched for it, so I suggest Googling:dot rated hitch pins. It showed up at the bottom of the first page and states:

Amazon.com : Curt Manufacturing 21578 5/8 In Hitch Pin ...
www.amazon.com › ... › Hitch Clips & Pins
Amazon.com, Inc.
Pin and clip in black zinc finish; Secures the ball mount to the hitch; Durable and rust resistant; Suitable for all-weather; DOT certified safety rating. › See more ...

 

[Industrial Toys]

Re: What's with "hitch pins" for sale that say "not rated for towing"?

There is probably just too much criteria. How wide is the clevis? How thick is the tongue? How big are the clevis holes or the tongue hole? All this would greatly effect breaking test results.

 

[Colonel Monk]

Re: What's with "hitch pins" for sale that say "not rated for towing"?

All good points, y'all are right on this one with me.....

So, I found a brand named draw-tite hitch pin that looks just like the one I'm using from farm and fleet, but look at the price! https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Accessories/Draw-Tite/58388.html

That's the kind of expense I can't justify, even if it doesn't have the disclaimer.

Tongue wall thickness is 1/4 and receiver is 3/8" thick wall. Totally hear what you're saying, but this application doesn't require extensive analysis to determine it's not going to shear under normal use. But, specing a pin that says "not rated for towing" and then let's say it gets rear ended and shears and there's some complication with that, then the lawyers see what you did and bingo, you lose - whether it had anything to do with the issue or not.

That pin I gave the link for is for a 3" x 3" hitch. Those hitches are rated in the 25,000 lb range, but here we are just towing 8000. So I know we have a much larger pin than we need, it's supposed to be rugged. Comes down to the legal thing.

That first pin, though it doesn't have much of a pedigree as far as material goes, has the right price and doesn't say "not for towing". Also comes from a trailer shop, so what else do they think you would do with it? Would prefer yellow zinc chromate for corrosion resistance but till I find one without a disclaimer, this ought to work.

Funny I didn't find that, I reference etrailer all the time for lights and jacks and stuff. We even buy a few odds N sods there.

Thanks to all.

CM

PS Someone mentioned about the farm/fleet being for farm work - well I'm telling ya, there's no way we're stressing these pins anywhere near the hurt a tractor pulling any implement would put on it. Just silly legalese.

 

[farm boy00]

All good points, y'all are right on this one with me.....

So, I found a brand named draw-tite hitch pin that looks just like the one I'm using from farm and fleet, but look at the price! https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Accessories/Draw-Tite/58388.html

That's the kind of expense I can't justify, even if it doesn't have the disclaimer.

Tongue wall thickness is 1/4 and receiver is 3/8" thick wall. Totally hear what you're saying, but this application doesn't require extensive analysis to determine it's not going to shear under normal use. But, specing a pin that says "not rated for towing" and then let's say it gets rear ended and shears and there's some complication with that, then the lawyers see what you did and bingo, you lose - whether it had anything to do with the issue or not.

That pin I gave the link for is for a 3" x 3" hitch. Those hitches are rated in the 25,000 lb range, but here we are just towing 8000. So I know we have a much larger pin than we need, it's supposed to be rugged. Comes down to the legal thing.

That first pin, though it doesn't have much of a pedigree as far as material goes, has the right price and doesn't say "not for towing". Also comes from a trailer shop, so what else do they think you would do with it? Would prefer yellow zinc chromate for corrosion resistance but till I find one without a disclaimer, this ought to work.

Funny I didn't find that, I reference etrailer all the time for lights and jacks and stuff. We even buy a few odds N sods there.

Thanks to all.

CM

PS Someone mentioned about the farm/fleet being for farm work - well I'm telling ya, there's no way we're stressing these pins anywhere near the hurt a tractor pulling any implement would put on it. Just silly legalese.

Yes. It may not get as much heavy s strain on it as a tractor but a truck also goes much faster. Going 5-10 mph towing a trailer and hitting a pothole is different then 50+mph

May i ask you. How much are you making off of these trailers?? You can't afford a pin that is rated for your tow?? If it were me i wouldn't care if i make $100 or $10,000. I would want my customers too be safe not be responsible for injury or death because a pin wasn't rated

 

[Industrial Toys]

Re: What's with "hitch pins" for sale that say "not rated for towing"?

Or you get rear ended and the pin doesn't break. Occupents get "BAD" case of whiplash and Lawyer suggests a weaker pin might have absorbed more of the impact!

 

[KennyG]

Re: What's with "hitch pins" for sale that say "not rated for towing"?

I think they mean not for highway use. IE: not D.O.T. rated.

I would guess this is correct. If I understand the original post, this application would be more appropriate for a pintle hitch.

 

[Colonel Monk]

Re: What's with "hitch pins" for sale that say "not rated for towing"?

Yes. It may not get as much heavy s strain on it as a tractor but a truck also goes much faster. Going 5-10 mph towing a trailer and hitting a pothole is different then 50+mph

May i ask you. How much are you making off of these trailers?? You can't afford a pin that is rated for your tow?? If it were me i wouldn't care if i make $100 or $10,000. I would want my customers too be safe not be responsible for injury or death because a pin wasn't rated

That is a good point, the speed issue..... But it's only in a crash that it would matter. These things are almost always parked, not on the road.

I think you missed the point sir. I'm not trying to "cheap out" at the expense of safety. I think you also missed the point, that where they are saying "not rated for towing" it isn't because it's an inferior pin, they are just covering their butt, and putting the onus on the buyer if there's a failure. There's a big difference there. In the case of McMaster Carr (the ultimate hardware store) they don't make anything, they only sell it. So they are purposely off-putting the liability. Others do this as well.

The pin that I linked to and complained of the price - yeah, rated for towing 25,000 lbs! We don't need that, I could have a case hardened pin made for less.

I started research today on zinc plated pin, made by a company called redline. I'll find out what the material is and make sure it's vetted before we use it. And it's around $10 bucks.

Here's another reason that I'm not worried about the strength of the pin - these are being pulled most times by a pickup truck with a class 4 trailer hitch, 2" receiver, and a 5/8" pin. These pins are not hardened, cost about $4 and you all trust they won't shear off, and rated to 10,000 load. So we are actually already overdoing it with the pin size, just like everything else on our trailers. They are best in the business.

I hope that I made the point that I'm looking for the right pin, for the right price. Just because the trailers are expensive doesn't mean you can spend the maximum amount on each part and still make money. Truth is, we don't make enough money, so we have to look for ways to reduce cost to stay in business. Blame the tax man for that.

thanks for the replies.

CM

 

[Coyote machine]

Re: What's with "hitch pins" for sale that say "not rated for towing"?

OP, did you read post #13? There is a dot rated pin.

The original CM.