Receiver stuck in hitch- I need the 'beeb'!

Another good reason as to why you never leave them in will present itself the first time you nail it with your shin at full stride....

 

Not full stride but I've hit it hard enough to become more aware of it.

 

Yeah, I had only left mine in for around 3-4 months and it was seized tight. Tried just about everything mentioned here. After finally getting it out I took the insert on the wire wheel & cleaned it up, and took a long file and scraped a lot of rust/scale out of the receiver. It fit real nice and loose after that. Shot it up good with some WD40, probably not a bad idea to keep some kind of rust inhibitor in there. Anti-seize or oil would be a mess, not sure what else would work.

 

Some automatic carwashes want them removed. They claim the cleaning ropes can snag them and get yanked out.

 

Yeah, but I'll bet you don't do it twice!

 

Almost every time in the pits I'll forget at least once.

 

Not twice. Probably about 15 lol.

 

Well then you deserve it!

 

in FL we get worse salt water corrosion than any yankee snow tundra...lol
Amazes how clueless boat ownrs are about trailer maintenance til they lock up brakes, blow a tire, or cant disconnect their tow vehicle...lol

 

After all this shit don't work, cut the end of the drawbar off, then slice the drawbar tube down through to the end of it. 10 minute job for a guy with a decent torch that knows how to use it. We do them every year. The biggest pain in the ass is dropping the spare if its in the way of getting lit on fire.

 

Remove the hitch, put it in a hydraulic press, and press out the drawbar from the backside. The receiver should be open-ended.

As others have stated, don’t leave the drawbar in the receiver.

 

They are often close backed. I did mine in a hydraulic press and I had to get creative.

 

Take the hitch off a 18 year old vehicle from WI? If you're going that route you may as well buy a new one.

 

I have a no fail system but it requires 4 steps....

1) Hang something of value on it and drive down to the store (best to hang something you borrowed from a friend and was promised to be return unscathed).
2)Buy beer.
3)Drive home.
4)Open beer and walk around to the back of the truck to inspect missing hitch.

 

It may actually be the only thing holding the frame rails together....

 

BTDT with a '99 Dakota. Tried to remove it before selling the truck. Nope. It's chemically welded together now

 

I made this mistake once. Can you just get a new hitch?

 

I've got a smoking deal on a diesel dually!

 

What made you decide after 18 years that you want it out?