What do you do with old hitchgear?

[Rocketsled]

I have a Grade 5+ Hitch receiver (rated at 2700 lbs)…due to a keystone cops series of events, I pulled it off the 3/4 ton to move to the 1-ton, only to find the undercarriage is entirely different…it’s now sitting at the side of the house.

There’s no interest from Craigslist, and I’m realizing the market for an upgraded receiver ain’t that big.

The last receiver (that was undersized), sat at the side of the house until I took it to the dump. Nobody was interested in a GM stock receiver.

I also have a huge set of mudflaps that worked GREAT, they bolt to the hitch and come off with it when you’re not towing. They don’t fit the new setup.

The next trailer I get, I’m STRONGLY considering a gooseneck so that it doesn’t have a heavy, awkward, 5th wheel receiver in the bed of the truck….meaning I’ll probably ALSO have whatever comes off the pinbox of the trailer we buy.

WTH do I do with all these heavy lumps of steel?!

[chuckster57]

Metal recycler in your area?

[Rocketsled]

They’d certainly be a lot of scrap weight. I was hoping for some thing a little less defeatist. They only have 2-3 years of use on them. (Tbf, I have other scrap I could take at the same time.)

[bsmith0404]

Considering most 3/4 and 1 ton trucks come with class V receivers these days, I don’t think you’ll find much call for someone wanting to upgrade that. The receiver could be used/modified to work on something that doesn’t have a receiver.

As for the 5th wheel pin box, that’s something you’ll want to keep. If you decide to sell the trailer, not every potential buyer will have/want a gooseneck connection. When I was in sales, there were a few trailers that lost potential buyers because of them needing a gooseneck set up.

[Rocketsled]

Originally Posted by bsmith0404

Considering most 3/4 and 1 ton trucks come with class V receivers these days, I don’t think you’ll find much call for someone wanting to upgrade that. The receiver could be used/modified to work on something that doesn’t have a receiver.

As for the 5th wheel pin box, that’s something you’ll want to keep. If you decide to sell the trailer, not every potential buyer will have/want a gooseneck connection. When I was in sales, there were a few trailers that lost potential buyers because of them needing a gooseneck set up.

Good point. sigh. you’d think storing it outside round the side of the house would be fine, but I’d end up tucking it in the back of the garage, most likely.

In the near term, I’ve got a 1-ton with NO 5th wheel anything, and when I pick of the trailer, I’d love to borrow someone’s receiver(?) to at least get the trailer home….I just know I’ll end up negotiating the package deal and using a conventional setup, rather than the one I want. (There was one for sale we missed, and it looked like the whole tamale was included in the deal.)

[sourdough]

What is the proposed scenario? You have a bumper pull toy hauler, upgraded truck to 1 ton, removed the Class 5 off the 3/4 you had and now have nothing in the 1 ton? Didn't it come with a Class 5 hitch for the bumper pull? If you're looking at a 5th wheel then just get the type of hitch/pin box you want at purchase. In that way you don't have to "make do" without a hitch, borrow one or get something you don't want. As far as the spare receiver and "stuff" it'll probably go just like your last one did. I've got a garage and barn full of "old stuff" including a wall full of hitches.....but they ARE good paper weights!!

[Rocketsled]

I have a class 5 on the one ton, and a spare 5+ the dealer originally put on the 3/4 ton. They removed whatever was on it. Honestly, I’ve never seen more than 1750 lbs tongue weight.

They went from straight frame rails on the 2017 to these funky “the hitch is part of the bumper structure” on the 2021.

[peanut]

Originally Posted by Rocketsled

The next trailer I get, I’m STRONGLY considering a gooseneck so that it doesn’t have a heavy, awkward, 5th wheel receiver in the bed of the truck….meaning I’ll probably ALSO have whatever comes off the pinbox of the trailer we buy.

WTH do I do with all these heavy lumps of steel?!

Any old receiver's you have laying around are probably garbage.

You have a receiver on your 3500 so you are set for your TT. If you go to a 5th wheel and a gooseneck you will be good to go if your truck has the puck system. If it doesn't, you still have many possible options. Install the B&W underbed gooseneck (or similar) and you have a lot of choices in hitches and/or pinbox. All of these attach to a gooseball. There are probably more that I am unaware of.

[jsb5717]

Originally Posted by Rocketsled

...

There’s no interest from Craigslist, and I’m realizing the market for an upgraded receiver ain’t that big.
...

It depends on how long you are willing to hold on to it and keep the CL ad alive. I've held some items for months before selling them. It just takes one good buyer. Eventually the one person that needs what I'm selling comes out of the woodwork. YMMV

[hankpage]

Originally Posted by Rocketsled

WTH do I do with all these heavy lumps of steel?!

Check with a local welder, they might salvage parts for custom jobs.

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by jsb5717

It depends on how long you are willing to hold on to it and keep the CL ad alive. I've held some items for months before selling them. It just takes one good buyer. Eventually the one person that needs what I'm selling comes out of the woodwork. YMMV

And when that one guy comes out of the woodwork, about 3 others will at the same time. Funny how it can go months without anyone wanting something, but as soon as it’s gone, everyone wants it.

[P & T]

I have a lot of scrap pieces that I'm gonna leave on the side of the garage just piss off whoever has to clean it when I'm long gone.

[dutchmensport]

Bottom line is, if you have no more use for it, scrap it. It served it's purpose for you. You are done with it. Get rid of it. Junk it, give it away, scrap it. It's a piece of junk to you now. Why keep it around to clutter your life up.

[Rocketsled]

Originally Posted by peanut

Any old receiver's you have laying around are probably garbage.

You have a receiver on your 3500 so you are set for your TT. If you go to a 5th wheel and a gooseneck you will be good to go if your truck has the puck system. If it doesn't, you still have many possible options. Install the B&W underbed gooseneck (or similar) and you have a lot of choices in hitches and/or pinbox. All of these attach to a gooseball. There are probably more that I am unaware of.

The GMC has the Gooseneck/5th wheel pre-prep installed, so it’s a relatively easy route to go in, once I get past the initial hurdle.

All of my hobbies seem to have things that come along with them, it’s just that towing a trailer things are heavy and expensive and hurt when you stub them with your toe.

I like the idea of showing up, installing a Reese gooseneck adapter (getting things level and torqued is not a problem, that’s well within my skillset.) And then just keeping whatever came off the trailer until we go to sell again.

My original research was showing how gooseneck to 5th wheel adapters had issues with clunking and the potential for hurting the structure of the trailer, but all of that seems to be old news…that said, the last thing I want is to try to figure out how to repair an out of warranty 5th wheel frame that isn’t true anymore.

[gearhead]

I went to the Reese Goosebox. If you get a new 5th the Goosebox won’t void the Lippert warranty.
You may also consider the Gen-Y.
The Goosebox has zero bucking or slop. I love it.
I have a Curt Q20 and a PullLite 2600 taking up space in my garage. Also a 1621hd pinbox and a window frame ISR for a B&W turnover ball out in my junk yard. I need to do something with everything but the pinbox.

[DavidAndDonna]

Originally Posted by Rocketsled

I have a Grade 5+ Hitch receiver (rated at 2700 lbs)…due to a keystone cops series of events, I pulled it off the 3/4 ton to move to the 1-ton, only to find the undercarriage is entirely different…it’s now sitting at the side of the house.

There’s no interest from Craigslist, and I’m realizing the market for an upgraded receiver ain’t that big.

The last receiver (that was undersized), sat at the side of the house until I took it to the dump. Nobody was interested in a GM stock receiver.

I also have a huge set of mudflaps that worked GREAT, they bolt to the hitch and come off with it when you’re not towing. They don’t fit the new setup.

The next trailer I get, I’m STRONGLY considering a gooseneck so that it doesn’t have a heavy, awkward, 5th wheel receiver in the bed of the truck….meaning I’ll probably ALSO have whatever comes off the pinbox of the trailer we buy.

WTH do I do with all these heavy lumps of steel?!

sell it on FB marketplace, a great place to buy and sell. Had better luck there than CG