hitch installation question (pic inside)

[trevorsmith]

ok so i bought a used hitch (which looks brand new to me) and the guy gave me the hitch the bolts and these 4 funny looking pieces. im looking at the install instructions and nowhere does it mention these pieces. i am wondering if you guys know what these are for

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thanks in advance

----Trevor

 

[kj924]

If this is the right hitch for the KJ then you don't need those other 4 pieces. Not sure what they would even be for?

 

[ridenby]

Never saw such things.

 

[J-Thompson]

I dont know what those could be for
I do know that you need the proper bolts for it and they came with the hitch

 

[kb0nly]

No idea what those other pieces would be... See if the hitch fits up around the gas tank and the bolt holes line up, if they do bolt it up and toss the other pieces because they aren't for this hitch.

I looked at the instructions for the Hidden Hitch model that fits the KJ and there is the hitch and the bolts, thats it. Same as with the Curt model i put on mine.

If you didn't get the bolts and washers with it then you need to go buy new ones, and not some cheap mom and pop hardware store grade bolts, get good ones!!

 

[Bikeflyer]

I see your crossmember section has bends, are the mounting tabs still parallell? Hard to tell from the pic. In this installation there should not be anything other than the 4 bolts and hitch. No drilling or other parts. You will have to tap the frame mounted nuts before install. It takes an M12-1.5 tap. Mine had rust inside and I couldnt get the bolts in until I did. Grade 8 bolts are A MUST. You don't want to have to worry about this if anything happens. I have had someone rear-end my trailer before. Low trailer (lights were on even) and he had a big tall work truck. Fortunately I let the brakes go, but don't want the hitch to fail and expose the gas tank.
Just some points to ponder.

 

[tjkj2002]

I see your crossmember section has bends, are the mounting tabs still parallell? Hard to tell from the pic. In this installation there should not be anything other than the 4 bolts and hitch. No drilling or other parts. You will have to tap the frame mounted nuts before install. It takes an M12-1.5 tap. Mine had rust inside and I couldnt get the bolts in until I did. Grade 8 bolts are A MUST. You don't want to have to worry about this if anything happens. I have had someone rear-end my trailer before. Low trailer (lights were on even) and he had a big tall work truck. Fortunately I let the brakes go, but don't want the hitch to fail and expose the gas tank.
Just some points to ponder.

To get the rated tow rating you must use all 6 hitch mounting holes and not 4.

Oh and the proper bolt size for the 6 hitch bolts is M12x1.75x40mm(not M12x1.5) and they must be 10.9 or 12.9 hardness(no grade 8 in metric bolts,only that grading is used for SAE bolts).

 

[trevorsmith]

yeah i put the hitch on using 6 bolts and could not see where these extra pieces go. i had to retap the holes which was royal pain in the ass because the tap handle doesnt fit up there so i had to do it with a 7mm wrench and a tap but i got it and everything is good. thanks for the help

 

[Bikeflyer]

Hmm. My Class IV hitch only has 4 bolt holes....

 

[kb0nly]

Hmm. My Class IV hitch only has 4 bolt holes....

A Class IV with only four bolts?? Yikes.. I don't see how they could rate it that with all the weight on four bolts.

My Class III also has six bolts.

 

[Powerslave]

Four bolts can pass as a Class II hitch specification, but your limited to just over 1000lbs towing, with a 150LB tongue weight. My former Avenger class II hitch is on with 4 bolts. You need ALL SIX bolts to be safe, and legal to a certain extent. If you are in an accident due to a towing failure of the hitch, they will not pay, as the class VI was improperly rated or installed. If you did it, you are at fault, and will be held liable. DO not use class VI rated towing for what appears to be a Class II rated hitch, with those 4 bolts.

 

[kb0nly]

Yeah i don't see how a Class IV could get away with that little bit of support.

 

[Bikeflyer]

It's only pulling sub class-III so I'm not concerned, but the factory out of the box has four bolts and four holes. I bought brand new from the store and used the factory given hardware, so either Putnam Hitch is engineered differently or mislead.

 

[tjkj2002]

It's only pulling sub class-III so I'm not concerned, but the factory out of the box has four bolts and four holes. I bought brand new from the store and used the factory given hardware, so either Putnam Hitch is engineered differently or mislead.

The OEM MOPAR hitch uses 6 mounting bolts.I know since I had one and have installed a few.

 

[Bikeflyer]

I don't doubt that, but the Puntnam unit came with four and no mention or provision for additional yet it is rated at IV. Im not trying to be a bother, but I would like to make sure we are all on the same page and I am not in fact pulling a risk to my class III rating.

 

[tjkj2002]

I don't doubt that, but the Puntnam unit came with four and no mention or provision for additional yet it is rated at IV. Im not trying to be a bother, but I would like to make sure we are all on the same page and I am not in fact pulling a risk to my class III rating.

What class the hitch is rated really doesn't mean much,you have to match(or exceed) the max class hitch that your vehicle can handle with the equipment you got.If you do not have the 3.7 V6/CRD,auto trans,and HD cooling your max towed load is only 3500lbs,with all the aforementioned you can tow up to 5000lbs.I worked at a dealership and Chrysler labaled any KJ hitch with only 4 bolts as a classII hitch only no matter what is stamped on the hitch since the KJ was designed to use 6 bolts for the hitch so as not to damage the unibody structure.


Oh and do not use a rear hitch using only 4 bolts for a recovery point,it has a vastly higher failer rate then one with 6 bolts.Those 2 extra bolts are key in the strucural setup for the KJ and towing.

 

[Bikeflyer]

I see. I have the 3.7, auto 4wd and standard cooling for 05. Therefore, what would you say would be a decent expectation? As far as recovery point I am not worried about being in a mud bog. Can't afford trails right now but I am planning on getting real live tow rings anyhow for that. The afore mentioned additional bolts, are they welded nut holes or are they requiring their own holes to be drilled?

 

[tjkj2002]

I see. I have the 3.7, auto 4wd and standard cooling for 05. Therefore, what would you say would be a decent expectation? As far as recovery point I am not worried about being in a mud bog. Can't afford trails right now but I am planning on getting real live tow rings anyhow for that. The afore mentioned additional bolts, are they welded nut holes or are they requiring their own holes to be drilled?

All 6 holes are back there with welded nuts.Since you have a '05 KJ with the 42RLE auto trans I'd be weary towing anything over 3500lbs without the HD cooling.

 

[kb0nly]

I see. I have the 3.7, auto 4wd and standard cooling for 05. Therefore, what would you say would be a decent expectation? As far as recovery point I am not worried about being in a mud bog. Can't afford trails right now but I am planning on getting real live tow rings anyhow for that. The afore mentioned additional bolts, are they welded nut holes or are they requiring their own holes to be drilled?

Does that class IV you have use only the rear two bolt holes on each side, or does it use the front and rear bolt on each side and cover the center bolt hole? If you see another hole in front of where your hitch is bolted up then your only using the rear two on each side.

However if the flange portion of your hitch is as wide as the gas tank then your over all three holes on each side, so if your only using the front and rear hole on each side i would take it off and mark and drill that middle hole and then grab some bolts and put another two in.

I saw pictures of an install online where the guy bought a Class II, i don't remember which manufacturer it was, but it was the width of the tank like my Class III but only used the front and rear bolt hole and covered the center hole. I was thinking it would be easy enough to drill a couple holes in the hitch and add the other two bolts. Not to say it would make that II a III just by adding a couple bolts, but it sure couldn't hurt to increase the strength of the II he had.