Amazing how many idiots there are. " Bolts are not designed around shearing forces" they absolutely are, in fact many bolts are designed ONLY in shearing forces (think clevis bolt) A grade 8 bolt is stronger, better and safer than any hitch pin. Period. They are less convenient. You want the best bolt go to caterpillar and get over their grade 10s. Go to Fastenal and a Holo chrome grade 8. Their SHEAR strength is going to be higher then any hitch pin. All this said, the pin is not your weak link so use whatever you want.
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Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.
Matt's Off Road recovery discusses this on several of his videos- especially after the guy was killed about a year ago when somebody used their drop hitch to try to pull somebody out of a mud hole... it broke, flew through the guy's windshield and killed him on the spot . There are several videos now on this subject and it might be wise to check them out if you intend to do this. Matt also sells some kinetic pulling straps that help with pulling people out of bad situations when brute pulling power won't do it...
There is another site on line and I can't remember their name that refutes some of Matt's advice in recovery by showing extreme destructive testing on towing straps, shackles, and other equipment. I can't seem to find the video at the moment...
I've done the recovery thing many times over the years when buds were stuck while we were four wheeling or got into bad situations one way or another when out in the pucky brush and never gave it much thought- but something to think about...
Also, everyone is posting the listed strength of given bolts and pins but that is in stress- not in shear. Shear numbers are a whole different story
Back when I was a youngin, shear was typically calculated at 50% tensile. But that applies for both hitch pins and bolts - so kind of a push. But using a hitch pin means that if it does shear, your victim's family would go after the hitch pin manufacturer, and hopefully not you. Especially since you've now put this out onto the interwebs.
And yes, I'd make dang sure I was using attachment points designed for recovery, especially in light of what happened to that poor dude in AZ. Sam posted what he uses, and its similar to what I use as well. So do as Sheister says, and do a little video watching.
I make my own Hitch Pins out of Cold Rolled Round rod. They do not break at least I have not had one break yet. I have bent several but not to bad to be able to tap them out of the receiver with a hammer. They rust up a bit when sitting in the Weather
I am to Cheep to pay the price for store bought Hitch Pins.
Cut the length you want them. Drill a hole in each end Spin a taper on one end and put a large Key Ring for pulling on the other end.
We sell equalizer pins for $8. Too cheap for that lol?
Fer chrissakes. You guys could overthink a paper clip. Get the equipment that was designed for the job. Thank me later when you don’t have to wire wheel the threads of your “#8” to get the damn nut off or worse, have to cut that sum bitch off.
You do know they got's pins that can be locked to thwart stinger theft?
In the current world of cordless tools (angle grinder?), NOTHING is totally safe from theft, no matter how well "locked"! Bolt "grade" or "tensile strength" be damned!
Broke a pin hooking the cylinder to the fold down stabilizer leg on a Prentice loader, the boss ran to the hardware and bought a couple grade 8 bolts. Getting the right pins was a couple hour deal.
Broke them quick. At lunch he got their last grade 8, and a couple 5s. The 8 broke, a 5 stayed in the rest of the week.
An earlier poster hit the nail on the head. The 8s just snapped, too hard in shear. The 5 deformed, it had to be hammered out, but it didn't snap.
PS. I was glad to get a real pin. Loading on the downhill side, reaching out for a heavy log....your Sitting on Top of The Loader Ass will pull seat stuffings when the lower stabilizer let's go. A truck suspension isn't very strong under those conditions.
Boy, this brings back memories.
We had one of these on a Diamond Rio when I first started working for my father. The first load I ever took out when I first got my truck license, I thought I was going to die. I pulled up on the job with a full load of flagstone and climbed up on the crane like Billy Badass and forgot to put the stabilizers down. Picked up the first pallet and swung it off and the truck proceeded to roll over. I let go of the controls because I was going to jump, and the boom swung out and kept it from rolling over. I let the boom down which put the truck back on all of it's wheels. I climbed down and had to clean my shorts out. If I didn't die from it, my old man would have killed me.
"Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem." Ronald Reagan
This is a good thread. Thanks for all of the info, it's educational. We had this same discussion on Monday and it's good to hear different opinions on this and it clarifies what we were talking about.
I have a handful of flatbeds with truck mounted forklifts. In case you're not familiar with how they're mounted, here a brief explanation. You pull up to the back of the truck and slide the forks into a pocket in the forklift kit. You lift up the machine to the ride height and suck it in so that the front tires are under the truck and over the tire pads. On each side of the machine there is a chain. It's heavy, maybe 1/2". At the end of each chain is a shackle. You then hook the chains to the forklift kit by putting a 3/4" hitch pin through the shackle. Then you relax the hydraulics on the machine and the tires sit down on the tire pads and the rest of the weight hangs on the chains. The machine only weighs 6000 lbs., but it's hanging on the back of the truck and they have a tendency to bounce a little when you hit bumps.
On Monday, one of my drivers rolls into the yard and he's dragging one of the chains. The shackles are held onto the chains by a 5/8" pin with no head and they're held in with a couple of roll pins. The roll pins didn't hold and he lost the 5/8" pin. My first thought was to put a grade 8 bolt through it, or a hitch pin. The discussion started and everyone had a different opinion. My driver didn't like the grade 8 idea and thought there was something stronger. So I went to Tractor Supply and looked at the hardware. They had grade 5 and grade 8. I wasn't sure which one was stronger so I looked at the hitch pins. They had the regular silver hitch pins for $4.00 and they had the fancy black ones with a handle for $9.00. I went with the $9.00 hitch pin. So far, so good. But I told him to keep an eye on it. The last thing I need is to lose a $70K forklift and kill somebody.
As far as the Toyota 4 Runner goes, anything will work.
"Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem." Ronald Reagan
We had a local mechanic who has been gone for many years now. He would overhaul engines and throw the old valves into a pile outside. You wouldn't believe how many of those old valves ended up in tractor hitches. I have no idea what kind of steel the 1940's 50's and 60's valves were made of but they never went to waste. I have never heard of one breaking but I did see several that were bent. My thought is they were along the lines of grade 5 steel maybe a bit better and maybe a bit worse if the valves were older steel.
It's been said that that whatever bolts you use make sure the shank is through the work and the threads are not holding the load. I find it hard to believe that whatever your Toyota is pulling will break even if it's cold rolled steel, but I agree it needs to be safe. I don't see grade 5 as a problem but it's not my hitch. If you want to spend the money for a grade 8 bolt, it's your hitch and it's your money. The diameter and the design is probably more important.
kwg
For liberals and anarchists, power and control is opium, selling envy is the fastest and easiest way to get it. TRR. American conservative. Never trust a white liberal. Malcom X Current NRA member.
This is a good thread. Thanks for all of the info, it's educational. We had this same discussion on Monday and it's good to hear different opinions on this and it clarifies what we were talking about.
I have a handful of flatbeds with truck mounted forklifts. In case you're not familiar with how they're mounted, here a brief explanation. You pull up to the back of the truck and slide the forks into a pocket in the forklift kit. You lift up the machine to the ride height and suck it in so that the front tires are under the truck and over the tire pads. On each side of the machine there is a chain. It's heavy, maybe 1/2". At the end of each chain is a shackle. You then hook the chains to the forklift kit by putting a 3/4" hitch pin through the shackle. Then you relax the hydraulics on the machine and the tires sit down on the tire pads and the rest of the weight hangs on the chains. The machine only weighs 6000 lbs., but it's hanging on the back of the truck and they have a tendency to bounce a little when you hit bumps.
On Monday, one of my drivers rolls into the yard and he's dragging one of the chains. The shackles are held onto the chains by a 5/8" pin with no head and they're held in with a couple of roll pins. The roll pins didn't hold and he lost the 5/8" pin. My first thought was to put a grade 8 bolt through it, or a hitch pin. The discussion started and everyone had a different opinion. My driver didn't like the grade 8 idea and thought there was something stronger. So I went to Tractor Supply and looked at the hardware. They had grade 5 and grade 8. I wasn't sure which one was stronger so I looked at the hitch pins. They had the regular silver hitch pins for $4.00 and they had the fancy black ones with a handle for $9.00. I went with the $9.00 hitch pin. So far, so good. But I told him to keep an eye on it. The last thing I need is to lose a $70K forklift and kill somebody.
As far as the Toyota 4 Runner goes, anything will work.
I'm wondering why they go with a 5/8" pin on that, and not a 1 inch pin?
Seems like insurance to me. Obviously, the 5/8 can and will break. I'm guessing the pin sheared, is why they lost it.
Bolts today are typically Chinese junk. We have a huge list of counterfeit bolts that we cannot use. Not all are the same.
With that said, anyone who can shear a 5/8" bolt in a mild steel tube receiver should get some national recognition.
The reference to the man killed by the flying receiver failed to mention it was a drop hitch that broke at the weld....not the pin.
To put a receiver in perfect shear would require dead even tongue height. Most hitches are some level of drop and that acts much like the sliding side of a pony or bessey clamp.....you're not likely to break even a diamond hard or butter soft one.
Originally Posted by BrentD
I would not buy something that runs on any kind of primer given the possibility of primer shortages and even regulations. In fact, why not buy a flintlock? Really. Rocks aren't going away anytime soon.
This is a good thread. Thanks for all of the info, it's educational. We had this same discussion on Monday and it's good to hear different opinions on this and it clarifies what we were talking about.
I have a handful of flatbeds with truck mounted forklifts. In case you're not familiar with how they're mounted, here a brief explanation. You pull up to the back of the truck and slide the forks into a pocket in the forklift kit. You lift up the machine to the ride height and suck it in so that the front tires are under the truck and over the tire pads. On each side of the machine there is a chain. It's heavy, maybe 1/2". At the end of each chain is a shackle. You then hook the chains to the forklift kit by putting a 3/4" hitch pin through the shackle. Then you relax the hydraulics on the machine and the tires sit down on the tire pads and the rest of the weight hangs on the chains. The machine only weighs 6000 lbs., but it's hanging on the back of the truck and they have a tendency to bounce a little when you hit bumps.
On Monday, one of my drivers rolls into the yard and he's dragging one of the chains. The shackles are held onto the chains by a 5/8" pin with no head and they're held in with a couple of roll pins. The roll pins didn't hold and he lost the 5/8" pin. My first thought was to put a grade 8 bolt through it, or a hitch pin. The discussion started and everyone had a different opinion. My driver didn't like the grade 8 idea and thought there was something stronger. So I went to Tractor Supply and looked at the hardware. They had grade 5 and grade 8. I wasn't sure which one was stronger so I looked at the hitch pins. They had the regular silver hitch pins for $4.00 and they had the fancy black ones with a handle for $9.00. I went with the $9.00 hitch pin. So far, so good. But I told him to keep an eye on it. The last thing I need is to lose a $70K forklift and kill somebody.
As far as the Toyota 4 Runner goes, anything will work.
I'm wondering why they go with a 5/8" pin on that, and not a 1 inch pin?
Seems like insurance to me. Obviously, the 5/8 can and will break. I'm guessing the pin sheared, is why they lost it.
Yeah, not sure. He just rolled back in the yard, so I looked at it again. The pin that goes through the shackle is actually 1 1/8". The chain is 1/2". But the pin in the shackle is 5/8". The forklift is a Moffett made by Hiab. Not sure about the pin, you could be right about it shearing off, but the hole in the shackle wasn't screwed up or anything. If it just fell out, not sure how that could happen with all of that weight on it unless it came out when it bounced or something.
"Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem." Ronald Reagan
I make my own Hitch Pins out of Cold Rolled Round rod. They do not break at least I have not had one break yet. I have bent several but not to bad to be able to tap them out of the receiver with a hammer. They rust up a bit when sitting in the Weather
I am to Cheep to pay the price for store bought Hitch Pins.
Cut the length you want them. Drill a hole in each end Spin a taper on one end and put a large Key Ring for pulling on the other end.
We sell equalizer pins for $8. Too cheap for that lol?
It costs me a couple bucks to make my own pins (Large ones). And i get to work in the Garage on my own projects I make pins from 1/4"' all the way up to 1" so far for various uses (Custom Pins)
What does welding the handle on that pin do to the temper and strength?
Hopefully the pin is re-heat treated after the weld.
kwg
For liberals and anarchists, power and control is opium, selling envy is the fastest and easiest way to get it. TRR. American conservative. Never trust a white liberal. Malcom X Current NRA member.
What does welding the handle on that pin do to the temper and strength?
Hopefully the pin is re-heat treated after the weld.
kwg
The handle is held on by a roll pin that goes through the 5/8" pin. The handle actually makes it easier to handle the chain. It seems to do the trick as long as the hitch pin holds up. We'll see, it's only been on there for 3 days.
"Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem." Ronald Reagan
I can see what the handle is for but welding messes with the temper. If not properly heat treated, it could greatly weaken the pin. I'm not enough of a welder to know how to do it right.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
Bolts today are typically Chinese junk. We have a huge list of counterfeit bolts that we cannot use. Not all are the same.
With that said, anyone who can shear a 5/8" bolt in a mild steel tube receiver should get some national recognition.
The reference to the man killed by the flying receiver failed to mention it was a drop hitch that broke at the weld....not the pin.
To put a receiver in perfect shear would require dead even tongue height. Most hitches are some level of drop and that acts much like the sliding side of a pony or bessey clamp.....you're not likely to break even a diamond hard or butter soft one.
Actually, if you see the pics the hitch didn't break at the weld- the drop tube broke in the middle of the tube - complete metal failure. The point is you need to know how to calculate the actual pulling stress- Matt did a quick calculation that the mud suction the Ram was stuck in was causing the 7000 lb truck to create approximately a 13000 lb pulling load. Without proper equipment this is beyond most equipment being discussed here. Whether a proper hitch pin would have handled this I couldn't guess, but it seems they use hitch pins to hold the proper stinger for connecting their pulling straps and kinetic ropes....
Here is one video among many that explains some of this...
Last edited by Sheister; 03/02/23.
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