What to do (receiver hitch question)?

[Kyrabee]

I have a new to me truck I inherited. Nice F-150. I haul a Brenderup. So, the receiver where you attach the safety chains just sucks…in my opinion. Instead of a rolled piece of metal like the old truck/receiver, it is flat, wide and angled and harder than hell to hook my chains to. I haven’t hauled the trailer much yet with this truck but I kid you not it takes me about 5 minutes of holding my mouth right, cussing a bit, getting sweaty and finally getting them hooked. Then another 5 minutes on the back side with the same procedure. I believe it is the receiver that came on the truck. My trailer chains have a snap type hook on the safety chains and the two just don’t mesh very well.

My question…are there any of the links like these https://www.amazon.com/DGOL-Stainless-Steel-Buckles-Carabiner/dp/B07KY4QX59/ref=asc_df_B07KY4QX59?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=79989526523063&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583589103676026&psc=1
that are heavy duty enough for this application. Or if I want to get rid of said pain in the butt, just get a new receiver? Obviously, the links idea is cheaper unless they won’t hold the trailer in the case of emergency and then they aren’t so cheap. I know that the ones pictured are not big enough but I don’t know if ones are made that are.

TIA,
Susan

[cutter99]

I doubt those will hold the trailer safety chains in the event of a breakaway.

What about putting larger hooks on the chains so that it makes it easier to attach to the truck?

Can you show us a picture of what you are describing?

[clanter]

we have a F150 with the same style hitch… the trick is almost put the hook over the slot upside down at the edge of the slot, then the hook slips on and the retaining clip on the hook would close.

Yeah not an easy task to learn but just set down and play with it for a while.

The quick link you showed has a working load of only 300 pounds

here is one that 3300 pounds
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-2-in-Zinc-Plated-Quick-Link-43884/205887941

but remember the safety chains most likely are rated double or greater

[Kyrabee]

Yes, I need to practice I guess. I think I have the trick then that “trick” doesn’t work again (like not holding my mouth right). The safety chains on the trailer could be a couple links longer…that would help. I tried the upside down thing but the length of the chain makes that difficult.
I know the item I posted is not heavy enough, I was just posting the type I was thinking of.

Here is the truck end.

Trailer is at the boarding barn so I don’t have a pic of that. The hooks on the trailer are pretty large. They have a spring latch which I think is what makes it so hard to get on this particular receiver.

Susan

[cutter99]

Can the spring latch be removed? Sometimes there is just a cotter pin holding the spring latch in place. Remove that and just use the hook itself.

It is like clanter state above- it is angling the hooks through the slots. Once you get it, it becomes fairly easy.

The picture you showed is pretty much standard for receivers on trucks. We have both a Chevy Silverado and RAM that are exactly the same.

[Kyrabee]

My (old) Ram had the rolled metal. Yes, removing the spring and tongue on the safety chain hook would probably help. I do like the security they provide but with the way the receiver piece is angled, they probably would stay put.

Susan

[Leather]

When we replaced the hitch on our 3/4 ton truck the new one had PITA chain hookups similar to yours.

We wound up putting on hammerlock couplers - they are rated for towing. Not sure if they would fit an F-150 though. Note that they are pretty much permanent since you literally hammer them in place, so won’t work if you want to remove them periodically.

Hammerlocks for safety chains

Otherwise do a search for D ring shackles - I often see them used for this on trucks but not sure what their rating is.

[Kyrabee]

Well, nice to know that I am not the only one that is not happy with this configuration.

Whoever, engineered this…maybe find a different line of work.

Will check out the Hammerlocks. I am usually only hauling one horse now with a Brenderup so don’t need super duty. There are some 5000 lb Quick Links. The permanence of the Hammerlocks shouldn’t be a problem but would rather be able to remove them if I am not hauling a lot to avoid friction and wear on the receiver.

Thanks all.

Susan

[CLB15]

Hammerlocks on the truck or new clevis snaps on the trailer chains.
I sold my gooseneck trailer and borrowed friends’ bumper pulls all summer- On top of learning that none of their Class 3 hitches worked with my Class 5 received so had to some rushed hitch shopping, each trailer I borrowed was mostly used with older vehicles than mine, so the clevis hooks took some creativity & patience to hook up. I didn’t want to spend more $ for borrowed trailer setups when I could get by with what was at hand, but there are options if you can find ones rated for the right weights

[Aleuronx]

I got a set of links like this and just leave them on my receiver, had the same problem with my truck and hooks. The ones I got are rated to 10,000 lbs but I can’t seem to find them here. But in general e-trailer is great for this kinda stuff and easy to communicate with.

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Roadmaster/RM-910022.html

[Kyrabee]

Those should work for my set-up. My Brenderup, loaded with one horse should be well under 5000 lbs. The Hammerlocks are pretty in all the different colors.

Thanks

[Larbear]

I have the same issue with my F250 and basically do what Clanter does. That said, I still say a little prayer that I can unhook when I’m back home. There have been a few times if I haven’t wiggled it the right way it gets stuck and then I have to give it a bit of a kick to loosen it up etc.

The Hammerlocks looks interesting, I think I need to check these out!

[Kyrabee]

Yes…when I moved my horse last week, I kid you not, it took me 5 minutes to hook them up and another 5 minutes to get them off when I unhooked. Crazy and I am going to fix that .

[candyappy]

My truck is 21 years old and that is exactly what my receiver looks like. We have no problems getting the safety chains on and off and we pull several types of trailers. If you need to change the hook on your chains I suggest you have it done professionally so you know it will hold.

Not just add some screw on attachment you have no idea if it will hold or not.