Hey everyone. I am considering welding my hitch drop/extension into the 2" receiver on my JKU and want to see if anyone has advice on pros/cons for the idea. My reasoning is that when I attach my bike rack to the extension right now the connection is tight, but the extension itself has a bit of wiggle room into the receiver hitch so my rack wobbles more than I'd like on bumps.


To be clear the extension is the right fit for my stock receiver, but like all hitch assemblies there is just a touch of movement that compounds when the bike rack is on. I plan to be using the extension for everything I attach to the receiver including a small open trailer so I want to be sure it's strong enough. Given that a permanent drop/extension is desired, are there any strength considerations to welding this extension on? Should I weld it on and still use a hitch pin?

Thanks for the help.

 

I had to buy an extension for my cargo rack. Not gonna weld it to my receiver because it might get dragged while off-roading. but I will weld the extension to the rack.

 

I have an extension and wouldn't weld it to anything. I have a cargo carrier, bike rack and need it for a trailer. Easier to buy a second locking hitch pin.

 

Well I think he wants to weld it to prevent rattle, not keep it from getting stolen.

I personally would not weld something like that in. Get some wood shims and pound it in there with those with a mallet and that should fix your wiggle room while still being a non-permanent solution.

 

Put a nut on the inside and use a bolt instead of a pin! Problem solvedI do it for customers all the time

 

Thanks for the input guys - I'll steer clear from the welding thought for now.

Exactly, I'm not too worried about the departure angle and I already have a second locking hitch pin. I'll give the shims a shot next time I take the bikes out and see if that does the trick.


@IronDynaRider Good point - I'll look into possibly using a nut/bolt to tighten it up.

 

My bike carrier came with a bolt instead of pin.

 

I used an anti rattle hitch pin work well only slight movement unlike the standard locking hit pin $15 at uhaul store

 

I'll check one those out too, thanks.

 

I use a hitch tightener on mine. It's really beefy/heavy duty. Works great. No wobble.

Tried duplicating it by buying a square u bolt (3/8", couldn't find anything bigger like 1/2") and a couple pieces flat steel - didn't work as well as this original.

Got the tightener with my hitch swing away frame from stowaway2