First short trip out (75 miles) using the 2" Hensley Arrow in the 2-2½ and then in 2½-3 sleeve it seems I have bent the oem pin and can't get it out of the hitch. I already new this would be a problem but I could not find a 3" WD hitch shank in time.

I can get 2½ shanks all day from several manufacturers but can't seem to find a 3".

Has anyone else had any luck?
Have you had any trouble using just the 2½ shank in the 3" sleeve?
I am thinking I would like to get away from sleeves all together but I could weld strips of steel to the 2½ shank to make it 3" or possibly just weld the sleeve to it...

 

Welding the sleeve to the stinger might be a solid option if hensley is not making one.

before doing that, I would contact the maker of the stinger you have to ask about a welding procedure. There may be some specific pre or post heat procedure to follow if it is anything other than mild steel.

Just my thoughts

 

For sure on the welding procedure. I will likely build a sleeve that is heat shrunk to 2.5" stinger and bolted lengthwise in to end of the stinger so that there won't be any welds to the stinger at all. A weld in the wrong spot along the hitch could be a death sentence.

 

Thinking about this more I might see the problem. The hole I am using in the stinger is a hole I added. I drilled it to the next size up I had from 5/8 so it's a tight fit. It may actually be holding the stinger in the center of the hitch tube so that when the WD was loaded up and then pulled out here I bet it bent the pin at the edge of the 2" stinger. I will get the 2.5" hitch and see how that all fits up.

 

Did you post this question somewhere else? I know I responded to your question with my experience, but can't seem to locate it.

edit: I bet it was on RV.net...

 

Yes I did, sorry about cross posting all over the place but some people are really knowledgeable about the truck but not hitches, others vice versa.
Thanks for you reply though, sorry for the duplicates.

 

I found a 3" pin on Amazon. I tack welded the inner sleeve to the out sleeve. The outer sleeve has a flange that keeps it from going too far in. All works well.

 

I bought the 3" weigh safe 180 hitch for regular trailer use but the fit is still a little loose for my liking. I will try the gorilla tape on the shank to see if that will snug it up to my liking.

The WD hitch will get either the OEM 2.5-3" sleeve welded to it like you have done or I will build a tight fitting sleeve from strips of strap so that there is no slop between the sleeve and shank.
I like the latter idea so that I will still have a 2"-3" sleeve setup in case I have to use someone else's hitch or accessory in a bind.

 

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