Smindustries, thanks for sharing those pictures. My truck falls into the timeframe, but according to the NHTSA recall, they are only addressing the issue on diesel trucks. I'm sure the same brackets are used for both applications. I have yet to hook a gooseneck or 5th wheel hitch to my truck, but that's certainly not confidence inspiring.

The recall notice makes it sound as though the root cause of failure is a stress riser in a galled area of the part, not due to a lack of clamping force on the bolts, as the pictures above show. Now I'm curious as to what the bolts are torqued to, as this is certainly a cause for concern, especially if the truck above has never even had a load on this plate. It would be interesting to see what one looks like that has had a lot of use.

I'll have to take a look at mine today after work and see what it looks like.

 

The bracket is not welded in place from the factory on this generation or, to the best of my knowledge, the last generation.

Mine was installed at the factory. Here's the complete configuration. The only thing not installed by the factory was the winch:

 

Mine does fall in the the range and the dealer confirmed it. They don't know much more than is available in the announcement. I looked at mine and there are no visible cracks. On the left side, there is indication of slight movement on the front bolt like was shown by smindustries photos; maybe 1/16 of an inch. The right side looked solid. I was able to get a wrench on the bolt side and get enough leverage to pull 170 foot pounds, so everything is tight. (I found an installation video on youtube, he said 184 ft. lbs.)

So my camper is at the beach and we're scheduled to go down next week, hang around for the week and then bring it back. The question is; is it safe?

Thanks

Lee

 

makes more sense with the movement.
as mentioned above in other posts, the saddle sits on the frame and is held with some sort of stop along with the bolts
if you have never towed using the bed mounted hitch, then i would say it movement from frame twisting or flexing. this is not saying a fixed welded plate is wrong or right but a welded plate also has a ton of stress to deal with on the welds and this is why most good installers remove the bed and do it correct. I have seen mounts tack welded through the bolt holes and expected to last or carry the load.

i would be curious if the bolts are torqued to spec and the saddle plate is in fact aligned according to the engineering spec
frames twist and move so we have to expect some allowable movement to prevent stress cracks and failures,

for giggles i would place your truck in an off angle position like the front wheel up on a curb, or block about 8 inches in ht. ( one wheel) the opposite rear wheel on a similar height block and see what is or has moved around the hitch bolts

the frame engineers in no way took a short cut, to much liability involved. so it has to come down to improper assembly or failure of supplier to meet the specs. i would suspect assembly line mis steps . humans are human

would be very interested to see any other bolt hole movement or anybodies recall results and how and why or what was failing.
i am an engineer based life form so this stuff gets my attention , cause or failure is intriguing

 

My dealer Dewey Ford refused to inspect my bracket. I spent the day with Ford customer service and the dealer resulting in the dealer not wanting to look at it. I called another dealer and they are going to inspect them tomorrow. Beyond frustrating for my dealer not wanting to even take a simple look to see if I am even impacted by the recall.

 

Robert, that's an excellent point I hadn't thought of. Of course the frame is going to twist some during everyday use, even when you're not towing! My background is flat rolled slitting lines and cut to length lines. When a frame twisted on on those something went horribly wrong.

 

That hits home. Several years ago I had a dealer install a Reese rail type 5th wheel hitch. They bolted the rails to the bed sheet metal but did not install the brackets going to the frame; I guess they tossed them in the trash. The install was done a couple thousand miles from home and I didn't notice it until I got back. I called the mfg who sent me a set of brackets and I installed them myself.

I have the Ford puck system with a B&W hitch. I cannot tell any difference from my last truck where both parts were B&W.

 

F350 2021 SB ordered w/5th wheel prep. Witness mark on bolt head. Never towed with it.

 

That is pretty crazy that someone would do that. Did you get any damage?

 

No, I only towed once before I found the problem; it held. That was before aluminum beds.

 

i am curious as the the HOLE diameter versus the bolt and how much tolerance is indicated?
the hole just to the left looks to be NOT ROUND, but that could be the picture angle
if its NOT round, then maybe engineering did this to allow slight movement when frame twists or loads are applied. still is puzzling about the movement from a non towing event, as in how much do these boxed frames flex or twist on a regular day of non towing

 

Any chance you can provide a link to the B&W system? I have. 21 F350 without the 5th wheel prep package and may be going the 5th wheel route next year. Thanks!

 

Sure. You start with this part (Dunno if it is out for the latest trucks, I have not looked):

https://www.bwtrailerhitches.com/pro...ooseneck-hitch

And then add this part:

https://www.bwtrailerhitches.com/com...int-attachment

Some people convert their fifth wheels to gooseneck instead of buying the companion. I don't subscribe to that line of thought but it seems to work well for those who do it.

 

Great....
2nd recall on my SD.
So when the 5th wheel hitch fails, taking the bed and my B&W Companion with it, I can expect the windshield will come out as I crash...
I'm being extreme, but the 21 F350 isn't off to a stellar start IMO.
At least my trans isn't on the list of suspects.... yet.

 

B&W is a good system, except for the shock notch mistake. I have used the B&W in the past, I did not like having to reach into a muddy wheel well though, but that is a minor issue.