Rusty hitch, should I be worried??

rusty01 · April 20, 2012

I got looking around at the hitch on my truck and noticed it to be very rusty. Shoud I be concerned? I will be towing a lot with this truck come summer time. I have heard horror stories of hitches actually failing due to rusting out. Would it be best to have it looked over at a shop on a lift? Should all the rust be cleaned off and have it undercoated or something?

00Silverado4x4 · April 20, 2012

Is it rusty as in metal falling off of it or just surface rust? If chunks of metal are falling off then I'd worry and have a shop look at it. Surface rust is not something I'd worry about in the least. Just get a wire brush to clean off the rust to tell for sure. If just on the surface than go ahead and get something on it to prevent it from going any deeper. After 6 years mine is holding up well but it's starting to show some age to it.

rusty01 · April 20, 2012

I wouldn't say "chuncks" but more like little "chips" of metal falking off. I think I will clean it up with a wire brush and see what lies beneath.

00Silverado4x4 · April 20, 2012

With mine it's the paint flaking off with a rust coating on the inside. If that's what you are seeing so far, I'd say surface rust.

rusty01 · April 20, 2012

Well the truck is over 11 years old so I doubt it's the paint. Pretty sure that's been gone for years! lol Anyway I will clean it up and see what it looks like. If everything looks OK I will just hit it with some undercoating and call it good!

00Silverado4x4 · April 20, 2012

dodge123 · June 11, 2012

Back in high-school i had my dads jeep cherokee. I put the bike rack into the hitch and the bike onto it. I got half-way down the street, hit a crack in the road and bam....The rusted hitch darn near completly fell off. I didnt get to go mountain biking that day.

Diesail · June 14, 2012

Just replace it. To clean and paint it you will need to remove it anyway. For less than $200 you can replace it with a stronger hitch with better ratings.