Receiver hitch pin distance survey

About 2.75" - Jeeperman rear bumper

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Thanks everyone. This shows that I am up against a task that is at this point insurmountable. I can deal with some variation, I don't know how to deal with distances that range from 3/4" to whatever the longest was. That is ridiculous in the amount of variation. I'm pretty good at hitting a moving target but this is like shooting trap with a BB gun. Not gonna happen.
 
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Too bad the variations made your idea impractical. I was laying in bed last night trying to imagine what you might have dreamt up.

There is a need for a receiver insert to use with a soft shackle that flares out to provide a radius edge for angled pulls. The problem is that the outer flared surface needs some support to protect the insert, and to prevent tearing up the receiver under high loads. If you design for a tolerable pin depth which I figure would be around 2" to make it all play nice, then you have lots of folks that can't use it with the standard 2.5" pin depth because it won't reach the hole for the hitch pin. If you make it work for standard 2.5" pin depth, then the one I see here with the 3/4" pin depth will just destroy the receiver or the insert under a high load. Just too much leverage against it not to.

I'm not going to put a product out there that requires 2 pages of exceptions listing what you can't do with it and 1 line that says what it works with. I also don't see the value in something that can't be used in most any receiver although I fully understand that no one should build a receiver with a 3/4" pin depth. The bad part is it's a US made bumper.
 
There is a need for a receiver insert to use with a soft shackle that flares out to provide a radius edge for angled pulls. The problem is that the outer flared surface needs some support to protect the insert, and to prevent tearing up the receiver under high loads. If you design for a tolerable pin depth which I figure would be around 2" to make it all play nice, then you have lots of folks that can't use it with the standard 2.5" pin depth because it won't reach the hole for the hitch pin. If you make it work for standard 2.5" pin depth, then the one I see here with the 3/4" pin depth will just destroy the receiver or the insert under a high load. Just too much leverage against it not to.

I'm not going to put a product out there that requires 2 pages of exceptions listing what you can't do with it and 1 line that says what it works with. I also don't see the value in something that can't be used in most any receiver although I fully understand that no one should build a receiver with a 3/4" pin depth. The bad part is it's a US made bumper.


Edit:
It'll be pushed inward when an angled force is applied, so would a slot instead of a hole work for a varying range of depths? This assumes nothing is directly behind the receiver that this insert could push into. A wide flared face would prevent the insert from being pushed back further than the rear most face of receiver tube. A pin wouldn't technically be required other than preventing the insert from falling out during transit or a straight line pull (and securing the rope to).

—-

Original post:

What would it take to make 3 versions for the most common depths? Make a little diagram for your website like in your first post saying how to measure.

Or, so it could be used on any vehicle that needs to be recovered, a thick armored sleeve that slides over the end of the rope 4" long and thick enough to improve the radius.
 
Last edited:
There is a need for a receiver insert to use with a soft shackle that flares out to provide a radius edge for angled pulls. The problem is that the outer flared surface needs some support to protect the insert, and to prevent tearing up the receiver under high loads. If you design for a tolerable pin depth which I figure would be around 2" to make it all play nice, then you have lots of folks that can't use it with the standard 2.5" pin depth because it won't reach the hole for the hitch pin. If you make it work for standard 2.5" pin depth, then the one I see here with the 3/4" pin depth will just destroy the receiver or the insert under a high load. Just too much leverage against it not to.

I'm not going to put a product out there that requires 2 pages of exceptions listing what you can't do with it and 1 line that says what it works with. I also don't see the value in something that can't be used in most any receiver although I fully understand that no one should build a receiver with a 3/4" pin depth. The bad part is it's a US made bumper.

It’s unfortunate that there is not a “towing” standard for this as I look forward to your solutions, perhaps a blank part that the purchaser drills to fit or you drill to their dimensions (recipe for disaster) Minimum edge distance to hole for tear out is 1.5 x bolt/pin diameter as a rule of thumb (there are exceptions), so 1/2” pin needs to be 3/4” to center from edge, so the 3/4” pin depth is not unusual for me as an Ironworker.
 
Edit:
It'll be pushed inward when an angled force is applied, so would a slot instead of a hole work for a varying range of depths? This assumes nothing is directly behind the receiver that this insert could push into. A wide flared face would prevent the insert from being pushed back further than the rear most face of receiver tube. A pin wouldn't technically be required other than preventing the insert from falling out during transit or a straight line pull (and securing the rope to).

I'm not Blaine but I see no reason that wouldn't work to just cut a slot to accommodate the range of pin depths. If you only made it deep enough for the deepest pin plus half an inch, I wouldn't think that would be long enough to reach a tank or crossmember, but maybe the next question would be what is the full depth of your receiver tube? Mine is 6".
 
It’s unfortunate that there is not a “towing” standard for this as I look forward to your solutions, perhaps a blank part that the purchaser drills to fit or you drill to their dimensions (recipe for disaster) Minimum edge distance to hole for tear out is 1.5 x bolt/pin diameter as a rule of thumb (there are exceptions), so 1/2” pin needs to be 3/4” to center from edge, so the 3/4” pin depth is not unusual for me as an Ironworker.

Too many ways to screw it up and get someone hurt if left to the customer's own devices. This is the basic concept but the open area for the eye of the shackle to exit out the flared section HAS to be supported by the inner wall of the receiver to have appropriate levels of safety. The line I stuck on there is more than the 3/4" pin depth of the one I have here which hangs that out the back of the receiver and loads the side of the receiver tube too highly.

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They have designed that piece to work with a very specific pin distance and I can't see how to make that work as a product.
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Edit:
It'll be pushed inward when an angled force is applied, so would a slot instead of a hole work for a varying range of depths? This assumes nothing is directly behind the receiver that this insert could push into. A wide flared face would prevent the insert from being pushed back further than the rear most face of receiver tube. A pin wouldn't technically be required other than preventing the insert from falling out during transit or a straight line pull (and securing the rope to).

—-

Original post:

What would it take to make 3 versions for the most common depths? Make a little diagram for your website like in your first post saying how to measure.

Or, so it could be used on any vehicle that needs to be recovered, a thick armored sleeve that slides over the end of the rope 4" long and thick enough to improve the radius.

The reason a slotted piece won't work as well as I would like it to is there is a minimum distance around the pin for the eye of the shackle to go around and then exit back toward the opening. The flared protector could slide inward via a slot but it would have to stop at a point that still allows the piece to be side loaded too much with the shallow pin depths.

The other issue are the dimensions are very tight now. They are tight enough that to use my typical soft shackle, the hole for the eye has to be a slot that is actually narrowed one direction and you have to flatten the shackle to widen it out to get it fished through.
 
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I’ve got an idea I’ll throw out because it may get some better ideas.

The flared protector needs to be made independent of pin length and the only way I see that happening is if the protector was positioned by the rear face of the receiver. Possibly a magnet on the top surface that would hold the protector in place against the receiver, I picked top because in my mind it’s least likely to get an extreme angle of pull and it could easily be labeled Top.

Then ramp the protector down so the shackle still has space for the pin. Possibly have a minimum pin depth required.