Towing hitch pin thingamabob...?

Does this doohickey have a name? Anyone know where they sell 'em? They came on my towbar and i somehow lost one.

thanks

Walmart has 'em. I believe they're $1.99.

edit - ...and you probably didn't lose it, it was probably stolen (like mine). So, that said, I can think of some other places to find them.

Hitch Pin

Ace hardware is where I got mine.

It is technically called a square-bail safety pin. Some call it a lynchpin, but that is technically incorrect. Lynchpins typically have a spring-loaded ring and look like this:

Quality Farm & Fleet, TSC (Tractor Supply Company) and NAPA all have them.

A bolt will work.

A bolt will not work unless it's a Grade 8 or better. That pin is what's keeping your trailer attached to your tow vehicle. Given the size and weight of my tow vehicle and the value of what I generally put on the trailer, I would never trust one of my Z's to a grade 5 bolt.

A real hitch pin is worth the $3 to $5 bucks.

I beg to differ.

That is a keeper pin, which keeps the hitch pin in place. It is NOT keeping the trailer attached to the vehicle.

If it is, change it FAST.

That is a piece of junk, which is no better than the cheapest of bolts out there. They are used for retaining the real pins which are doing the work.

A bolt WILL work.

I beg to differ that you beg to differ! ;)

That cotter pin and washer on the right is the "keeper" that keeps the keeper wire and that hitch pin from slipping off and out or that's the biggest keeper pin I've ever seen on a non commercial hitch! :)

Problemaddict, please give us some dimensional measurements on that "pin".

First of all... a wee bit of fastener ettiquette might help.

Those pins are debatably fine for towing, if they are the right strength. Grades of bolts basically indicate their hardness and therefore tensile strength. Grade 2 (normal cheap stuff) you can bend a few times and still have a viable bolt for holding a picture on your wall. They're pretty soft. The one thing they don't do well is high tensile forces. The soft steel will either strip the threads or literally pull the fastener apart. Grade 5 bolts add a significant amount of tensile strength but can still take side loads with composure. They will bend a decent amount before breaking. Grade 8 bolts are very high tensile strength. They are best used in applications where their entire load is tension. They don't like to bend. I used to use grade 8 bolts through a chain link to hoist engines until I lost one. I had a grade 8 bolt threaded in the whole way into a head. It didn't bend a bit before shearing off flush with the head. I won't talk about the brand new polished aluminum oil pan or $400 radiator that bit the dust in the process.

For instance, when you see engine fasteners from companies like ARP, they often list their tensile strength. In applications like rod and main bolts, the higher the better. They never see side loads at all. Applications like hitches are a different story. That is purely shear loading.... which brings me to my next confusing part...

If you have a hitch insert, the shear loads placed on the fastener are very localized. A hard grade 8 bolt would usually suffice since the close shear tolerance prevents the fastener from deflecting. In that situation, the softer bolts migh prove problematic since they might abrade and get smooshed under those kind of loads.

So... provided the pin is the proper size for the hole, and the insert is the proper size for the receiver, all should be well. Most of those pins are listed as having a certain tensile or shear strength.

This is getting a little absurd.

I'm holding in my hand an IDENTICAL safety pin. The shaft is 5/16" in dia.

Class 3 receiver hitches are held by 5/8" dia hitch pins. Class 1 and 2 receivers are held by 1/2" hitch pins.

Fastener ettiquette or not, a 5/16 dia PIN IS NOT sufficient for use as a trailer hitch pin, regardless of the grade.

However, Mike, since I am certain this pin is not used as a hitch pin (because it is TOO SMALL for any practical use), but rather as a safety pin (to prevent the primary hitch pin or latching device from coming out), feel free to replace it with a bolt.

Any old bolt will work. So will a cotter pin, bailing wire, or possibly even a zip tie.

But if you'd like a match to the original, you can buy them cheaply at any hardware store as suggested above.

Geez, guys.

Must be nothing of value in or on that trailer then, cause if it was there would be locking real hitch pin keeping it together.

Home Depot & Lowes has 'em, as well as any place that deals with towing equipment like Uhaul.

I'm not wanting to argue here, but if it is a 5/16" safety pin, why would it need to be over 3" long and that thick if, presumably, a zip tie is sufficient?

I guess I'm curious 'cause if I'm wrong, I don't mind learning something new here.

But problemaddict hasn't been back to give us either dimensions or from what location these pins on his tow bar came.

I can't say how it is used in problemaddict's case.

I can say that they are designed to retain tubing pieces under minimal strain.

For example, holding the wheels on rolling scaffolding. The wheels have the male tubing which slides into the female tubing leg. A shoulder on the wheels supports the weight of the scaffolding, and these clips are run through aligned holes in the leg/ wheel to prevent the wheel from falling off. Without this clip, if you pick up the scaffolding, the wheels would fall off, which is very aggravating.

In this example, the ONLY weight these clips ever hold is the weight of the wheel, not the weight of the personnel or materials.

They are also used on trailer hitches to secure the latch. The "flipper thing" that locks the ball into the cup receiver has a hole in it to insert a clip like this. It is designed to prevent the latch from accidentally unlatching.

Note, zip ties would work in either of these examples (though most people would be a little pissed if their newly purchased scaffolding was held together with zip ties).

They just aren't designed as hitch pins.

SVreX wrote: This is getting a little absurd. I'm holding in my hand an IDENTICAL safety pin. The shaft is 5/16" in dia. Class 3 receiver hitches are held by 5/8" dia hitch pins. Class 1 and 2 receivers are held by 1/2" hitch pins. Fastener ettiquette or not, a 5/16 dia PIN IS NOT sufficient for use as a trailer hitch pin, regardless of the grade.

What makes you think your pin is identical to his? What if his is a 1/2" x 6" pin? If its a 1/2" pin, its sufficient. I put about 10k lbs of force on mine using it to lift a 12' brush hog on a 3-point hitch. The mower is about 3000 lbs and the way the lever is set up means that I'm lifting it about 3:1 at least.

There is no way to tell how big that pin is. It could be a 1/8" diameter.

I think this is a pin used by Reese towing people to secure the tow bar to the towing tabs on the towed vehicle

Its for one of these cheap towbars. This pin holds the whole shebang together. Its a crappy picture, i know, but down at the end of the arms is where this pin is used. There's the pieces that bolt to the car, then there's the towbar's arms. This pin holds the arms to the part that bolts to the car. It sees nothing but shear forces....

you can see the pin in this picture under the headlight:

I'll measure it tomorrow if it will make everyone feel better :nice:

Thanks for the discussion guys. I'll hit walmart tomorrow to see if i can get one. i couldn't find 'em at Lowes, HD, or Uhaul.... I guess a regular reciever pin would work just as well in its place...?

Oh okay well actually I thought it was indeed a regular receiver pin. My bad. However, IIRC, they had atleast 2 sizes maybe 3 at Wal-mart so one might fit..

So... essentially, it is a hitch pin... :omg: