trailer hitch question

[jweller]

Last time I checked, and it has been a couple of years, receiver tube was selling in the $4-6 a foot range down at the steel yard. Cut the offending piece off and weld a new one on, IF you are satisfied with your welding abilities. You'll need to thru-drill for your pin.

EDIT: Be honest with yourself about your ability to do this safely.

Yeah I'm not 100% about my welding to say I would be doing it safely. I'm also not certain my machine will do steel that thick and get full penetration. My next door neighbor is a welder by trade so I could get him to do it, or at least look over my shoulder. I would like to learn to weld good enough to have that sort of confidence, but I realize the learning curve for that is very steep.

We're sure a previous owner didn't weld it on somewhere as an anti-theft?

100% sure. I bought it from a friend, who claims it's been stuck for "a while"


I guess I'll just keep at it. I may end up cutting the back off with the portaband. At the very least, that will let me get some pb blaster on the other end