That scares the bejeezes out of me. Welding on that part will weaken the structure. Much better idea to get the class 3 receiver and buy a 2" extended hitch.
Are we talking about the same part? I am talking about the ball mount that slides up into the receiver. It makes it so that the ball is only about 1 inch from the rear fascia. I chopped it right in the middle, and put in a 1" thick X 2" wide bar stock in between, and welded the snot out of it. I am sure its at least as strong as it was stock. It was not cut anywhere near the original welds. And the original welds are all about 3/8 inch wide beads. My beads are about 3/4" wide.
I understood exactly what you did. Welding affects the molecular grain structure, with a tendency toward embrittlement. Especially welding the snot out of it. Factory welding is done using a highly controlled environment, and tested. It may be stronger in tensile, but considerably weaker in bending, especially right at the edge of the welds. Also you added considerable strength in the middle of the part, forcing loads into a concentrated area. You may be ok, but I personally wouldn't risk it. BTW, I'm a licensed Professional Engineer, with {in my best police academy voice} many many years of automotive experience, working with structural components.
Why?? These hemi's are rated for towing right?
PowerWagon over on the LXF pulls a trailer with his Mango RT. He even ran it at the track with the trailer hooked up.
I hear what you're saying, but.... These cars have a low tow rating, and the parts that are made for them are way underrated. That being said, I have 17 years of welding experience on custom made parts for oil refineries, breweries, coal mining, and many other similar types of industry. I personally do the welding and testing of parts that are far more sophisticated then a trailer hitch. Not to mention I also have built and modified trailers, snow plows, and automobiles. And when I said I welded the snot out of it, that was multiple passes and not just one big glob of metal. The welds we do at our shop are often x-rayed as well to check integrity. Not once in all the years Ihave worked there has a weld been rejected.
