Recovery Gear: Ongoing Discussion and Reviews

Not a fan of the hitch pin, some are rated like the one Dave posted (grade 5) but 90% of the ones I've seen have no markings at all. I'll stick with my grade 8 bolt. Easily identifiable by the markings on the head of the bolt.
 
From Factor 55 web site, of course not the test unit.



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I have broken a lot more grade 8 bolts than grade 5 bolts. Mostly overtightening. It's as if the grade 8 was more brittle. I would love to better understand which is better for which application.
 
Code Red said:
I have broken a lot more grade 8 bolts than grade 5 bolts. Mostly overtightening. It's as if the grade 8 was more brittle. I would love to better understand which is better for which application.
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I'm no metallurgist, but my experience has been that Grade 8 will snap/shatter at some point while a Grade 5 is more malleable, may deform and then give up.

Depending on the application, Grade 8 hardware may not always be indicated, or the best choice. There's a reason for Grade 5.
 
Code Red said:
I have broken a lot more grade 8 bolts than grade 5 bolts. Mostly overtightening. It's as if the grade 8 was more brittle. I would love to better understand which is better for which application.
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Grade 8 are more brittle. But stronger in shear.
 
This site explains the difference between grade 8 and 5 bolts. In short. Grade 5 bolts have more elasticity followed by plasticity than a grade 8 bolt however they'll still break before a grade 8 bolt begins to gets into the elastic followed by the* plastic stage.

In a skid plate application perhaps the greater elastic/plastic properties of the grade 5 bolts reduces tension by absorbing energy of the impact when they began to stretch/deform preventing breaking. In a hitch pin application I don't see tension energy reducing as the bolt begins to deform and I don't think the amount of deformation you get out of a grade 5 bolt when it get's into the plastic stage as being enough to give sufficient warning before breaking.

For most (hitch pin) applications I don't think the selection between grade 5 or grade 8 is a concern as long as the rating is sufficient for the vehicle. If I put 30,000 lbs of force on the hitch of my Tacoma other parts will be flying off before the hitch pin fails.

* that's incorrect. The grade 8 bolt has entered the elastic stage along with the grade 5 bolt ~ Greg
 
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RickLB said:
Surprised they did this test I would think this is a no brainer on which is better to use.
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There's a lot of misinformation about them. When I asked about friction I was told it was minimal. I was thinking that was a BS answer but I had no evidence to call them out. Now I do.
 
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