Quote:
Originally posted by TJ:
I believe the side loads on a hitch pin by a strap, as the strap would tend to concentrate the force at the middle of the pin as it tightened, could bend/break the hitch pin...and the solid receiver mount distributes the load across the entire exposed pin section.
Guess you haven't seen a strap lately... The loop end is several inches thick/broad. It's a 2" receiver hole. Put it in, and it fills the whole thing. The loop ends never flatten out, hence the loading is along the entire shaft of the pin.

You would've had a good point, if you said the receiver shackle puts the pin in double shear, so the pin has twice the strength as with the strap... But you didn't. So you're still wrong. [Finger]

Either way, it doesn't matter. The pin is stronger than the hitch it's attached to. That's intentional... Can't afford to have trailers falling out because the hitch pin wasn't strong enough.