Materials - Receiver Hitch Tube

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I am looking to build a receiver hitch and am having trouble finding the correct material selection to use for the female portion of the receiver hitch. From what I can tell from my research, it should be ASTM A500 square tube that is 2.5”x2.5”X0.238” wall. However it doesn’t appear that my local suppliers have this tube available to order. Is there something else I should be looking for?

On a side note, I have tried 2.5x2.5x0.1875, this works, but its fairly sloppy on the fit.

Thanks in advance for your help.

2

At my steel supplier they call it “receiver tube”. It has no weld seam inside and is sized to accept a 2” square tube. It actually has a .219” wall thickness.

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Thanks for the info!

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Northern Tool sells the receiver tube by itself. It is just the square tube with the hitch pin hole in it. Now the rest of the hitch is in your court.https://www.northerntool.com/products/ultra-tow-2-inch-standard-weld-on-receiver-tube-with-collar-8in-length-32801

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Tractor supply also sells receiver tubes like that.

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Depending on what class you need, even Harbor Fright has them:

Class III 18 in. x 2 in. Standard Receiver Tube

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Thanks for the replies. Those would be good options. In my case my designs require a longer square tube than is normally available (although I did find a 2’ pre-made receiver hitch tube online after further investigation). I am also looking for 2.5” and 3’“ square receiver hitch tubes for class V hitches, so I am curious what standards dictate receiver hitch tubes and what their exact dimensions look like. After calling around to local steel supply shops, I found one who knew what I was talking about and could order in the 2” receiver hitch tube. I am still waiting to hear back on the larger sizes. Thanks again for the replies.

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This looks like the right stuff for a 2.5” receiver.

They have it in 2.5” for a 2” receiver. I didn’t see anything for the 3” stuff. It might be worth a phone call.