OK, so I got the hitch ball that I mentioned in my previous post removed (the less said about that the better, but it involved a very large Crescent wrench, a pipe wrench, and a 4 foot cheater bar)
Now I find that I have another "opportunity" as the motivational speakers would say.
The truck in question is a '93 F-150, extended cab 2WD if it matters. The challenge that I'm having is that this trailer hitch that I have is obviously intended to be located by drilling out two existing holes in the truck's frame to 1/2", and then drilling two additional holes on each side. Insert hardware, torque down, et voila. Easy, right? Welll... not so much.
It is imperceptible to the casual observer, but placing the hitch under the truck reveals that the driver's side frame rail is ever so slightly curved in at the very end - not surprising, as I know that the truck was rear-ended at least twice prior to my acquiring it, both time requiring replacement of bumper braces (the main reason I wanted to have the Class III hitch on there; I don't care what the rating on the bumper says, if it folds up like wet cardboard when hit from behind, I don't particularly want to rely on it for a connection to a trailer.)
So one of the holes that I need to drill is about 1/4" or so from where it should be. Obviously I can't enlarge a hole off-center, nor do I have a porta-power.
Any ideas how I can rectify this myself, or should I just take it to a frame shop and likely spend about what the truck is worth just to mount my cheap used trailer hitch on my cheap used truck? Do you think a sledgehammer is even worth trying?
nate