carl mciver wrote:
"Bruce B" wrote in message
...
| I was installing a receiver hitch and the bolt holes didn't quite
line
| up. The retailer advised me to check the alignment of the brackets
that
| bolt on to the frame and the passenger side bracket was bent in a
| little. So with some effort I managed to bend it back mostly
straight
| and get the hitch installed. My question is would this minor
bending
| weaken the metal or the welded joints? It's a Draw-Tite hitch and I
| think it's 1/4" plate steel brackets. How much can you bend
something
| like that without negatively affecting the structural properties?
|
| TIA

That concerns me that you, with effort, could bend a hitch frame.
However, whether or not that's a bad thing depends on how much of
what you
bent, or preloaded, is in the critical load path.

He said he said he "managed to bend it back mostly straight".
He didn't mention the use of heat, so I would guess there was no loss
of any heat treatment related strength in the metal itself. It depends
on the bracket and its design, stresses, etc.
In reply to the OP, theoretically the metal has been taken past its
elastic limit when bent, and again when straightened... there is a
theoretical weakening, but I'd guess it is unlikely to be of any
practical consequence. As to the welds; they're usually (should be)
stronger than the parent metal, so you should have even less chance of
weakening the weld area.