Ever had a ball come loose?

[jayhanig]

The 2" ball on my trailer hitch has become visibly loose twice in the last week. The first time I noticed it strictly by accident and was shocked at how close I came to having an event. It was barely retaining its nut and washer. I took a crescent wrench to it and tightened it up what seemed a reasonable amount to me. Then after pulling another trailer I found it had loosened again though not anywhere near to the same extreme. This time I went for the heavy artillery and used my biggest crescent wrench (the length of my forearm and hand) and really applied the oomph to it.

Naturally I will be watching this a lot more religiously in the future but wonder if this is normal behavior for a ball or is mine due to be replaced?

 

[rbh]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

YIKES!!! that was close.

One thing you will want to check out is how much bigger the hole in the hitch is compared with the balls stud.
If it is elongated the ball/stud will shift forwards and back as you stop and go, loosening off the nut/washer.
If the stud is a tight/good fit in the hitches hole (no major play) try double nutting it.


(Had a ball separate from the stud once, that was a little hairy!!!!)

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

You mentioned washer, was it a lock washer? I'd also give it a healthy dose of blue thread locker... Don't use a crescent wrench, get a closed end box wrench that you can really put some weight into. A crescent wrench will round out the nut without too much trying.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

nope never..... depending on the size of the shank which as mentioned above MUST be the same as the hole in the ball mount..... you may need upwards of 200 ft/lb
I put em on with an impact but if doing it by hand i'd be sitting with both feet on the truck and put my 240 lb arse into it with both hands on a BIG wrench... ye AIN"T gonna twist off a 1" shank by hand

 

[Bondo]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

The 2" ball on my trailer hitch has become visibly loose twice in the last week. The first time I noticed it strictly by accident and was shocked at how close I came to having an event. It was barely retaining its nut and washer. I took a crescent wrench to it and tightened it up what seemed a reasonable amount to me. Then after pulling another trailer I found it had loosened again though not anywhere near to the same extreme. This time I went for the heavy artillery and used my biggest crescent wrench (the length of my forearm and hand) and really applied the oomph to it.

Naturally I will be watching this a lot more religiously in the future but wonder if this is normal behavior for a ball or is mine due to be replaced?

Ayuh,.... Get rid of the knuckle busters, 'n use a Real Wrench, 'n put a pipe on it...
At a minimum ya want a 1/2 drive ratchet, or breaker bar...
Use a pipe wrench to keep the ball from spinnin'...

If ya got a 3/4" shank, yer lookin' for 'bout 80ft.lbs... or more...
If it's a 1" shank, get a longer pipe, 'cause ya can't turn it too tight...

 

[Mi duckdown]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

You have to match the ball shaft to the receiver.
I have seen more people putting a 1/2, 3/4 ball shaft into a 1 inch reciever hole and wonder why it fubared.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

Nope, I've had to cut them off with my plasma cutter - but never had one come loose on its own Definitley a breaker bar and a socket should be used to install it - adjustable wrenches are only good for drain traps, not much of a tool otherwise.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

Good God, Man! Would you use a crescent wrench on your wheel lugs? On your flywheel nut? There is a purpose to every tool and tightening ball nuts is NOT the purpose of a crescent wrench.
Don't do things half-fast!
Your ball takes forward and backward as well as lateral loads and is the only attachment with your vehicle. Torque it to the specified rating---period. If the hole in the coupler is too large, insert an appropriate spacer.

 

[CaptainKickback]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

Two words: cotter pin

 

[jayhanig]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

Good God, Man! Would you use a crescent wrench on your wheel lugs? On your flywheel nut? There is a purpose to every tool and tightening ball nuts is NOT the purpose of a crescent wrench.
Don't do things half-fast!
Your ball takes forward and backward as well as lateral loads and is the only attachment with your vehicle. Torque it to the specified rating---period. If the hole in the coupler is too large, insert an appropriate spacer.

In defense of the crescent wrench I ended up using, it is a manly tool: 16"/400mm, extends from the tips of my fingers to my elbow and weighs several pounds. Drop it on your toe and you'll be visiting the emergency room. But I digress.

I wouldn't have asked for advice here if I weren't willing to take what was then offered. I went downstairs just now, took a 1 - 1/8" torque wrench socket, put it on a socket wrench buttressed by a three foot long pipe cheat and then put my guts into it. I'm a little sweaty now but I'm confident it's on as tight as I can make it. If it comes loose again I'll just replace it. I think I've done what can be done. There is absolutely no slop in the installed ball; it doesn't move in any direction. You'd think it was welded.

Thanks to everyone who contributed their advice and experience.

 

[NetDoc]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

If the nut size is 7/8" or greater a crescent wrench is fine. If the hole is round and a spacer will fit: use it. If the hole is now oblong, replace the tow ball mount. It's not rocket science here. If it happens again, just replace the ball and the tow ball mount. It's not worth risking your boat or tow vehicle.

 

[Mi duckdown]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

NetDoc. Correct

 

[hrdwrkingacguy]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

I'd use a 3/4" drive socket and and a breaker bar...I flipped my draw bar last week and used my 3/4" drive set(1" 1/4 I socket I think)...When my elbow clicked around 200 ft/lbs it was tight...Some people have a calibrated eyeball, I have a calibrated elbow lol...

 

[gus-gus]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

Unfreekingbelievable, advise from inside the boxers.

You all know crescent wrenches come all the way up to 2 feet long, don't you? Maybe even longer, although rare, I own an aluminum 3 footer.

They will tighten a nut better than an equal length pipe wrench will. So all the negative criticism of Jay was unwarranted in my opinion.

But there is another alternative, Jay. Locktite. Even if it loosens again, Locktite it and forget it, not really, couldn't resist the famous Ron Popeil line.

Another thought which reduces loosening is grease, use it on the ball and hitch. Best O-Luck.

 

[Silly Seville]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

Umm, I will chime in with my solution. Buy a drawbar/ballmount for every towed vehicle application, and go visit your friendly welding pro. Tighten as required. Put a bead of weld around the nut where it ends on the bolt shaft. Best "threadlock" you will ever use. Problem solved.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

They will tighten a nut better than an equal length pipe wrench will.

Pipe wrench? What kind of idiot would tighten a nut with a pipe wrench?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

Umm, I will chime in with my solution. Buy a drawbar/ballmount for every towed vehicle application, and go visit your friendly welding pro. Tighten as required. Put a bead of weld around the nut where it ends on the bolt shaft. Best "threadlock" you will ever use. Problem solved.

Ayuh,... The trouble with that is,...

When ya wanta take it Off,...
It takes a Blue-tip Wrench...

 

[gus-gus]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

Pipe wrench? What kind of idiot would tighten a nut with a pipe wrench?

Exactly.

 

[Prophammer]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

I guess I gotta put my 2 cents in, I used to put a piece of pipe over a large pipe wrench ( I have to go out to my tool box to be sure, but I think it is a around a 22" Craftsman) any way, I held the ball still with channel locks until there was enough torque to hold the ball, then I honkered down on it with the pipe wrench with a 30" piece of pipe as a cheater bar, I pulled untill it was about to stretch. It left teeth marks on the nut but it never came loose accidently. These days I use an impact wrench because I have an air compressor now. I still gotta hold the ball from spinning like Bond-0 saith!

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

Doesn't matter what size the crescent wrench is: They all are sloppy and they all only grab the nut on two flats. They are NOT the correct tool for this critical application. Six point socket and torque wrench is. Or at least the box end wrench they sell at the ball and hitch display in the big box stores.