Ever had a ball come loose?

[Failproof]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

I am not personally a big fan of multi hitch options. Especially ones welded in china. And a 3500 pound rating on a 3000 pound load is too close for my comfort. I use solid draw bars, and the holes in the hitch get oblong and the hitch gets replaced before the draw bar. Use the biggest ratted ball you can get for your size. I have seen 7,500 lb 1 7/8 balls. Towing apparatus is one of those things that overkill can be a good thing. Last thing you want is your boat to rear end your truck. It will make a mess of your day!

 

[bigdee]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

I am not personally a big fan of multi hitch options. Especially ones welded in china. And a 3500 pound rating on a 3000 pound load is too close for my comfort. I use solid draw bars, and the holes in the hitch get oblong and the hitch gets replaced before the draw bar. Use the biggest ratted ball you can get for your size. I have seen 7,500 lb 1 7/8 balls. Towing apparatus is one of those things that overkill can be a good thing. Last thing you want is your boat to rear end your truck. It will make a mess of your day!

Next time your in HF check it out...it is rated at 7500# and the drawbar is not tube steel, it is solid 2" stock......my neighbor uses this to haul his lowboy and backhoe all over the state.

 

[Prophammer]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

........... and with my impact wrench, the ball was un-usable the next time; because the threads were pulled- too much torque.....but still, it didn't come loose on its own!

 

[mommicked]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

A friend of mine had a ball come loose in a parachute mishap in the military. He is a proud father though!

 

[bigdee]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

A friend of mine had a ball come loose in a parachute mishap in the military. He is a proud father though!

Thank goodness for the meaning of plural!

 

[BRICH1260]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

Mine is welded on.

 

[NetDoc]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

Thank goodness for the meaning of plural!

Welcome to the redundant department of duplication office.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

Love the fishing line idea.

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

Use this and you won't have to worry about loose balls......

http://www.harborfreight.com/automo...er-hitch/triple-ball-trailer-hitch-94141.html

I have a question about this one. How do you get total towing weight that is different on each ball when the shaft of all three balls is the same diameter and welded to the same tow bar? It says 1 7/8' =3500 lbs, 2" = 5000 lbs, 2 5/16" = 7500 lbs

 

[americaneagler77]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

Odds are about even the lock washer is the only mistake he made. All spring style lockwashers are one time use only. If it were mine, I'd replace both the hitch and the ball because they could both be damaged. Notice I said could... Don't take a chance. Not sure what the Loctite 271 will do, you only use it when you can't use a lock washer.

im from the snowmobile world, where in your rear suspension just a lock washer wont cut it, loctite red too! hell ive used loctite on nyloc nuts on my sleds! the one time i didnt the rear suspension self destructed on the trail way back in the woods due to a loose bolt or two... so the practice continues on with the rest of my stuff.

 

[Failproof]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

Next time your in HF check it out...it is rated at 7500# and the drawbar is not tube steel, it is solid 2" stock......my neighbor uses this to haul his lowboy and backhoe all over the state.

He's pulling a backhoe on a lowboy, and still under the 7,500 pound rating? Or its just really that strong of a unit?

 

[ErikF]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

I have a question about this one. How do you get total towing weight that is different on each ball when the shaft of all three balls is the same diameter and welded to the same tow bar? It says 1 7/8' =3500 lbs, 2" = 5000 lbs, 2 5/16" = 7500 lbs

The different capacities are due to the rating of the individual hitch balls. A 2-5/16" ball is much larger than a 1-7/8" ball and can tow a heavier load. The tow bar capacity doesn't matter and isn't relevant so long as it exceeds 7500 lbs.

 

[bigdee]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

I have a question about this one. How do you get total towing weight that is different on each ball when the shaft of all three balls is the same diameter and welded to the same tow bar? It says 1 7/8' =3500 lbs, 2" = 5000 lbs, 2 5/16" = 7500 lbs

It has little to do with the ball strength it is DOT weight classification by ball AND coupler size. Common sense tells you 2" solid stock will handle much more this.......the 5/8 pin would break long before the ball.

 

[bigdee]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

He's pulling a backhoe on a lowboy, and still under the 7,500 pound rating? Or its just really that strong of a unit?

He has the 2" solid drawbar welded to his dump truck.....he is not using the 5/8" pin

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

my 12 ton deckover backhoe trailer (econoline backhoe pro) weighs 6800 lbs empty and the average back hoe is around 8-12k.... I use a pintle hitch

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

It has little to do with the ball strength it is DOT weight classification by ball AND coupler size. Common sense tells you 2" solid stock will handle much more this.......the 5/8 pin would break long before the ball.

Maybe you didn't look at my question. My exact point is, the shaft under all three of those balls on the receiver look to be the same in size. The ball may be bigger, but the ball isn't what would break, the shaft that the ball sits on is what would break.

 

[bigdee]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

Maybe you didn't look at my question. My exact point is, the shaft under all three of those balls on the receiver look to be the same in size. The ball may be bigger, but the ball isn't what would break, the shaft that the ball sits on is what would break.

I assume you are referring to the neck of the ball...in which case each one is proportionately larger.....7/8",1",1-3/16 and that is substantially more meat than the 5/8" drawbar pin

 

[bigdee]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

my 12 ton deckover backhoe trailer (econoline backhoe pro) weighs 6800 lbs empty and the average back hoe is around 8-12k.... I use a pintle hitch

This is a medium tractor with backhoe attachment and front end loader. Don't know weight but I would estimate total to be under 10k

 

[Lakemeadan]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

Any heavy equipment tire shop would probably pound it on for free with a 3/4 air impact. And use a lock washer.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: Ever had a ball come loose?

Talk about thread hijacking. Once I had a ball loosen, I didn't torque properly.