Trailer Ball Question

[DanStokes]

Trailering came up in another thread and this came to mind: When is a hitch ball worn out?

Mine has had a lot of miles on it and I grease it whenever I hook up the trailer but it seems like sooner or later it has to reach the point of being worn out. Mine's the big ball (2 5/8 IIRC) - is there a minimum diameter that relates to the end of it's service life? I've looked online but haven't found much.

My trailer has the type of hitch that closes sideways on the ball with a collar to hold it closed (can't pull up the name of the maker of that style coupler) but therefore there's no adjustment like on the kind with the slide that comes up under the ball. Guess that's why I even think about this.

Dan

[Loren]

You must mean the 2 5/16s, that's about as big as they get. I've never in my life seen a hitch ball worn out...presumably what wear there might be would be around the top of the ball, and same for the hitch. At least on the ball you'd be able to see it ground down, if it were to ever get that way. The underside, which is what you'd really be concerned about for safety, doesn't get contact in normal use. With the side-close/sliding collar (the best kind in my opinion) I'd just check that the hinge pin is in good condition.

[Dan Barlow]

The only thing that I could think of wearing might be the strenght of the shank from all the sideways pulling of it by the load . But the ball and shank are so short , I wouldn't worry about it .

[67 Malibu]

Bulldog Trailer Couplers are probably what you are looking for. http://www.bulldogproducts.net/produ...ec9WZOxSt%7Csp
I am sure that there are some knockoffs out there by now but that was the first that I remember & the only ones that I use. I have never had a hitch ball wear out either. Just not much wear on them. I did have a ball mount bolt break off once. Oddly it broke flush with the bottom of the ball rather than below the bottom of the hitch. Safety chains saved me that time.

[Barry Donovan]

as a whole system,the ball is ground for most things like lights, electric trailer brake.

grease may not be your friend.

the last I saw of worn and trailering is king pin locks on dads rigs.. and the military hookups.
pintle...forgot the word.

if you doubt your old one, just go get another...

[67 Malibu]

Pintle hook or lock was all that I ever heard them called.

[DanStokes]

Yes, it's the Bulldog (or a close copy). Works great!

Barry - you should never count on the hitch/ball system as the ground - trailer harnesses have a separate ground wire for a reason. I used to think that they grounded thru the ball, too, but the reality is that you can't count on that connection, hence the ground wire. I have the round 7-pin connector as needed for electric trailer brakes (which reminds me that I need to replace the brakes - they're completely worn out).

'Maro - as I understand it, the pintle hook is the C-shaped hook and donut hitch system as used by the military and heavy duty construction trailers. I've towed a couple of those in a past life (I did construction equipment repair at one time in my life) and while they work OK the trailer does "chuckle" a bit on the hitch and is a bit unnerving 'till you get used to it.

I do have a sort of phobia about losing the trailer and Mutt (I've seen roadside accidents) so I'm probably worrying unnecessarily. Good to get input.

Dan

[SuperBuickGuy]

The trailer ball is hardened steel, the hitch is stamped steel.... the ball isn't going to wear, the hitch most certainly can. With that said, there really isn't that much wear-inducing spinning going on there.... and if there is, you have many more troubles then your ball

and I do speak as someone who has had trailers go AWOL (and tires, and wheels, and loads)

[Dan Barlow]

Sadly Super , I know what your talking about .

[Deaf Bob]

Only oneS I had go AWOL? screw type and the spring loaded lever type.. Both, in my opinion are "light duty" the spring loaded one had a bolt on top you can adjust it's snugness with.. I welded a sgort bead on the bottom of one, it was on a 3 axle equipment trailer and the weight of crawler, backhoe and my heavy derby cars wore it down..
Since you have that side lock type, it is unlikely to wear.. Hook up, find a neutral area where you can easily push the trailer fore and aft..and jerk it up/down. Might rattle a little.. Want more proof? Light coat of paint on the ball then hook it up and drive it. See where you are paintless..

I welded mine on a couple recievers. 3 to be exact.. 1-7/8, 2, and 2-5/16 The 2" is welded on the sides and tacked at the nut the other 2 are tacked at the nut.. I have 4-5 recievers I use, 3 main ones, 2 to put different balls on if needed (easier to carry extra balls than recievers in theSuburban. While the flatbed carries 3 recievers.. )

I've scrapped alotta balls.. Usually cuz the threads got fouled up or like area.. Ones where the balls were worn were the older carriage bolt thru the hollow ball ones (I believe those are illegal)

How much s your peace of mind? Price of the ball made in Chineeseium while your current one is probably a good one?

[Loren]

Tow chains are what I worry about more sometimes. I didn't do this but a friend did, he was hauling a customer trailer with very pricey customer livestock and had it dis-attach, shoot off into a hillside, roll and kill the animal. I heard about this the next day, the sh*tstorm had already started over it, the site had been cleaned up but I said we better go take a look.

I found the trailer hitch un-latched. It was like Dan's and would have never come un-done, he had made it about ten miles before it slipped off. The guy was under a lot of pressure with way too much to think about that day and under some distress anyhow...and forgot to latch it. He did remember the chains. Alongside the road I found some pieces of ground-up chain and...

...Mountain-climbing-type aluminum carabiners. Someone had replaced the original steel hardware with carabiners. Of-course they never had a chance.

In California there have to be two steel safety chains, each with a capacity to handle the trailer, the fact that the hardware had been replaced with illegal/substandard parts wound up being his only defense in a situation where he was taking a lot of blame. I had made the point that for the accident to have happened there needed to be three things occur, he not latching the hitch (his fault), the first safety chain failing (shared fault,, the trailer owner's mostly and some fault for my non-mechanically-inclined friend to have not caught it) and then the second chain failing, same deal. All in all I put the fault at about 50/50 because of the intentional substitution of proper parts for more-convenient bad ones by the trailer owner, which was an improvement over what he was facing. How it all worked out legally I can't tell you, I was just there to try to get a guy from deep trouble into less-deep trouble.

The whole thing was a terrible mess for about a year, the customer spreading all over the internet that my friend had intentionally killed the animal.

Now if this had happened to me, who is more mechanically inclined and carries the expectations included, it would have been all my fault at-least in my mind. I would know better than to use those chains, and stop the whole deal until they were replaced. Again, legally I don't know how that would actually fly.

I did haul a borrowed trailer a couple weeks ago with s-hooks...hated every minute of it. I prefer the kind that screw shut, and remember you're supposed to cross the chains.

[tardis454]

One of the machine shops I worked for made hitch balls and accessories for a local trailer company.
The balls were 4140 forged steel, and hitch accessories were made out of 1045 steel bar and tubing.
You'll have a hard time wearing out a 4140 forging. 4140 in general is very durable and strong as hell.
I've seen trailer components break due to human error and stupidity.. I've never seen them wear out.

[SuperBuickGuy]

how many here have been trained on what to do if a trailer decouples?

Loren is right about crossing the chains, the purpose is so the chains keep the hitch from digging into the ground - but how many know how long those chains should be? after all, too short and you can't turn or worse break them, too long and the trailer still digs into the ground....

for me - in both cases, the hitch itself failed one was a really old camping trailer that cracked vertically through where it attached to the ball. just one chain, it broke then the trailer went up the embankment and flipped. Second time, was a screw type that got caught so it seemed locked (even with a pull). It wasn't, it went off a 10' embankment and I thought it'd do okay (big flat ground) but at the last moment the hitch aimed at the ground and it was like God slammed it upside down into the ground.... no safety chains because we were only going maybe a mile.... I'm glad, saved my truck from damage ;)

[tardis454]

but how many know how long those chains should be? after all, too short and you can't turn or worse break them, too long and the trailer still digs into the ground....

You're supposed to back the trailer up into almost a jackknife position, and measure the distance with a piece of rope.

[DanStokes]

The Tardis method makes sense. Mine were so tight when I got Truck that I couldn't hook 'em up so I added just 1 link of those repair links that screw together - 1 per side, that is - and now if I stretch them and get all the twists out they just barely hook up. Mine do have S-hooks (came with the trailer) but they're big, burley guys. I haven't lost this trailer but I think they'd catch it. Did lose a tire on the X-way - not very dramatic.

Dan