Lucky Stars

[sheepfarmer]

Thanking my lucky stars and the powers that be...I pulled the ball for the trailer hitch back out of the receptacle on the truck to store away in a box inside the truck, and discovered that the nut that holds the ball to the bar was loose. Not down below the threads but enough to explain why the truck had a jiggly feeling when I hauled the trailer down the road to put it away yesterday. I pulled over and got out to check the hitch: ball was tight in receptacle, safety chains in place. Everything seemed solid. Was about to blame transmission or something. Never occurred to me that nut could work loose, it was put on with a pipe wrench years ago, by someone with lots of muscle, not me). It certainly didn't feel loose when I put it on the day before, but I didn't put a wrench to it. I don't like to think about trying to control truck and trailer on the fwy with those "safety" chains with the hitch dragging. Moral: check again.

 

[Daren Todd]

Years ago I had a hitch and trailer light plug installed by uhaul. Was 18 and didn't know any better about checking other people's work. Drove 1500 miles with one of there trailers, all my possessions, and my parents harley. Lost the trailer pulling into a uhaul parking lot to return it Nut fell off the ball. Now I install with an impact, and use red lotite if the nut isn't a nylock

 

[85Hokie]

we aint going down that road again are we? the nutz are loose again?????


glad you found it - before it found you!!!!!!!!!

 

[sheepfarmer]

I'll be looking for a nylock of a suitable size...thanks Daren, I didn't know much about them. This had a lock washer, but obviously not working as intended.

 

[sawmill]

Back in the 70's I was towing a 24' travel trailer down the fwy with my welding truck. I was right beside an 18 wheeler and the trailer bounced off the ball. The only thing holding it was the safety chains. My truck was a 1 ton dually with a big welder on the back and had a steel bed. It was pretty heavy. The trailer didn't whip he truck around but I could see it zig-zagging all over the place in the mirrors. Luckily I didn't wreck. It was a white knuckled ride till I finally got stopped. On the trailer tongue, the nut that holds the fork that slips around the shank on the ball had loosened up. It had enough threads that I tightened it and double nutted it. The scariest part of the whole thing was it was my mother-in-laws trailer.

 

[CaveCreekRay]

I always wondered about that...

You see loads of cars with hitches that appear way overloaded -not like the heavy class truck hitches most of us have. What's just in front of the hitch on most cars and some trucks? The gas tank.

Ball or hitch failure...
Hanging by the chains...
Slam on the brakes...
Trailer tongue swings on the chains into the fuel tank bottom...
Lots of sparks from the dragging tongue and chains...

Its a miracle it doesn't happen more often.

 

[Tooljunkie]

I watched a tourist drag his trailer around by the chains.it never dawned on him that the grinding noise and banging was his trailer. Drove around town and into restaurant parking lot, went in for a bite to eat.

What i find is if hole for ball is a little too big,nut will loosen. If its using a sleeve, i tack weld it.

I spent 6 years trying to educate co-workers on trailer etiquette,many people with higher education have less practical knowledge.not latched, tow bar pins missing,wiring torn off, bent tongues,wheels ground off or gone. I saw everything.

 

[Daren Todd]

Tooljunkie brings up a good point. Need to know the size of the hole for the reciever and buy the ball with the proper shaft size. Different shaft sizes have different weight ratings as well.

 

[Lil Foot]

I always wondered about that...
You see loads of cars with hitches that appear way overloaded -not like the heavy class truck hitches most of us have. What's just in front of the hitch on most cars and some trucks? The gas tank.
Ball or hitch failure...
Hanging by the chains...
Slam on the brakes...
Trailer tongue swings on the chains into the fuel tank bottom...
Lots of sparks from the dragging tongue and chains...
Its a miracle it doesn't happen more often.

Years ago we were meeting some friends from Tucson at a campground in Colorado, and they showed up several days late. He was driving a '69ish Blazer pulling a 16' travel trailer. As you enter Winslow from the south on hwy 87, the road narrows, dives steeply into an old narrow underpass beneath the rail line. Just at this point, the bolt holding the latch on the hitch broke, (they found it later) dropping the tongue onto the chains. Naturally, he applied the brakes, and the tongue dove down, forward & up. It destroyed the fuel tank, cut both rear brake lines, sliced both rear tires, and ripped the plumbing off the propane tank on the trailer tongue. Thankfully, it was raining cats & dogs, or there might have been a catastrophic fire. Now, try to find parts to repair all that on a weekend in Winslow, AZ, about 30 years ago.

 

[Diydave]

I ground a flat spot in the bottom section of the ball, and welded a piece of 5/16 square key stock to the receiver hitch. It locks the ball against a flat surface, so you can tighten the nut, without having to remove the trailer. Now wal-mart sells a similar setup with hex, formed in the bottom of the ball, and has a matching receiver hitch, that has a punched hex in it to achieve the same idea... I coulda made some bucks...

http://www.walmart.com/ip/BULLDOG-2154242-Towing-Kit-Ball-Dia-2-In-Length-9-In/40856800

 

[Tooljunkie]

Install ball,torque to specification and tack weld nut. Achieving that with a 1"shank ball would be difficut to achieve as its over 600 foot-pounds torque.
3/4" bolt style is over 250 foot lbs. difficut with regular type guy tools.
the flat bar welded to bar is a great idea. Ball cant turn.

 

[ShaunBlake]

I'll be looking for a nylock of a suitable size...thanks Daren, I didn't know much about them. This had a lock washer, but obviously not working as intended.

"Lock" washers don't, really. (May be a thread on OTT about that, but the bottom line is a flat washer is more effective, and if used, a lock washer should be used between a flat washer and nut.

When looking for a Nylock-style nut, be sure to get one that will leave one and one-half threads exposed. If the threads don't extend out of the Nylock nut that far, the nylon insert will not be gripping with its designed potential.

I much prefer Loctite, in any color. (Even blue will be better than a "lock" washer!

I ground a flat spot in the bottom section of the ball, and welded a piece of 5/16 square key stock to the receiver hitch. It locks the ball against a flat surface, so you can tighten the nut, without having to remove the trailer. Now wal-mart sells a similar setup with hex, formed in the bottom of the ball, and has a matching receiver hitch, that has a punched hex in it to achieve the same idea... I coulda made some bucks...

Yep, Reese offers the "regular" one, or one with a hex indentation, and balls with a hex profile that matches. A bit more $$ but they've got you by the...

Install ball,torque to specification and tack weld nut. Achieving that with a 1"shank ball would be difficut to achieve as its over 600 foot-pounds torque.
3/4" bolt style is over 250 foot lbs. difficut with regular type guy tools.
the flat bar welded to bar is a great idea. Ball cant turn.

Welding would certainly be a permanent solution. I'm not convinced that I'll always need to use a 2" ball, so I will just settle for Loctite for now. Intellectually I know that a jamb nut would be more secure than Loctite, but I guess I'm kinda stuck in my ways.

I hadn't considered the torquing requirements... how long a cheater bar would I have to use... Oh, skip it, I'm not going to go shopping for 1" drive wrench and sockets! I'll have to take my chances with 3/4" air impact wrench.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Thanking my lucky stars and the powers that be...I pulled the ball for the trailer hitch back out of the receptacle on the truck to store away in a box inside the truck, and discovered that the nut that holds the ball to the bar was loose. Not down below the threads but enough to explain why the truck had a jiggly feeling when I hauled the trailer down the road to put it away yesterday. I pulled over and got out to check the hitch: ball was tight in receptacle, safety chains in place. Everything seemed solid. Was about to blame transmission or something. Never occurred to me that nut could work loose, it was put on with a pipe wrench years ago, by someone with lots of muscle, not me). It certainly didn't feel loose when I put it on the day before, but I didn't put a wrench to it. I don't like to think about trying to control truck and trailer on the fwy with those "safety" chains with the hitch dragging. Moral: check again.

I have a rule about that when it happens!
Chuck the ball in the trash bin!
If it was loose it could also be because the shank has streatched, to me it's not worth the risk!
Another thought is that it's very hard on the shank if it was wrenching around on the receiver shaft.
Get a new ball!

 

[Diydave]

2 other thoughts:

When tightening a ball on the mount, pull the pin, slide the mount out, and re-insert rotated 1/4 turn to the right. (ball is now sideways to the right of normal position) Now put your wrench on the nut, and stand on it, jump on it till it won't turn any more. If you have to remove, rotate the ball to left and do the same thing, and you can remove it. If you use a cheater bar, just keep it with the truck.

Also, I lube the top of the ball with grease or never-seize compound. if the ball and coupler rotate on each other, with ease, it won't work the ball loose...

 

[sheepfarmer]

Thanks everyone! As always I have learned a lot from everyone's posts, and fortunately this time it was not the hard way. A new ball and bar is in my future, preferably with improved design. And a reminder to check EVERYTHING.

I was inspired to add a caveat to the tier 4 column since safety was on my mind, that running the rpm's up to avoid regeneration shouldn't be done at the expense of safe operation. Too many of these tractors are bought by relatively inexperienced users (like me), and running the tractor at full throttle all the time, with quicker speed response and faster bucket operation could be dangerous if someone's skill level isn't high. There is a time and a place for 2400 rpm.

 

[Grouse Feathers]

I am not saying it can't happen, but I have never had a nut come loose with a lock washer if the nut was properly torqued to begin with. A stretched shank would certainly be a way for it to happen as the nut would no longer be properly torqued. I also do not reuse lock washers on this type of application. I like and use a lot of nylock nuts, but on this application if I was using a locknut it would not be nylock.

Larry

 

[ShaunBlake]

I am not saying it can't happen, but I have never had a nut come loose with a lock washer if the nut was properly torqued to begin with...

Yep, properly torquing is the key. Moreover, when a fastener is properly torqued, no other restraining should be necessary. Lock washers (or serrated washers) cannot add to the tension of the stretched threads. (There is much engineering data about this; just Giggle it and be persuaded, or not.) The most effective enhancement (backup, or suspenders, really, for instances where the threads were not properly stretched) is thread-locking sealant (Red Loctite®).

And though I sometimes use them, I don't like "Nylock" nuts. They are effective, though not nearly as effective as proper torquing or proper torquing+Red Loctite®. I suspect I'm not the only one who uses them in place of researching the proper torque and applying it.

In the case where proper torquing is not sufficient, drilling the nut and wiring it in place is the proper solution. However, I would go to the (disapproved) use of a castellated nut and pin to avoid the pain of drilling+pinning.