the boat you save may be your own

[Digger]

As we all get ready for another season :hyper::beer::hyper: and tweak our boats and trailers don't forget your trailer hitch.

I have gotten in the habit of replacing my hitch ball and drawbar pin every season. I think its cheap insurance. I give the drawbar and hitch a thorough visual inspection as well, just takes a few seconds to slide under the truck and see that none of the bolts have broken torque or see if anything else is amiss.

Look close at the second photo. Notice the deformed threads. This is the portion of the ball shaft that actually rides against the drawbar. Imagine how much force it takes to do that.... then imagine what would happen if that component failed while towing. :shocking: This is after one season of towing... we could debate metallurgy all day and argue that the integrity of the shaft is probably still good... but I'm not taking any chances I don't have to take.

[Scott Pearson]

I think we all know why the treads are deformed that way..... :smash:

Could it be at Lake Cumberland when you slid down the 90 degree ramp and the only thing that stopped you from sinking 80 feet off the edge of the ramp was the transom of you boat hitting the water? Wonder if that could have bent those threads??? :eek:


(NJ)Scott

[rickrsbro]

most good 2" balls with a 1" shank are only rated to 6000#. good advise to replace them every few years if your towing close to the limit. i use a cheater bar to tighten the nut to 250 ft #'s. the only way to remove the ball is to cut it off.

what really sucks is when someone steals the circlip on your reciever pin while your out boating. i check mine everytime these days. (they stole my turnbuckle also.) ramp swine.

[Ranman]

Can you say panic stop on the highway with Freedom in tow? :D Oh by the way, she might weigh a tad more than that ball is rated for. ;)

[Digger]

Scott :jestera: needless to say I won't be using that ramp again... I'll put in over at the state park! If I were to use Jamestowns ramp again I would definitely charge admission, say ten bucks a head, to watch the show :eek:

Ricksbro get a lockable one! (like in the above pic) they are around $30 for a stainless one

Randy it's a 10k 2 5/16 ball, biggest you can get... unless I move up to a 5th wheel rig :rolleyes: ...yeah, panic stops suck ass in a big way. just gotta stay alert and try to anticipate the next dumb move someone is gonna make! :fire:

[ToonaFish]

First, Harbormaster says stay on topic.

Then, y'all take bets as to how long you can keep me from straying when a post refers not only to oversized balls, but to bent shafts.

I'm not gonna take your bait, so there.

Bunches,

Celene 'does that mean I win the pot?'

[Ed Donnelly]

Does anyone grease their balls, or do you leave them dry for better ground contact???? ..Ed

[Ranman]

I don't grease mine, but I don't think you should be grounding through the ball anyway.

[Dr. Dan]

:puke: I can't believe Tuna is leaving that last group of comments alone....I Grease Mine...before a Tow....BTW :umbrella:

:smash: Doc

[Digger]

I put lots of grease on my ball, every time... I also put plenty of grease on the coupler shaft... you can never have too much lube :shades:

[Bryan Tuvell 33ZX]

Digger, great post, makes me want to double check mine.
Let alone the strange blinking running lights I have now! :idea:
Bryan

[boxy]

I am considering one of the cushoned ball mounts for towing the Donzi's, anyone ever use them??

Scott, that looks a modified Pintle hook, how does it work ??

Okay I just had a coffee, that is a modified Pintle hook, that's not the cushioned ball mount you were talking about. I'm okay now. :D

[boxy]

Is that because it nestles underneath the ball ??

[Last Tango]

I have a locking hitch receiver pin, and I also keep a Master Lock through the hitch release at all times. I also have a lock that fits over the face of the trailer mount. When I tow, park, or stow, all three are used (except the latter when I'm still hooked up). I ground throught the wiring harness.
And Toona, I do grease my balls regularly, I have a straight shaft, and I always check for a good tight fit before driving home.
I ran into a bit of a quandry on trailer bearing advice recently, though. Despite the obvious need to to regrease bearings and check for play, JKeefe has had consistenly bad luck losing his bearing buddies since he removed them the first time. Shame on me, but I have NEVER removed my bearing buddies to do the internal maintenance we all should do (trailer is now 4 years old and has been used in fresh and salt water, and travelled at least 15,000 miles). Yet, Jack swears from now on he will just grease the heck out of his bearing buddies (as long as they stay on) and never remove them again if he gets them to stay. Now I completely agree with the internal maintenance thing, but if my bearing buddies are on tight, I think I will just get some spare bearings and pack my current bearing buddies before each trip. Anybody else having this problem?
Lock it or loose it.
PS I would bet that the "stolen" receiver pins are more malicious prank than true theft.
:cool!:

[ToonaFish]

:puke: I can't believe Tuna is leaving that last group of comments alone...

It's okay, I wouldn't touch greasy balls, even if they had a ten foot pole.

Bunches,

Celene 'if you are hitched you don't need no lube...'

[rickrsbro]

i have a cheap pickable fulton locking pin, but i only use a public ramp a couple times a year. lesson learned on my part.

the oil bath spindle set up looks pretty good. has anybody gone to that set up over a bearing buddy? i have the hollow spindles the push the grease from the inner to the outboard bearing. a couple pumps once a month gives enough excess to wipe on the trailer ball before every tow. it's about 20 miles or so to the water and i let the bearings cool down a minute or two before i back it in. they do get warm on the twisty roads around here. maybe 100 degrees or so.

i have seen other peolpe perform the bearing welded to the spindle trick a few times.

[Digger]

I have gone to liquid splash lube. There was a discussion of this in the not too distant past. I went with liqua-lube (www.liqualube.com). I'm very happy with the system. With a triple axle trailer the grease was just giving me fits over time. I always worried about the hubs/bearings as I was driving along. Now with the liquid reservoirs you can see at a glance that all is well. My hubs run MUCH cooler now.