Anyone ever have a little trouble getting a Trailer Ball Hitch to slide in and out? Also Level!

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Don2222

Don2222

Minister of Fire
Feb 1, 2010
9,117
Salem NH
Hello

I had a hitch bolted to the frame of my 1999 Subaru and decided to take advantage of it.

So I went to Autozone and purchased the Hitch Ball, short Draw Bar and holding Pin for a 1 1/4" hitch.

Then I went to slide it in!! No Way!!

So I got a little advice.

Spray WD-40 inside and leave it over night. Then take a rough metal file and file all the rust inside the square receiver especially toward the back. Then with a rag wipe out all the rust. Then paint the slide with the boiler man's Never Seez that I got at FW Web heating supply.
The Never Seez will make it slide out when you want!

Did all that and it worked! Amazing, see pics below

But the Top of the Ball was only 12" off the ground! Too low for most trailers!
 

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I had an early 90s toyota. One day I decided to remove hitch.It would not budge. After much frustration I learned the hard way that the hitch was stronger than the rusty frame. I guess I should not have chained the ball to a tree and yanked so hard.Oops
 
Hello

Well, I had another big issue with that Drawer Slide from Autozone
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_Draw-Bar-Interlock-1-1-4-x-7-x-2-1-2-Drop-Reese_6400047-P_N4056F_A|GRP2070_____

As you can see I had the Hitch draw bar upside down with the ball mounted. This made the top of the ball only 12 inches off the ground!

That is too low for most trailers and the one I had, with this draw bar made the front of the bed tilt down!!!

All Autozone and PepBoys Auto part stores only had this Reese brand!!

So I went to JJMs Trailer and Fleet repair.

They had longer Draw bars, one was hollow and one was solid metal like the Reese. Well I bought the hollow draw bar and it would not push in!! So I brought it back and the guy said they are all the Same!! I said the car is out there, try it for yourself! He did and it did NOT push in all the way. Then he tried the solid draw bar and guess what if fit!!

So the 3rd one I purchased fit and was long enough to have the top of the ball about 19" off the ground and the bed is now level!!!
See last pic! All Done!
 

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There is no rule saying which side is up for those hitches. Low rider cars have to be creative when trying to do things that regular size vehicles normally do. You did the right thing to flip that hitch over to make a 2" drop into a 2" rise.

Terminology: The receiver is the hollow square bolted to the vehicle. The hitch or stinger is the thing bolted to the ball. There's no such thing as a drawer slide unless you are talking about a kitchen cabinet.

That little pin you used to attach the hitch to the reciever, keep an eye on it. The little pin can be pulled out by brush or by kids and you could loose your trailer on the road. I always use a locking hitch pin to keep this connection secure.
 
Highbeam said:
There is no rule saying which side is up for those hitches. Low rider cars have to be creative when trying to do things that regular size vehicles normally do. You did the right thing to flip that hitch over to make a 2" drop into a 2" rise.

Terminology: The receiver is the hollow square bolted to the vehicle. The hitch or stinger is the thing bolted to the ball. There's no such thing as a drawer slide unless you are talking about a kitchen cabinet.

That little pin you used to attach the hitch to the receiver, keep an eye on it. The little pin can be pulled out by brush or by kids and you could loose your trailer on the road. I always use a locking hitch pin to keep this connection secure.
Click to expand...

Hello

Thanks. Not only did I turn it over but I had to buy a longer stinger. The Reese draw bar was too short!

Autozone's terminology is Draw Bar and Stinger is probably the street slang.

Glad I do not have the Reese Hitch because the receiver would have to be all most even with the back bumper to work and that may be more of a hazzard in a back bumper collision!

In the pic below from the word Reese to the end that slides into the receiver is only 5 1/2 inches.
The new one I purchased from the Trailer shop is 8 inches to clear the bumper. Big difference and much safer that way!
 

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Gary_602z said:
Mine is rusted in,I don't have to worry about any body stealing it! :)

Gary
Click to expand...
The one in my pickup isn't going anywhere either. Believe me, I tried.
(I think a couple of owners before me put it in there after soaking it in a salt brine.)
 
I do a lot of towing with different trailers plus I always leave a ball on the truck so the receiver is loose and sloppy. Once you use it a lot even the holes in the receiver can wallow out. Mine are egg shaped and I can really feel the hit when the pin moves around.
 
+2 on the locking hitch pin.
That ball looks kind of high from the picture, whatever you are towing should be level with the vehicle.
 
egclassic said:
+2 on the locking hitch pin.
That ball looks kind of high from the picture, whatever you are towing should be level with the vehicle.
Click to expand...

It only looks high because the bumper is low and the picture was taken real low also!!

My trailer bed is level now so I am all set. Thanks
 
Highbeam said:
There is no rule saying which side is up for those hitches. Low rider cars have to be creative when trying to do things that regular size vehicles normally do. You did the right thing to flip that hitch over to make a 2" drop into a 2" rise.

Terminology: The receiver is the hollow square bolted to the vehicle. The hitch or stinger is the thing bolted to the ball. There's no such thing as a drawer slide unless you are talking about a kitchen cabinet.

That little pin you used to attach the hitch to the reciever, keep an eye on it. The little pin can be pulled out by brush or by kids and you could loose your trailer on the road. I always use a locking hitch pin to keep this connection secure.
Click to expand...

Hello

This trailer has a safety chain that hooks onto the hitch bar loop on both sides!. See pic. Do other trailers have this?
Also the both nuts has to come off completely and the metal plate on the bottom must come out to get the ball into the hitch.
See pic
 

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Don2222 said:
Hello

This trailer has a safety chain that hooks onto the hitch bar loop on both sides!. See pic. Do other trailers have this?
Also the both nuts has to come off completely and the metal plate on the bottom must come out to get the ball into the hitch.
See pic
Click to expand...

Two safety chains are standard and should be on every trailer you ever haul. These are supposed to stop the trailer from passing you after it has somehow managed to detach itself from the ball (More common than you might think).
 
Highbeam said:
...Terminology: The receiver is the hollow square bolted to the vehicle. The hitch or stinger is the thing bolted to the ball. There's no such thing as a drawer slide unless you are talking about a kitchen cabinet.....
Click to expand...

Different terminology in our area and apparently elsewhere, for receiver hitches:

Hitch -- the whole assembly from the frame to the trailer
draw bar, stinger, ball mount - the part that the ball mounts to

Never heard "drawer slide" though

Here's a reference: http://www.hitchweb.com/page/hitch-towing-glossary
 
Don2222... Good job on the hitch, Receiver, and ball. Now you should fix that trailer so you have two proper safety chains. Also, I have some experience with those old school screw down style couplers.... get rid of it, and pick up the standard latch down and pin one from tsc or the likes. They don't cost much and are much safer. Mine was on a car hualer and twice vibrated loose (counterclockwise) and fell off. It was scary both times... The first time, I figured I didn't screw it down tight enough, the second time was screwed down with channel locks and still came loose.

Here is what I'm talking about
Trailer coupler from TSC

2012-01-08_0959.jpg
 
egclassic said:
+2 on the locking hitch pin.....
Click to expand...

+1
But those locking hitch pins are expensive and I hate keeping track of keys.
I enlarged the existing hole in a regular pin and use a combination padlock, the same lock I use for everything else. (MASTER MLK-175D Solid Brass Resettable Combination Padlock)
 
Some people say I am "overly cautious". With my receiver hitches, I use a grade 5 bolt with two nuts jammed together. I always use the proper length safety chains and they are "crossed". Crossing the chains create a cradle for the tongue to fall on---much safer!
Just two weeks ago, my son was following a car with an unloaded trailer. He stated that the trailer started swinging so he slowed down. The towing car did not slow down and the trailer broke loose from the vehicle.
Runaway trailer went into oncoming traffic, missing the first car, but causing the second vehicle to swerve resulting in a rollover down an embankment and into a creek!
My son is a police officer, offduty at the time, but he stopped and tried to pull the older man from the submurged vehicle. He failed and the driver died.
My son said that the towing vehicle had NO SAFETY CHAINS!!
Could this death have been prevented with safety chains????
 
Giles said:
... the trailer started swinging so he slowed down.
Click to expand...

A lot folks don't seem to know that improper weight distribution (not enough tongue weight) causes this.
 
Semipro said:
Giles said:
... the trailer started swinging so he slowed down.
Click to expand...

A lot folks don't seem to know that improper weight distribution (not enough tongue weight) causes this.
Click to expand...
Yes that is good advise--but this small trailer was empty--could have been a number of problems of which the greatest was NO SAFETY CHAINS!!
 
Giles said:
Semipro said:
Giles said:
... the trailer started swinging so he slowed down.
Click to expand...

A lot folks don't seem to know that improper weight distribution (not enough tongue weight) causes this.
Click to expand...
Yes that is good advise--but this small trailer was empty--could have been a number of problems of which the greatest was NO SAFETY CHAINS!!
Click to expand...

No doubt charges should be filed against the guy not using chains.
One of my trailers does the swinging thing even empty though. I have to add some weight to the front of it to prevent this.

The need for safety chains is self evident.. at least you'd think so; and I appreciate your posting the warning
I'm just not sure people understand why their trailers rhythmically sway from side to side so i thought I'd pass that on.
 
I have been told that you can get a ticket for leaving your draw bar in the receiver in New York.
 
Jack Straw said:
I have been told that you can get a ticket for leaving your draw bar in the receiver in New York.
Click to expand...

Not the first time I've heard this. Just another fine example of our local/county/state legislators using their time wisely.
 
MasterMech said:
Jack Straw said:
I have been told that you can get a ticket for leaving your draw bar in the receiver in New York.
Click to expand...

Not the first time I've heard this. Just another fine example of our local/county/state legislators using their time wisely.
Click to expand...

Wow. That is nuts. I wonder if it is actually enforced regularly.

I'm glad all the other problems in NY have been solved so they can focus their attention on this.
 
lukem said:
MasterMech said:
Jack Straw said:
I have been told that you can get a ticket for leaving your draw bar in the receiver in New York.
Click to expand...

Not the first time I've heard this. Just another fine example of our local/county/state legislators using their time wisely.
Click to expand...

Wow. That is nuts. I wonder if it is actually enforced regularly.

I'm glad all the other problems in NY have been solved so they can focus their attention on this.
Click to expand...

So far it's just been an excuse for them to shine a flashlight in your face late at night but one day they're gonna start writing those tickets.
 
Semipro said:
egclassic said:
+2 on the locking hitch pin.....
Click to expand...

+1
But those locking hitch pins are expensive and I hate keeping track of keys.
I enlarged the existing hole in a regular pin and use a combination padlock, the same lock I use for everything else. (MASTER MLK-175D Solid Brass Resettable Combination Padlock)
Click to expand...

Keeping track of keys? How do you keep track of your car keys?

Just leave one key in your tool box in the garage and the other in the console or glove box in the car.
 
Semipro said:
Giles said:
Semipro said:
Giles said:
... the trailer started swinging so he slowed down.
Click to expand...

A lot folks don't seem to know that improper weight distribution (not enough tongue weight) causes this.
Click to expand...
Yes that is good advise--but this small trailer was empty--could have been a number of problems of which the greatest was NO SAFETY CHAINS!!
Click to expand...

No doubt charges should be filed against the guy not using chains.
One of my trailers does the swinging thing even empty though. I have to add some weight to the front of it to prevent this.

The need for safety chains is self evident.. at least you'd think so; and I appreciate your posting the warning
I'm just not sure people understand why their trailers rhythmically sway from side to side so i thought I'd pass that on.
Click to expand...

While you are correct about the tounge weight, the real reason this is happening is because the axel is too far forward.
This type of trailer becomes exceptionaly dangerous when in the hands of someone unaware of the tounge weight issue.
 
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