This thread on towing is very useful because we are talking about things
that are taken for granted and maybe shouldn't be. Rick's thoughts
on the breakaway switch were the best I have heard on this subject.
Here's some other questions that I have.
Does anybody have any inspection criteria for the trailer side of the
hitch? All of these vintage trailers have hundreds of thousands of
miles on them. The other day I lay on my back and had a good look
inside the ball socket of our '80 Caravelle and it seemed to look OK.
The locking mechanism looks pretty foolproof. I locked a handheld hitch
ball into the socket and was pleasantly surprised to find little if any
fore-and-aft or side-to-side play, although there was a little slop in
the up and down direction. I expect the preload from the weight
distribution bars prevents vertical movement in most circumstances.
Still thinking about free play, how much is permissible between the ball
mount shank and the receiver tube in the tow vehicle?
The first ball mount I bought (for a boat trailer, many years ago) was
so tight I couldn't push the shank into the receiver by hand. I greased
it and drove it in with a mallet. (Ball mount and receiver were both
Reese, incidentally.) To get it out I put a tow strap around a tree and
the hitch ball and drive off. (Remembering to take the pin out first!)
After that experience I milled down the shank a little so it would go
in by hand.
I just fitted a new Reese adjustable shank and ball mount to the truck
to tow our 1980 Caravelle, and the shank fits quite loosely side-to-side
in the receiver. The side-to-side play is about 1/4 inch measured at
the hitch ball. That's more than I would expect, although not
necessarily a problem. Anybody know for sure?
And finally, the two big bolts that hold the new ball mount to the shank
are supposed to be torqued up to 300 ft-lbs and the 1 1/4 inch ball is
supposed to be torqued up to 450 ft-lbs. That's a *lot* of torque! I
figured that the ball mount was a significant airworthiness item and
invested in a three foot long 300 ft-lb torque wrench. ($70 at Harbor
Freight. Taiwanese, seems like pretty decent quality.) That took care
of those bolts, but I wonder how anyone torques up those hitch balls to
450 ft-lb. (At least the hitch ball has wrench flats on it--many
don't!) I thought about buying a 1 7/8 inch socket for the torque wrench
but the shape of the ball mount is such that I don't think that
combination would go on the nut. For now, I tightened it with a 24-inch
Crescent wrench. I figure that heaving for all I'm worth with both
hands on a two-foot long wrench should get somewhere in the neighborhood
of 400 ft-lb.
Mainly I'm counting on the fact that there is a large safety factor in
towing our 4,000 pound trailer with a ball mount and ball rated 12,000
pounds.
Comments are invited!
See you down the road,
John & Barb Sellers
WBCCI/VAC #1587
1960 Pacer (for sale)
1980 International Caravelle
Dayton, Ohio