I change my tow ball every three years without fail. When do you change yours.
Wombat 280 said
10:04 PM May 19, 2011
When I change my vehicle about 3 -4 years . Have seen the result of people using air guns to rattle them on and the thread section has stretched to breaking point. No need to tighten that much
jimricho said
08:07 AM May 20, 2011
Wombat 280 wrote:
When I change my vehicle about 3 -4 years . Have seen the result of people using air guns to rattle them on and the thread section has stretched to breaking point. No need to tighten that much
Surely the spring washer is more than adequate to stop the nut from loosening.
I seem to recall reading somewhere about a type of hitch that will tend to loosen the ball unless the ball used is the one specified for that hitch. I think it was something to do with the height of the ball above the tongue rather than an issue with the diameter, not sure though.
-- Edited by jimricho on Friday 20th of May 2011 08:11:03 AM
littledick said
09:04 AM May 20, 2011
jimricho.
I have kept a check on my towball whilst travelling as I have noticed in some instances that the 4 steel crook wdhs (2 either side) can somehow tend to loosen the towball. Dont know how, but I would always keep a check for safety reasons.
littledick.
jimricho said
06:21 PM May 20, 2011
There's sure no harm in checking these things.
LD if the wdh is the type I'm thinking it is there's possibly some movement between the base of the wdh and the base of the towball that may tend to loosen it. I had a neighbour (sadly since passed on) who had one of these and he had a bolt that went through the base and a hole in the tongue to stop this happening. Sometimes that bolt sheared when doing a tight turn onto a site if he didn't disconnect the wdh bars first.
I'm using a Treg hitch these days without a wdh and the Treg has a couple of lugs that go over the side of the tongue to stop any twisting.
Yuglamron said
02:20 PM May 21, 2011
I personally would never have a towball.
I much prefer the McHitch system advertised on the main products page.
Much more secure and robust.
Check out their website and see the advantages.
PS I have no connection with McHitch except as a customer and user.
PeterD said
03:54 PM May 26, 2011
jimricho wrote:I seem to recall reading somewhere about a type of hitch that will tend to loosen the ball unless the ball used is the one specified for that hitch. I think it was something to do with the height of the ball above the tongue rather than an issue with the diameter, not sure though.
I believe you are referring to the Alko AKS3004 Stabiliser,618304. Quote from that page "It must be used with ALKO's anti rotating towball and plate that prevents the towball rotating on the towbar. (Not included)."
PeterD said
04:03 PM May 26, 2011
littledick wrote:I have kept a check on my towball whilst travelling as I have noticed in some instances that the 4 steel crook wdhs (2 either side) can somehow tend to loosen the towball. Dont know how, but I would always keep a check for safety reasons.
The stress on the head by the bars tends to rotate the head.
I don't know about the current production ones but the one I purchased in 1973 had an extra hole in the head. When you stood behind the tug and looked down on the ball, the hole was in approx the 1 or 2 o'clock position. The idea was that you drilled the tongue below this hole and put a bolt through to prevent the head from turning.
I would not use them these days. There are much better products around. They are only useful for ball weights up to around 90 kg - [an engineers rating (Tom Olthoff) not a bloody salesmans rating.]
I change my tow ball every three years without fail. When do you change yours.
Surely the spring washer is more than adequate to stop the nut from loosening.
I seem to recall reading somewhere about a type of hitch that will tend to loosen the ball unless the ball used is the one specified for that hitch. I think it was something to do with the height of the ball above the tongue rather than an issue with the diameter, not sure though.
-- Edited by jimricho on Friday 20th of May 2011 08:11:03 AM
jimricho.
I have kept a check on my towball whilst travelling as I have noticed in some instances that the 4 steel crook wdhs (2 either side) can somehow tend to loosen the towball. Dont know how, but I would always keep a check for safety reasons.
littledick.
LD if the wdh is the type I'm thinking it is there's possibly some movement between the base of the wdh and the base of the towball that may tend to loosen it. I had a neighbour (sadly since passed on) who had one of these and he had a bolt that went through the base and a hole in the tongue to stop this happening. Sometimes that bolt sheared when doing a tight turn onto a site if he didn't disconnect the wdh bars first.
I'm using a Treg hitch these days without a wdh and the Treg has a couple of lugs that go over the side of the tongue to stop any twisting.
I personally would never have a towball.
I much prefer the McHitch system advertised on the main products page.
Much more secure and robust.
Check out their website and see the advantages.
PS I have no connection with McHitch except as a customer and user.
I believe you are referring to the Alko AKS3004 Stabiliser,618304 . Quote from that page "It must be used with ALKO's anti rotating towball and plate that prevents the towball rotating on the towbar. (Not included)."
The stress on the head by the bars tends to rotate the head.
I don't know about the current production ones but the one I purchased in 1973 had an extra hole in the head. When you stood behind the tug and looked down on the ball, the hole was in approx the 1 or 2 o'clock position. The idea was that you drilled the tongue below this hole and put a bolt through to prevent the head from turning.
I would not use them these days. There are much better products around. They are only useful for ball weights up to around 90 kg - [an engineers rating (Tom Olthoff) not a bloody salesmans rating.]