How To Choose The Best Trailer Hitch

The best trailer hitch is the one that best fits the situation and load capacity of the unit being towed. Safety is always a concern, and trailer hitches are manufactured with certain load rating, as well as different sizes of coupling parts. Here are a few details that may aid you decide which kind you will require.

There are fundamentally 3 types of hitch which are available, the ball hitch, the 5th wheel hitch and the pintle hook. Each of these depend on the terrain and the load requirements and are utilized in different applications. Let us take a look at them for their uses.

The most common hitch is the kind used to pull boat, RV, and utility trailers Autel MaxiSys MS908, that need a ball of a particular diameter to firmly make the connection. These balls come in different sizes measured in inches which range from 1 1/4″ to 2 5/16″, with shank sizes of 3/4″ to 1 1/4″. The correct size is normally stamped into the metal tongue of the trailer to be towed.

The 5th wheel hitch has been made a lot more popular by RVs that are fashioned after horse and livestock trailers. The front of these trailers hangs over into the back of a pickup truck bed launch x431 pro3, where the king pin plate is set up. Eighteen wheelers use the kingpin connection, but many RV trailers use the same type of ball as the utility trailers. The purpose for a 5th wheel is the ‘goose necked’ placement of the load over the drive train offers greater stability when traveling.

Pintle hook hitches could be found in use on trailers that are little enough for a pickup truck to pull, but the most used application of this hitch is in agriculture and heavy road construction. Because of the uneven terrain, any other type of hitch leads to binding which could result in turning the towed trailer over. A pintle hook has a single spring clamp that secures inside a hook that is mounted to the trailer tongue and provides quick connect and release.

Selecting the correct hitch for your towing requirements depends on the type of trailer, the kind of towing vehicle and the load rating of each. There might also be state, local and federal requirements which apply to each kind and what the intent of destination may be. Commercial haulers would need a license and possibly a special permit to use some kinds of trailer hitch.

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