Choosing The Best Trailer Hitch Made Easy
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 which might help you decide which type you’ll require.
There are basically three kinds of hitch which are the ball type, the 5th wheel and the pintle hook. Each of these is used in different applications and mostly depend on the terrain and load requirements. Let’s take a look at them for their uses.
The most common hitch is the type utilized to pull boat, RV, and utility trailers, that need a ball of a certain diameter to securely 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 right size is normally stamped into the metal tongue of the trailer to be towed.
The 5th wheel hitch is 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, where the king pin plate is set up. Eighteen wheelers use the kingpin connection, but most RV trailers utilize the same kind 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 can be found in use on trailers which are small 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 proper hitch for your towing requirements depends on the kind of trailer, the kind of towing vehicle and the load rating of each. There might also be state, local and federal requirements that apply to each kind and what the intent of destination might be. Commercial haulers will require a license and possibly a special permit to use some types of trailer hitch.
To find a resource that can educate you and provide you with this unique trailer coupling design visit www.ozhitch.com.
