Hitch ball with hole for pin???

travismikula · Apr 27, 2018

I'm trying to find a 2" ball that has a transverse hole in the shank so I can quickly put it in and out of the hole in my tractor hitch for pulling my wood hauler, but I can not find such a thing. I can buy a regular hitch ball, take off the nut, and drill the hole through the shank but I just can't believe something like that doesn't exist. Seems crazy that I can't find one. Does anyone know if this is a thing?

Thanks!

Stroby · Apr 27, 2018

Probably has to do with "lawyers." In this world where some people can't wait to sue someone for ..... anything, I suspect the tow/haul requirements must be met.

JMOR · Apr 27, 2018

More likely because it is a bad idea! Think about it. I have seen bolt on units that have been run without nut tight that have a wallowed out hole & worn down shank diameter.

bjb in TX from Ne · Apr 27, 2018

You would loose a lot of capacity of the hitch by using a pin. The idea of the nut is to make it tight and have the load transferred from the ball to the hitch via the ball shaft. If you use a pin, then upward force (tension in the
ball shaft) is put into your pin as shear instead of bearing of the large nut. Also when pulling, instead of transferring via shear of the ball shaft, you could bind the pin or load the shaft in bending. Bolts (ie the ball shaft) are
designed to be in direct shear and not bending.

Adirondack case guy · Apr 27, 2018

You won't find what you are looking for.
Fab up a sleeve that fits over your drawbar with a hole for a draw pin to drop into. On the end of the sleeve drill another hole and fasten your ball there. Just pull the draw pin and remove sleeve. Strong and simple solution.

Kansas4010 · Apr 27, 2018

How about same principle except adapt it use a 2" receiver.

BarnyardEngineering · Apr 27, 2018

So basically the only thing holding the load would be one of these things:

Before you say, "That's all that's holding a hitch pin!" you're plain wrong. The load of the trailer is pulling against the PIN, not the clip, and the hitch is a clevis that balances the pull above and below the drawbar. None of the weight of the trailer is applied to the clip. The clip just keeps the pin from jumping out of the hitch.

A hitch ball is pulling only from the top of the drawbar, and will be constantly trying to pull out of the drawbar, especially any time the trailer hits a bump and jumps up. Inevitably it will end up putting all the force of the pull on the flimsy little clip, which will at best bend so you can't get it out, or at worst shear off and cause the trailer to separate from your tractor.

Mike M · Apr 27, 2018

Seriously how hard is it to take a crescent wrench and tighten the nut/bolt up ? That's what I always did.

rustyfarmall · Apr 27, 2018

(quoted from post at 08:32:20 04/27/18) I'm trying to find a 2" ball that has a transverse hole in the shank so I can quickly put it in and out of the hole in my tractor hitch for pulling my wood hauler, but I can not find such a thing. I can buy a regular hitch ball, take off the nut, and drill the hole through the shank but I just can't believe something like that doesn't exist. Seems crazy that I can't find one. Does anyone know if this is a thing?

Thanks!

Might be easier to modify the hitch on the trailer so you don't need the ball.

Traditional Farmer · Apr 27, 2018

If you have an extra draw bar you can cut it off some and then weld a receiver onto the draw bar and then use whatever type hitch you want like a truck hitch.

travismikula · Apr 27, 2018

Well I wasn't going to use a little pin like that! I was thinking something like 3/8" dia steel with its OWN clip to keep it in. And I don't believe I'd have a problem with bending if I kept the hole with the bottom of the hitch bar. You guys make it sound like I asked if a zip tie would work. :roll: Also, I'm talking about pulling a wood hauler from my woods, through my field, to my wood shed. Not putting it on my truck and pulling my camper to California. Sooooo...apparently they don't exist. I guess I'll make my own. Thanks guys!

Russ from MN · Apr 27, 2018

Do you want someones trailer coming loose because of a substandard hitch and killing someone you love? That's why we have standards like this.

bjb in TX from Ne · Apr 27, 2018

Everyone here is telling you 1) its a bad idea (including this Texas Structural engineer) and 2) you should find another way. All the posters here at very knowledgeable and I especially like "Adirondack case guy's" solution.

As similar situation where incorrect load path lead to a major tragedy:
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyatt_Regency_walkway_collapse">Hyatt Walkway Collapse</a>

BTW a 3/8" bolt is going to have less than 14% of the capacity of a 1" shank in a case where the trailer tries to lift up on the ball (ie you hit a bump).

bjb PE in Texas

SW3 · Apr 27, 2018

I know this is not exactly what you are looking for, but I have one of these balls on my pickup. Convert-a-ball. Might give you some ideas. Good luck!

jeffcat · Apr 27, 2018

Travismikula here is you answer. I made this about three weeks ago for
the new season. One of my garden carts is a beast made by Gravely in
the early 70s. Has a 1 7/8 ball hitch on the tounge. Fist picture,
the cart with the gas bottle in the cart. The next pictures you are
looking at a 7 inch long 3/8 bolt with the short threads. I channeled
the end with a grinder so it fit around the nut. You want one of
biggest fattest nuts you can find in your junk box. Old style. You
will notice the "handle" is offset. This allows for easy tightening
without busting you knuckles. With this 7 inch long handle you can
take it off or on in about one minute and it AIN'T comming off.
Brazed it together with brass rod. Orange is my favorite color. Those
are all of the washers and the spacer for this old timey ball. There
are two thread sizes that I know of. Think it is 1/2 and 5/8 inch.
Hope you like!

kcm.MN · Apr 27, 2018

(quoted from post at 11:05:33 04/27/18)
Well I wasn't going to use a little pin like that! [color=blue:a78c6242b3]I was thinking something like 3/8" dia steel with its OWN clip[/color:a78c6242b3] to keep it in. And I don't believe I'd have a problem with bending if I kept the hole with the bottom of the hitch bar. You guys make it sound like I asked if a zip tie would work. :roll: Also, I'm talking about pulling a wood hauler from my woods, through my field, to my wood shed. Not putting it on my truck and pulling my camper to California. Sooooo...apparently they don't exist. I guess I'll make my own. Thanks guys!

Let's do a little math. Let's say, just for example, that the threads on your ball are 1/2". They "should" be larger than that! But just for this example, let's say 1/2". And, let's assume that the thread steel and your 3/8" pin are of relatively equal strength and hardness. Simply going down in size from 1/2" to 3/8" would decrease the capacity of your ball by almost 44%!!

The cross sectional area of 1/2" = 0.19635"
The cross sectional area of 3/8" = 0.110447

.110447/.19635 = .562499, or 56.25%. You lose almost half your strength just by decreasing by that amount.

...Now, what's the thread size that's on a ball? 3/4"? 1"?

You'll lose a LOT of capacity by going a smaller size. Then add to that what [b:a78c6242b3]JMOR[/b:a78c6242b3] was saying, that having any slop in the ball will simply have it wallowing around enlarging your hole, and putting unnatural stresses on your ball that it simply was not designed for.

Now, if all you're wanting to do is move your small boat or lawn trailer around the yard, you might could get by with something like that. However, I much prefer [b:a78c6242b3]Adirondack case guy[/b:a78c6242b3]'s idea!

DoubleO7 · Apr 27, 2018

jeffcat's idea is pretty good, although that ball is a real odd bird.
And I would not want to be pulling on that handle too hard and have my hand slip off the end.
The hex head might hurt.

Why not use a regular ball with a 3/4-10 stud?
Then spend $5 and use a threaded hole lever/handle like this:

showcrop · Apr 27, 2018

Hey everybody!! cool your jets!! look at the steel that the hitch is mounted on!!

SodBuster87 · Apr 27, 2018

If I understand you right, you want a 2" hitch ball that uses a bolt to attach instead of a nut?. I have a couple on the lawn mowers. They use a carriage bolt that goes all the way through the ball. I can't remember where I got them from.

DoubleO7 · Apr 27, 2018

(quoted from post at 18:27:01 04/27/18) If I understand you right, you want a 2" hitch ball that uses a bolt to attach instead of a nut?. I have a couple on the lawn mowers. They use a carriage bolt that goes all the way through the ball. I can't remember where I got them from.

I have used the type that the shank is a bolt that threads up into the ball.
They are hard to find now-a-days.

SodBuster87 · Apr 27, 2018

(quoted from post at 17:10:40 04/27/18)

(quoted from post at 18:27:01 04/27/18) If I understand you right, you want a 2" hitch ball that uses a bolt to attach instead of a nut?. I have a couple on the lawn mowers. They use a carriage bolt that goes all the way through the ball. I can't remember where I got them from.

Click to expand...

I have used the type that the shank is a bolt that threads up into the ball.
They are hard to find now-a-days.

I have seen those too. I am talking about the ones that use a carriage bolt from the top all the way through and a nut on the bottom.

RobCons · Apr 27, 2018

I made a trailer mover for similar task. Attaches to 3 pt hitch and has a 2" ball down low, a gooseneck ball on top, and clevis hooks for chain on the side. The clevis hooks come in handy for using a chain to pull logs, trees up, or post.

paul · Apr 27, 2018

The trouble is some fool would try to use it to pull the camper to California......

So that is why you won't find it on the shelf.

Paul

SVcummins · Apr 27, 2018

Now ya done stirred up the Y.T.D.O.T ( yesterday?s
tractor department of transportation) ... if you
thought Barney fife was bad these guys put him to
shame

K Effective · Apr 28, 2018

I'll echo RobCons idea- I welded a two-inch receiver tube to my quick hitch. When installed on the tractor three point, I can just insert any of the four drawbars with different-sized hitch balls on them. And you get the bonus of being able to raise and lower it from the seat- real handy for an old, fat guy. Not a perfect tool, since it can raise the whole hitch and to not get off you have to move stuff unlocked, but it has some good uses.

AS always mentioned here, best not to ever use the three point as a connection for pulling trees/stumps, as it can cause flip-overs.

RobCons · Apr 28, 2018

My bad. I should have been more clear. Use the hydaulics 9f the 3 pt hitch to pick bushes, fence post, etc up.

travismikula · Apr 30, 2018

lol....boy, no kidding.

Hitch ball with hole for pin???

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