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Old 02-10-2022, 03:40 PM   #1
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New ball on Bumper Pull Hitch

Our used 2010 17B came with a wdh hitch, complete with ball. The trailer ball has been working loose, so I decided to replace it. When I removed it I discovered it is a small shank ball marked 2", 6,000. The hitch takes a large shank ball, so someone had used a sleeve shim to make it (almost) fit the hitch. Went to Tractor Supply and purchased a 2", 6,000lb large shank ball. It fits the hitch fine, but when I tried to fit it to the trailer it does not fit (ball too large). At this point I am not sure what size ball the trailer actually takes, though the old ball marked 2" seemed to fit fine.


Ideas?
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Old 02-10-2022, 03:42 PM   #2
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All Escapes are designed for a 2" ball. Check that you didn't end up with a 2 5/16" ball...
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Old 02-10-2022, 03:46 PM   #3
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That is what I thought. Wonder why the new ball will not go up into the hitch then?
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Old 02-10-2022, 04:07 PM   #4
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Just went and rechecked the new ball. It fits fine, must have just had the hitch hang up a little.


Still do not think using a sleeve shim was a good idea on old ball. Happy now.
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Old 02-10-2022, 04:11 PM   #5
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Still do not think using a sleeve shim was a good idea on old ball. Happy now.
It's not a problem. I don't think that it's part of the ball, but part of the receiver. I had my sleeve replaced after ten years. Pro Series WDH.
I believe the ball being loose caused wear on the sleeve. Also, the same WDH could be used with different size balls by selecting an appropriate sleeve.
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Old 02-10-2022, 05:35 PM   #6
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In my convoluted trailer ball mount / ball combination history, at one point I had a real sloppy mating of ball threaded shank and ID of the ball mount hole - small ball shank in a slightly larger-than-needed hole - a combination of a Curt ball mount and Reese ball or whatever - both nominally 1" shank, but...

I didn't want the ball shank to be a loose sloppy fit in the ball mount hole, so I bent up a cylinder of thin mild steel sheet that fit snuggly inside of the hole and the ball shank fit snuggly inside of the sleeve; didn't want the clamping force of the big nut to be the sole means of securing the assembly together side-to-side and fore-and-aft; wanted a nice solid meeting of the ball shank and the wall of the hole, even if by way of a shim sleeve. Many miles with no problems...
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Old 02-11-2022, 01:39 AM   #7
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... Also, the same WDH could be used with different size balls by selecting an appropriate sleeve.
You can use the same hitch head (or plain ball mount) with different diameters of balls by just buying the right ball... they're available in any rational combination of a shank diameter (to match the hole in the hitch head) and ball diameter. A sleeve works too, but given the sloppy tolerances on towing equipment in general, a sleeve likely means a poor fit. Of course, a ball costs ten times the buck or two of a bushing (sleeve).

A Class 3 WD hitch head will typically come with a 1" diameter hole for the ball shank; Class 1 and 2 ball mounts typically have a 0.75" hole. 2" balls are available with shanks in 0.75", 1", and 1.25" diameters, so that any hitch can be used to tow a small trailer. Even a 1-7/8" ball (typically used for Class 1 trailers) is available with a 1" shank.
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Old 02-12-2022, 08:46 AM   #8
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Interesting new glitch: The nut on the ball is apparently metric, none of the standard wrenches fit. Don't have an adjustable wrench that large.



Off to Riley to borrow a wrench!
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Old 02-12-2022, 09:03 AM   #9
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Proverbial "gumption trap" situation......
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Old 02-12-2022, 09:29 AM   #10
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Interesting new glitch: The nut on the ball is apparently metric, none of the standard wrenches fit. Don't have an adjustable wrench that large.



Off to Riley to borrow a wrench!
Harbor Freight in Bastrop has an 18" pipe wrench for $8.99 and of course plenty of socket sets.
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Old 02-12-2022, 06:20 PM   #11
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Interesting new glitch: The nut on the ball is apparently metric, none of the standard wrenches fit. Don't have an adjustable wrench that large.
you won't get enough torque from an adjustable wrench, the 1" ball shanks require like 250 ft-lbs.

I use a jumbo 1/2" breaker bar and a 6-point 1-1/2" socket, fits perfectly on my Curt brand stuff. The 6 point socket is important at these torque levels.

to get 250 lbs, I turn the tow bar 90 degrees in the truck such that I bounce my weight DOWN on the breaker bar, and keep bouncing my 200 lbs on the end til it stops budging. real scientific !
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Old 02-13-2022, 12:41 AM   #12
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Interesting new glitch: The nut on the ball is apparently metric, none of the standard wrenches fit. Don't have an adjustable wrench that large.
With a non-metric part, having a 1" threaded shank, that seems extraordinarily unlikely. Use whatever size of wrench fits properly (and as John said, preferably a six-point socket), but I'm sure it's nominally an inch size (probably 1-1/2", again as John noted, because that's industry standard for 1" threads).

Sometimes a low-quality fastener is so far off-spec that a "wrong" size of wrench provides a better fit. For a 1" thread, the nut should be a minimum of 1.450" and a maximum of 1.500" across the flats.
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Old 02-13-2022, 04:12 AM   #13
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I would suggest trying to find a 24" breaker bar, that would require 125 lbs force to achieve the 250 ft-libs of torque spec. with an 18" bar, you need like 180 lbs.
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Old 02-13-2022, 01:26 PM   #14
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Or do what I did - just keep yakking about it to the spouse / significant other / head of purchasing and eventually they'll give in and let you to go get a jumbo torque wrench that'll go up to 250 ft-lb. Ain't no such thing as too many tools. Got a Husky brand at HD for $89, but they now also have the Tekton version for $65. I got a Tekton 10-150 to carry in the 4Runner, and FWIW the Tekton quality looks good. Id'd steer clear of the $10 cheapo specials at Harbor - they just look and feel crappy.

Like John in Santa Cruz (lucky guy) said, insert the ball mount into your hitch receiver with the shank axis horizontal and it's quick and easy to get the requisite 250 ft-lb. I ended up using a Reese ball and ball mount with the big countersunk hex - got fed up trying to keep the ball from spinning when trying to tighten the nut. And I think of Rease every time I see the sticker.
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Old 02-13-2022, 02:39 PM   #15
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Trailer ball nuts are so consistent in size that there are "trailer hitch ball wrenches" which have a 1-1/8" opening on one end (for the nuts of 3/4" stud balls to fit Class 1 and 2 hitches) and a 1-1/2" opening on the other end (for the nuts of 1" stud balls to fit Class 3 and most Class 4 hitches). This one has 12-point box ends, which is not ideal but works well enough - I have one. It's long enough for me, at about 18":
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Old 02-13-2022, 09:31 PM   #16
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I clamp the ball end in my bench vise and use an old Craftsman 24" long 3/4" breaker bar on the nut end with the correct six point socket. Sometimes I use Locktite Red "threadlocker". It has never come loose on me on the road.
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