Pintle hitch question

Tractors4u · Apr 8, 2003

I bought a Komatsu D20A dozer about a month ago. It weighs 9000 pounds. I will be using mostly at my grandmothers place to prep for our new house and then for working the land into how I want it. I am thinking about buying a trailer to move the dozer to do some misc. jobs that people are already asking me about doing. I spotted a trailer yesterday that I plan on calling about. I will of course find out what it is rated to haul, but I noticed it had a pintle hitch. What are the advantages and disadvantages to a pintle hitch? When I bought the dozer I used a friends 10K lb rated bumper pull trailer to bring the dozer home. I pulled the trailer with my F250 with Powerstroke diesel.

rdln · Apr 8, 2003

For that much weight (9000# + at least 3000#=12,000 and over) a pintle hitch is the most common setup you will find so it will be easier to resell and if you get a dump truck that is what you are likely to find already on the back. I believe 2 5/16 balls top out out at 12,500gtw but probably so does your truck.

With your truck, if you tow at least once a week I would look for a gooseneck to get tongue weight over your axle.

also if the pintle ring is attached with four bolts, you can buy a 2 5/16 coupler that will bolt right on. And for that matter if the ring is attached with two bolts in a
U-shaped channel you can buy a coupler.
I suppose any trailer can be modified to take the 2 5/16 coupler but you are limited to the 12,500 GTW, pretty sure anyways.

cowboydoc · Apr 8, 2003

No real disadvantages other than they make some noise clanking back and forth that a ball doesn't do. The advantage is to haul more weight.

Gary_in_Indiana · Apr 8, 2003

Rather than commiting your truck to either a pintle hitch or a ball hitch without having to get out tools to change them why not use a combination hitch?

I have pintle hitches on my dump trucks which have a ball as the fixed, base part of the pintle hitch. If I want to use the ball, I just raised the hinged part of the pintle up and there's the ball exposed to use. If I want to use the pintle hitch, I lower the pintle eye on the trailer over the same ball then lower the hinged part of my pintle hitch down on top of the ball and lock it in place.

I think something like that could save you a lot of time. They're available at your local TSC store and you can even get different size balls with them. If you really want versatility you might be able to combine a versa-hitch type ball assembly with one. You'll want to make sure you check the ratings first.

Good luck with whatever you decide. I hope this helps. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Tractors4u · Apr 8, 2003

Thanks for your input guys. They want $3200 for this used trailer so my search continues.

Egon · Apr 8, 2003

I may be in my usuale confused state but isn't there a trailer weight limit of around 5000 pounlds over which a load equalizer has to be used on a bumper receiver style hitch.

Egon

cowboydoc · Apr 8, 2003

Not anymore Egon. Most of the trailers today are balanced very well. You don't have the sway like you used to. Now if you are towing with a small vehicle then yes you do need one. But if towing with the 3/4 and one ton pickups it's usually not necessary.

Egon · Apr 8, 2003

Doc:

Times they be a changing; but me, I'm still dodering around in the past waiting for the future which is already past.

Egon

Gary_in_Indiana · Apr 10, 2003

I almost always haul in excess of 5,000 lbs. and have never used a weight equalizing hitch. I find the biggest factor in pulling comfortably is balancing your load. I have a long trailer (26' w/ 22' bed) so I've experimented a bit with that and here's what I've found.

If I'm loaded too far forward I get no sway but terrible steering and braking characteristics along with way too much tongue weight. If I'm loaded too far back on the trailer I can have zero or even negative tongue weight with only adequate steering and braking. Unfortunately part of the shorter braking distances result from the fact that I dare not drive over 30 mph because the trailer wags behind me like a puppy's tail. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif