Questions: Pintle, rattle and hitch pin

[Xyzzy]

Hi, I'm new here. I used Google to try to learn some things and it led me to this forum which has really opened my eyes to towing properly.

Since gas costs a lot I find myself "doing favors" for friends who have bought smaller vehicles. I'm cool with that. I have the proper weighted plates (I think - our laws are kind of complicated here.) and my truck is rated for almost twice what I am towing.

My situation is I tow several smallish trailers, none of which exceed 5,000 pounds. With a 2" drop ball mount they all come out pretty level, or are slightly nose down. Right now I have a 7,000 pound ball and this ball mount. It works great.

There are several twists to this that I am trying to wrap my brain around:

1 - A few weeks ago I was asked to tow a small trailer and it had a pintle hookup. I am familiar with pintles because I drove a deuce-and-a-half in the Army and towed all sorts of stuff from generator sets, water buffaloes and huge shipping containers on dolley sets. I probably racked up 100,000+ miles without ever having a mishap. (Well, once I forgot to hook up the air brakes on a water buffalo and that got a little sketchy.)

So I see this deal and I wonder if I can have everything I need in one item? Is this a legit deal or are there compromises? If it is legit, are there better combo units out there or is this as good as it gets?

2 - My F-150 had a receiver that was snug and barely rattled. My new Tundra is so loose I thought maybe it was a 2.5" receiver, but it isn't. I've read the following methods to fix this:

• Shim the ball mount in the receiver. (I would worry the shims might work there way out, or compress.)
• Tape the ball mount. (Seems messy.)
• Put setscrews on all four faces of the receiver to snug the ball mount. (I can't see this being strong enough, but I have been wrong before.)
• Drill an extra hole through the whole thing and bolt it in place. (I don't mind leaving it in all the time.)
• Leave it alone. (Although I swear it will wear out the receiver right quick as is.)
• Use one of those special "anti-rattle" hitch pins. (See #3.)

3 - A regular 2.5" locking hitch pin is just a little too short to lock on my receiver. It locked fine on my Ford. Is it okay to run a longer 3.5" locking hitch pin or does it need to be snug? I was thinking of using one of these but they come in 3.5". I suppose I could take up some slack with some rubber donuts on each side. (Apparently the Tundra receiver walls are spaced differently?)

I know these are probably dumb questions. I promise that I read the forum for at least 3-4 hours before posting.

Thanks!

 

[Mighty Dodge]

It shouldn't rattle with a load on it as long as you have the proper tongue weight. I have a ball/pintle hitch, don't leave it in, I think it's illegal anyway in MD & PA. I also left it in once and saw someone smack their knee into it walking past my truck, bet that felt good.

M.D.

 

[Willl]

(I think - our laws are kind of complicated here.)

And where might that be ?

 

[Willl]

Over length won't hurt nothing.

Couldn't find anything called "anti-rattle" hitch pins at that link.
(Or anywhere else)

 

[Willl]

I think it's illegal anyway in MD & PA.

What is ?, Leaving your hitch in ?, you've GOT to be joking !

 

[Xyzzy]

And where might that be ?

North Carolina.

My GVWR is 6,900 pounds and I have 9,000 pound plates. My understanding from the regulations is that if your GVWR is under 7,000 pounds (Section 2, Chapter 3, Page 1, top) you don't need weighted plates. It also mentions (Section 2, Chapter 3, Page 2, bottom) that in this case you have to keep your GCWR under 9,000 pounds.

However, even though my GVWR is under 7,000 pounds, I tow a lot more than 2,000 pounds, so I probably need to get higher rated plates, since the plates are rated by GCWR (Section 2, Chapter 3, Page 2, bottom).

But I might be reading it wrong. I see a lot of huge trucks with passenger plates pulling huge trailers and boats around here.

The combo pintle/ball thing didn't work, due to lack of vertical adjustment, so I ended up with a pintle hook with a 2 inch ball and a pintle hook receiver mount.

I found a few sites last night that had various ways to stop the ball mount from rattling but first I'm going to try to wedge in a small plastic wedge I got at the hardware store and see if that fixes it.

I found a hitch pin that fits perfectly. It has tubular keys which I prefer. All the stuff I got today was badged under Reese's "Farm & Ranch" product line. I noticed that Reese, Hidden Hitch and Draw-Tite are all owned by CTP so I assume any of those brands should be okay.

I was surprised to see a ball with a 10,000 pound rating. I haven't figured out where the weakest link in my setup is. The truck says 10,600 pounds, the plate says 10,000 pounds and the pintle hook says 10,000 pounds with the ball. I'm sure I'm leaving something out. (I don't plan to tow 10,000 pounds!)

So overall, today was a good day. The problem isn't totally solved but I am closer than I was yesterday!

 

[Willl]

1; REESE Anti-Wobble Device - FSI

2; Hitch SHIM - Main Page

3; Trailer Parts Superstore - 5/8" Dia. Silent Hitch Pin Receiver Lock

I have no use experience with any of these, but I like the looks of the Reese design.

I'm curious as to how long #2 would last and thinking #3 might just over tighten itself to the point where a 'key' wouldn't have enough leverage to loosen.

 

[MarkLeininger]

2 - My F-150 had a receiver that was snug and barely rattled. My new Tundra is so loose I thought maybe it was a 2.5" receiver, but it isn't. I've read the following methods to fix this:

Another option is to abrade the entire area to bare metal then spray with salt water until rust fuses everything solidly together

I've had to pull my receiver hitch out by chaining it to a tree and taking off with the vehicle, I wish mine were looser. I smear it every time with grease and it still rusts in place. Maybe you could turn up the radio so you don't hear the noise anymore...

 

[aczlan]

I've had to pull my receiver hitch out by chaining it to a tree and taking off with the vehicle, I wish mine were looser. I smear it every time with grease and it still rusts in place. Maybe you could turn up the radio so you don't hear the noise anymore...

what I did on mine that was rusting together was to find a wirewheel that just fit inside and clean the inside, then when there were just a few spots with buildup, I finished removing them with a grinding wheel on a drill... now everything fits perfectly.

Aaron Z

 

[MarkLeininger]

what I did on mine that was rusting together was to find a wirewheel that just fit inside and clean the inside, then when there were just a few spots with buildup, I finished removing them with a grinding wheel on a drill... now everything fits perfectly.

Aaron Z

Don't see how you could get in there far enough with a wheel, and how it would work in the corners. Last time I taped a sharp narrow scraper to a stick and kept scraping and spraying WD40 until I got all the rust out. The receiver inserts about 8", which makes it hard to get in there far enough. I left the chain around the tree, so I've always go that going for me.