Questions: Pintle, rattle and hitch pin

[Xyzzy]

I'll post a picture tomorrow of the setup I ended up with. It is a bit long but it works very well.

When I put the bracket facing up I got 19.5" at the bottom holes, 21" at the middle holes and 22.5" at the top holes. (There are 4 pairs of holes giving 3 positions. All measurements are to the top of the ball.)

When I put the bracket in facing down, I got 19" for the top holes and 17.5" for the middle hole. I didn't test the bottom holes but I assume it would give 16".

The middle position with the plate facing down worked best.

I tested it with the Cub Scout pack trailer that I frequently tow. I have no idea what it weighs but it weighs too much for its size, that's for sure. And the load isn't distributed even close to properly. My old 4.6L F-150, with an Edge Evo tuner, would easily pull it but I'd have to get out of OD for any hills. There is this hill nearby that is 45MPH. You start at the bottom from a dead stop. I always try to see how fast I can get going up the hill. My goal with the Ford was to hit 45MPH, and sometimes I'd get real close to that. Today I hit 60MPH about 3/4 of the way up and I chickened out and let off.

I drove some plastic shims in but they fell out. I'm thinking some shallow metal shims might work, going from the back. The Tundra receiver is so short it is really hard to work with, plus the spare tire is in the way. I had to drop the spare today to drive in the plastic spacers.

Turning up the radio does seem to solve the clanking but am I treating the symptoms or the sickness?

 

[Xyzzy]

I drove some plastic shims in but they fell out. I'm thinking some shallow metal shims might work, going from the back. The Tundra receiver is so short it is really hard to work with, plus the spare tire is in the way. I had to drop the spare today to drive in the plastic spacers.

Problem solved:

Ball mount (4" drop) - http://www.quiethitch.com/html/products.html
Receiver lock (Class V) - http://www.lifelonglocks.com/strength.html

Both came in today. The receiver lock is a work of art. I put a very small 5/8" rubber o-ring on each end to take up the little bit of sideways slack there was and now it is rock solid.

The ball mount isn't as impressive looking as the receiver lock but it grabs into the receiver like there is no tomorrow. There is absolutely no movement whatsoever.

This doesn't solve my pintle hook needs but maybe I'll just carry around the old setup for when I need that. Most of my usage is with the ball mount.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I have a friend that double pulls a 38' 5th wheel camper and a 17' bass boat off the back of that. He does this with a 2007 3500 Chevy D-Max. Anyway he is my neighbor and never finishes anything to do with his house but wants his camper and truck perfect. He complained of ball mount rattle on the back of the 5th wheel. What I did for him is laid down 2 parallel beads of weld on the ball mount with my 180 mig and then he grinded them down a little at a time to get a tight fit and painted it to prevent rust. Cheap fix that worked well.

Chris