SMALL Off ROAD Trailers and Wagons. Clevis VS Ball?

[Industrial Toys]

I got this Small Wagon given to me. Maybe eight feet long, four feet wide. It's got a clevis. But often my machines have a ball. The Gator has no receiver, just a 2" ball.

Should I just put a 2" coupler on the wagon? I have little interest in messing around with safety chains around the farm.

Is a coupler, less safe than a clevis? It is easier to hookup, that's for sure.

 

[the old grind]

Hadn't though of safety-chains for OR towing, only use them for roading with ball hitch. Then again, how fast or far do you plan on going?

Could you use one of these? (~ $25 US.) Amazon.com: Yard Tuff YTF-1PH Lawn and Garden Pintle Hitch: Home Improvement

 

[oosik]

I purchased brand new Horst running gear and made a ten ton farm wagon. It has a clevis hitch. It will never be used off my 80 acres and will always be pulled with my tractor.

I've found that a heavily loaded trailer can buck/jump and pull ball hitches apart. View attachment 672974

Riding the safety chains to bring a full loaded trailer to a stop - not a lot of fun.

 

[Industrial Toys]

A clevis is a pain and you always end up looking for a pin, and then it's 1/16" too big lol, the next thing you find is a foot long bolt, 1/4" too small. So you use that.

I pulled that ball hitch off my road dump trailer a little while ago, moving it around with the loader, so I realize how easy this can happen That's what makes me ask. Makes me a little leary about standardizing all off road stuff with a ball hitch.

I kind of like that pintle hitch thing, although i wouldn't give you five cents for the powder coat. Should caontact them and see if I can get one in bare metal so I can put some good enamel on it. lol

 

[ruffdog]

I did retrofit my small garden tractor dump trailer to a ball coupler as that is mostly what I use. Why not?

 

[Industrial Toys]

I guess it depends mostly on , anticipated loads, speed and terrain. I guess I TRUST a clevis, but not a ball, without using safety chains, and I don't want that hassle on the farm. I do like that the ball has no backlash. Trailer ball couplers are just so junky and mass produced. Hard to trust them.

AND, with a wagon, there is NO tongue weight!

 

[MF RED in MT]

A clevis is a pain and you always end up looking for a pin, and then it's 1/16" too big lol, the next thing you find is a foot long bolt, 1/4" too small. So you use that.

I pulled that ball hitch off my road dump trailer a little while ago, moving it around with the loader, so I realize how easy this can happen That's what makes me ask. Makes me a little leary about standardizing all off road stuff with a ball hitch.

I kind of like that pintle hitch thing, although i wouldn't give you five cents for the powder coat. Should caontact them and see if I can get one in bare metal so I can put some good enamel on it. lol

Maybe a 1/2" tack weld holding the ball fixed in place will solve this?

KC

 

[Reb954]

Any of my trailers and implements only intended to be pulled by the ATV, UTV or zero turn mower have a 1-7/8" coupler mounted on them and the ATV, UTV and mower have a matching 1-7/8" ball. That makes it simple and easy to switch between pulling vehicles and implements as needed. I don't worry about chains, none of them are going on the highway anyway.

 

[Industrial Toys]

We had a trailer made in the early 60s out of an old ford step side pickup. It had a cast hitch with a J shaped bolt for tightening the hitch and a wing nut for securing it. I see you can't even buy those anymore. You knew exactly how tight the fit was to the ball! Man, would I love a few of those!

 

[the old grind]

I've yet to see a coupler that doesn't have an adjustment to latch the proper size of ball. I've replaced a few in 30 years after driving over the latches while backing the golf cart or a tractor and breaking them.

Some are loose and need tightened OOB, some are tight and need loosened. Locking nut there doesn't back off and I've never tweaked one more that once after installing or just replacing the moving parts. I've also never had a coupler pop loose that wasn't latched and pinned.

Time to invent something?