Time for a pintle hitch?

[LD1]

Never seen one break like that.

For our wood hauling trailers we use 2" hitches. 5000# rated hitches and 5000# couplers. And I would guess that the average load of wood + trailer weight goes into the 6-7k range and a good 1000#+ tongue weight. Have hauled hundreds of loads over the years and never a failure

 

[tcartwri]

Can't believe you bent it with that load.

That's a defect for sure.

 

[aczlan]

Can we get a closeup of the break? Looks almost like its been broken on one side for a while and it got enough force on it to bend...

Aaron Z

 

[jimmysisson]

I have to say I broke one of Northern Tool's 5-ton pintle hooks with my log trailer. Probably 6,000# on the trailer on an off-camber downhill-left turn. I think the hook slid over to one side of the (too-large) ring, and the sidehill twisted the hook well beyond what a normal load would be. It was a clean break, no prior cracking, by appearance (scrapped it, no pix). The hook rides in a 2" receiver on the rear of my Norse winch - I'm glad the hook broke and not a stay link or lower 3-point arm or the winch. And I'm glad I hook up the safety chains every time I move that trailer - saved my bacon that day.
For some reason I still like the pintle in the woods.
Jim

 

[4570Man]

I towed with them all the time. They are horrible. Clunking around and sloppy. Beat the heck out of you trucks towline. Why not a ball. I have a setup rated for 18,000#. Ball is actually rated for 25,000# but the hitch itself is only 18,000# My GN is a ball and rated for 30,000# Chris

A GN ball is another story. It is a little hard to tow a GN behind a tri axel dump truck.

 

[jwstewar]

A GN ball is another story. It is a little hard to tow a GN behind a tri axel dump truck.

I've seen it done. A couple years back I saw a truck pulling a backhoe on a trailer and I kept looking at it thinking it didn't look right. It was a tandem axle dump truck pulling a tri-axe goose neck trailer. The neck of the trailer was lower real low and he had some type of hitch that went up somewhat. And away he went towing that gooseneck trailer with a dump truck.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

You are correct that it most certainly not with that load. Just some old pictures.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Never seen one break like that.

For our wood hauling trailers we use 2" hitches. 5000# rated hitches and 5000# couplers. And I would guess that the average load of wood + trailer weight goes into the 6-7k range and a good 1000#+ tongue weight. Have hauled hundreds of loads over the years and never a failure

Good to know. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Can we get a closeup of the break? Looks almost like its been broken on one side for a while and it got enough force on it to bend...

Aaron Z

When back and looked at my origional post and see what you're looking at but it's actually not cracked, only bent.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

I suspect part of the problem isn't so much being overloaded, but rather picking it up too high with the 3ph. The trailer is far too small to hold enough weight to bend that hitch, if it was used as it was designed to be. When lifted too high, it changes the angle that the force is being applied. Get a new, decent quality hitch and don't pick it up so high. Pintle hitches are made for hauling loads like dozers and such, not an 8'x12' farm trailer.

Careful you don't fall off that horse!