I've got a little tiny trailer that uses a 1 7/8" hitch ball. What size hitch ball do you people with larger trailers (toyhaulers) use? Would a 6' x 12' enclosed trailer probably use a 2" ball?
OMG, I got a chill down my spine reading this. A bud and I took a K75S and RT1100 to Daytona many years back. Good times, the BMW faithful in Bulow campground, yada-yada ... We stopped in Savannah on the way home to fetch a dresser from his daughter's place. It was lashed between the bikes at the rear of the open trailer. Unbeknownst to us the 2" receiver was now unloaded. The Chevy S-10 with 1 7/8" ball meshed back in with the sea of I-95 Bike Week trailers streaming northbound. Trailer 101 grades were soon to be issued ... I was driving in pouring SC rain when the receiver floated off the ball. The trailer violently windshield wipered on the chains at about 3Hz for the next 30-45 seconds. For whatever reason I never touched the brakes and coasted to a stop from 70MPH as traffic gapped back a 100 yds. I later learned that hitting the brakes would have caused the trailer to jack-knife and may or may not have taken the S-10 with it. The problem was obvious immediately, a tarp was extended from the S-10 cap to the bike's bars while we pondered solutions. The BMW clip-ons were strapped to the front of the trailer and loaded with every tool we had to get a modest bias on the ball again. An entire roll of duct tape was used to cocoon the receiver - trailer tongue. Tie wraps were added over the cocoon ball-receiver area. My bud drove the remaining 400 miles incident free. The S-10's rear end looked pretty special! FWIW ~ I've got a 2" receiver on an open 5' X 10' steel homebuilt. Initial chock placement was done with a Mille R aboard. Tongue loading was finalized thereafter at 15% with a 2X4 and bathroom scale. Daytona Trailer Weak final grade
I've not kept up on 'hitch ball' sizes. Many many years ago thought the options (in usa at least) were 1 7/8", 2". 2 1/8", 2 1/4". I'm renting a trailer from Uhaul to move a small car and it occurred to me that a larger size than the one I have (1 7/8") might be necessary. Thinking Uhaul prices might be much higher than the hardware store I went shopping but only found 1 7/8" & 2" and thought that was weird cause I distinctly remember a long time ago seeing 2 1/8" & 2 1/4". Bought the 2" in case that would work cause it was cheap and can return it. Then it occurred to me that some toyhaulers are really BIG and was curious what sizes they might be using and started this thread and the first reply was 2 5/16" which I'd never heard of. Then used google and found a wiki on hitch ball sizes but no mention of the 2 1/8" or 2 1/4" - just 1 7/8", 2", 2 5/16" and the class sizes I, II, III, IV, V. Then I went back to the Uhaul web site and it says 1 7/8, 2", or 2 1/8" would work... so I'm even more confused - but I'm sure a configuration will be worked out and the car will arrive safe at the destination.
At the risk of making you even more confused, trailer balls are also rated for maximum trailer weight. In these parts it is common to find 2" to 2 5/16" balls rated at either 5000lbs or 10,000lbs. If you are truly trying to tow within the laws you should find the legislation governing the states you will be traveling in. Up here the laws vary slightly from province to province. In BC we cannot have more than 500lbs hitch weight and 5000lb trailer weight without a weight distributing hitch (equalizer hitch). With a weight distributing hitch you can have 750lbs tongue weight and a 10,000lb trailer.
Yep I'm confused, but that is fairly normal for me. In the end the 1 7/8" ball worked for what I needed today, car is indeed delivered to the destination Think I'll take back the 2" cause I'm not to sure it would ever be used.
1&7/8; 2, 2&5/16 are the common sizes with 2" being most common for non commercial stuff. I haven't seen 2&1/8 in years. Companies make kits to switch out sizes on the same stud. Handy if you tow different trailers. About $30 for a kit. Look here: http://www.southwestwheel.com/store/c-135-adapt-hitch-balls.aspx
