Towing Accesories

FreeBeeTony

Captain
Joined
May 15, 2002
Messages
3,991
I usually only tow a few mile a year, back and forth to the ramp to launch in the spring and pull the boat in the fall.
I bought a "new" boat, its weights ~6000lbs w/ engines, trailer ~2000lbs. Estimated 8000lb total towing weight.
I see most "balls" and towing ball mounts are rated at 6000lbs.
Sounds like a stupid question....are these 6000lb accessories in adequate?
 

eric102

Seaman
Joined
Aug 28, 2018
Messages
60
My boat and trailer weigh about the same and I went with a 10,000 lb ball and ball mount, they aren't that expensive.
 

Leardriver

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Oct 7, 2008
Messages
373
A forged ball good for something like 14000 lbs is around $15.
A Reese Titan ball insert good for 18K is $50-ish in a larger size made to fit Super Duty without a sleeve.
 

MTboatguy

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Jul 8, 2010
Messages
8,988
I would probably add a set of Firestone ride rights in the rear and upgrade my ball and mount to a 10K rating. What is the tow vehicle and is it an aftermarket or factory installed hitch?
 

Kola16

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 23, 2019
Messages
160
Is the coupler a 2" coupler or something? Many 2" couplers are only rated for 6000 lbs., but 2 5/16" couplers are usually rated for 10,000 lbs. and up. I couldn't imagine a boat of that size having a 2" coupler.

I would not risk towing anything that is not rated for the job. Those ratings are there for a reason.
 

FreeBeeTony

Captain
Joined
May 15, 2002
Messages
3,991
Towed the boat ~90mi today w/o a problem.
Thanks for all the inputs.......always appreciated!
 

KD4UPL

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Feb 13, 2010
Messages
653
I hope that means you found the higher rated 2" balls and ball mounts. They are readily available. The funny thing is you won't find any hitch pins with weigh ratings.
My boat and trailer loaded weigh about 6,500 and it has a 2" ball. The old one I was using was only good for 5,000 so I had to upgrade when I picked up this boat.
 

Silvertip

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Messages
28,758
Ball mounts and couplers etc., can have a 10,000# rating but it is what they are bolted/fastened to that must also have equal ratings. What is the receiver on the truck rated for and is it equalizer capable if required.
 

dwco5051

Commander
Joined
Sep 14, 2008
Messages
2,326
It's irreverent. The shear strength of a 1/2" steel hitch pin is well above even that of a Class V hitch
I wondered about the strength of that pin two weeks ago when changing my hitch to the 2 5/16 unit. Since I never heard of one shearing I forgot about the strength until I read your post. My curiosity once again made me think and using the little I remember from my emech113 (strength of materials course) I took about 60 years ago I did the rough calculation using the tensile and shear strength of a grade 5 bolt. I came out to about 30,000 pounds, 15,000 doubled since it has to shear both sides at once. I have no idea what the dynamic loads in normal towing would be as the forces of acceleration and braking would require more advanced math than my 80 year old brain could handle but they would have to be much smaller. Maybe if one was parked and rear ended by a semi going 70 mph they would reach that point but the ability of the pin in this case would be moot.
 

dingbat

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 20, 2001
Messages
15,413
I did the rough calculation using the tensile and shear strength of a grade 5 bolt. I came out to about 30,000 pounds, 15,000 doubled since it has to shear both sides at once. I have no idea what the dynamic loads in normal towing would be as the forces of acceleration and braking
the shear strength would depend on the cross section of the hitch and drawbar, some are quite a bit beefier than others, but your in the ball park.

The issue is that people think in terms of the weight of the load instead of the force required to move the load.

The coefficent of friction of a tire on asphalt and gravel varies from 0.01 to 0.02. Therefore, the drawbar force” required to pull a #3,500 trailer on flat ground would vary from 35-70 pounds. A #10,000 trailer would require100-200 pounds at the drawbar.

The dynamics of towing can increase these number substantially, but it makes it easy to see why a pin capable of # 30,000 isn’t a concern
 
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