2" vs. 2 5/16" balls

[afroman006]

I have a friend who flat tows his fullszie bronco everywhere and he used a 2 5/16" hitch to make it. He claims that the 2" ball is not strong enough to flat tow the weight of the bronco. This concerns me because I have a 20' 10k bumper pull trailer that I bought brand new and it has a 2" hitch on it. If a 2" ball is indeed not strong enough for flat towing a bronco, then it certainly is not adequit for towing a 1500 lb. trailer with a 6000 lb. trail truck on it. I towed the trailer 250 miles to school with me and didnt have any problems. Logically the 2 5/16" ball is better but since the hitch is welded to the tongue of my trailer I want to know for sure if the 2" ball is strong enough for the load. Thanks

 

[88sub4x4]

Check the marking on the ball you are using. Each ball has it's own weight rating depending upon how it was made. In general most 1 7/8 are 2000#'s 2" range from 5-7k's and 2 5/16 range fron 6-14K's. I have seen 5K 1 7/8" and 10K 2" balls so I would assume the coupler you have would be good if using the properly rated ball. Also, look at the coupler, most have a weight rating engraved also. My 2 5/16 says 20K #'s, although the trailer is rated at 7K #'s And I use a 14K ball. So I know I'm good!

 

[Roz]

i might be wrong but we used to tow 8tons of hay on the 2" up a mountain and 80 mi. never had a problem.

 

[justinf]

My trailer has a 2" ball and I have used it to tow an 80 K20 many times before.

 

[afroman006]

I checked the ball that I have been using and its rated to 5000 lbs. but my truck/trailer combo is about 8000. I checked TSC's catalog and they have a heat treated 2" ball with a load rating of 10000 lbs. so I guess I'll be getting one of those. I forgot to check the hitch and if its no sufficient I'll be buying one of those solid forged ones.

 

[CyberSniper]

Eh, check your coupler to see what it's rated for. You won't find a stamped steel 2" one rated for more than 10,000lbs.

You can buy 2" trailer hitch balls up to 12,000lbs. The difference is the shank diameter. I have a 10,000lb one I bought for like $15 from JC Whitney (it's name brand, but I forget what).

Most drop ballmounts are only rated for 5,000lbs. Ballmounts rated for more usually cost a pretty penny.

It'd take a lot to break a 7,000lb rated 2" ball that is properly torque. The coupler is probably more likely to break. The next weakest link is probably the weld on a large drop ballmount (~5" or so, usually rated for 5,000lbs or less).

 

[afroman006]

Yah the coupler I have is also rated for 5k. Its ok because I have found 2 companies that both make solid forged ones rated to 10k so I'm good to go.