Towing hitch ball question?

[nao57]

So when you go to look at buying old used trailers from people... how do you know which size of ball for what size hitch they have on it? And how do you make sure you are compatible? (And can you cross size?) I've not had to do this before so I thought to ask for advice on this. Partly also; when you go buy 2 x 4 pieces at the lumber store, you find out they aren't actually 2 inches by 4 inches... and knowing that worried me a bit in making sure I knew what to do and not just go off without any pre information.

Thanks.

 

[tlcmurphy]

So when you go to look at buying old used trailers from people... how do you know which size of ball for what size hitch they have on it? And how do you make sure you are compatible? (And can you cross size?) I've not had to do this before so I thought to ask for advice on this. Partly also; when you go buy 2 x 4 pieces at the lumber store, you find out they aren't actually 2 inches by 4 inches... and knowing that worried me a bit in making sure I knew what to do and not just go off without any pre information.

Thanks.

You have to use the correct size ball for your trailer, but they also sell hitches that come with multiple interchangeable balls. Remembering from back in the day of owning jet skis.

 

[nao57]

So I realized I might have missed a few points on this. And needed to ask again. I already have the tow hitch on the back of my car, the ball thing with its connecting piece. I can see that. So I know what that looks like.

But what I don't know is... if you are looking at the hitch part, not the ball, how do you tell which size ball goes into that? What I mean is, if you go look at a used trailer you've never seen before, you see that big coupler piece that connects and rests on the ball, and I realized that its a whole different game to look at that and try to figure out which size ball goes with it. How do people do that? This looks a bit harder to guage also. Like with a ball I can just pull out a tape measure and measure it... but the hitch part isn't always going to be a uniform design... :O

What do you think on this for guaging size from the trailers coupler part?

Thanks.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Normally the owners know what size ball the trailer takes - just ask them.

 

[nao57]

Normally the owners know what size ball the trailer takes - just ask them.

Thanks

 

[tlcmurphy]

So I realized I might have missed a few points on this. I already have the tow hitch on the back of my car. So I know what that looks like. But what I don't know is... if you are looking at the hitch part, not the ball, how do you tell which size ball goes into that? This looks a bit harder to guage also. Like with a ball I can just pull out a tape measure and measure it... but the hitch part isn't always going to be a uniform design... :O

What do you think on this for guaging size from the trailers coupler part?

Thanks.

I believe any size ball can go on any hitch, but of course any trailer can’t use any ball. I think you’d need to measure the “socket” of the trailer then purchase the correct ball (they’re labeled). We got ours from U-Haul.

 

[tlcmurphy]

Normally the owners know what size ball the trailer takes - just ask them.

Yes that’s easier

 

[StinkyAcres]

Doing a quick Google search it looks like the size of the ball is normally listed on the hitch/coupler.