[AT] Trailer hitch ball mount

[Dick Day]

Thanks for the reply.

Their website never said it was made in China, and I never gave it a thought 
until I read the label.

I would have preferred to have the local welding shop make one, but then was 
concerned that if there was a failure of some type, who would be responsible 
since it was a home-made mount.

I searched every site out there to find a forged ball mount with an 8" drop, 
there is no such thing. The largest drop for a forged mount is 6", so I had 
to settle for the welded mount.

Not sure what to do now.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "charliehill" <charliehill at embarqmail.com>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Saturday, April 04, 2009 8:50 PM
Subject: Re: [AT] Trailer hitch ball mount


Dick, I bought some bolts to mount a pintel hitch on my truck a few years
back.  They were marked grade 8 but were made in China.  The hitch said use
grade 8 and torque them to 140 ft lbs.   At just about 100 ft lbs the
threads striped off of the bolts and the nut just spun in the spot where the
threads had been.  I had to saw them out with a hack saw.  Then I went to a
heavy duty truck shop and bought some REAL grade 8 bolts.

You are wise to worry about it!

Charlie
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dick Day" <ddss at telebeep.com>
To: "ATIS" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Saturday, April 04, 2009 9:17 PM
Subject: [AT] Trailer hitch ball mount


>I recently bought a new Navigator as my business vehicle that will also
>double as my tow vehicle. My older Navigator sat 2" lower than the new one.
>So, the 6"drop ball mount that I was using would not work.
>
> I debated about having a local welding shop fabricate a ball mount with an
> 8" drop for me, but I opted to buy one that was an engineered and tested
> product.
>
> I had the local trailer shop order a Draw-Tite Class IV #4283 ball mount
> for me. When it arrived, the ball hole was too small by just a fraction of
> an inch, so they had to drill the opening to get the ball shaft to fit.
> That concerned me, but then when I read the label and saw that it was made
> in China, I am now almost afraid to use it.
>
> Any idea if Draw-Tite, or any of these companies, do any type of quality
> testing before these products are shipped?  Since the opening for the ball
> shaft was under-sized, I am guessing not.
>
> If I use this, my life, and the lives of others driving near me will
> depend on the quality of the welds on that ball mount.
>
> Will the reaming of the hole do anything to weaken this ball mount?
>
> Am I being overly cautious?
>
> Tractor reference:  I want to be sure this new tow vehicle is safe to use
> before I make the Nebraska/Missouri run to get a 1946 Huber :)
>
> Dick Day
>
> DDSS, Inc.
> Software For County Government
> 83712 552nd Avenue
> Norfolk, NE  68701
>
> 402-379-1606
> http://dickdaysoftware.com/default.aspx
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