I work in aviation. We split pin or lock wire most nuts / bolts in critical areas. If your not locking a nut then we would use a thread locker & generally mark the position of the nut with torque seal paint. This way you can tell if the nut has moved at all during your regular inspections. Everything is torqued to the OEM specs.
I've been a reliability engineer for many years. I bought a new mobile outhouse a few years ago and watched the workshop tighten my brand new D035 coupling pin with a 12in adjustable wrench. Got my 24in breaker bar and 1 5/16 socket out the back of my ute and showed the guy i could achieve another complete turn on the nut.
Hi John, I was thinking of you when I saw the largest battery plant in the world burn down! Yep, it just happened to the Moss Landing power plant in Monterey , California. I am hoping you will do a video on it. I've learned so much from you on these Colbalt chemical fires!
I should also mention there appears to be a very large diesel generator charging all these Amazon electric trucks we now have in California. I'm not sure if it's real, but it appears to be just like the one you exposed in Australia.
@@deardra5619 - no secret here.. Just like the Diesel ferry banning EV charging - lol, so EV users were expecting to plug in while on a boat... Brain freeze - must hurt.
This is from the local paper - Santa Cruz County health officials said there was “no immediate threat” from smoke Friday morning. “Moderate” air quality is expected Friday and Saturday, according to the Monterey Bay Air Resources District. Hydrogen fluoride is a hazardous gas that can be emitted by a lithium battery fire, and none of the Vistra’s air monitors had detected the gas, officials said Friday morning. The pollutants are expected to break down within hours or days, experts said.
The lessons I learned 40 years ago in the Army are now embedded in my brain. "First Parade" the vehicle before you go anywhere. "Halt Parade" the vehicle when you stop for fuel or a meal. "Last Parade" the vehicle when you stop for the day. And an old Cavalry phrase: The Horse, the Saddle, the Man (i.e. sort out your vehicle before you worry about yourself).
My dad used to have the tow balls come loose all the time, and looking back I know exactly why. Back before the current 50mm coupling, there was one with a screw down handle and locking pin - dad used to hammer the coupling handle down until it was so tight it literally gripped the tow ball (and he never used grease on the tow ball). Now add numerous turns towing a trailer that was grossly overloaded and you have a recipe for disaster. Hell I remember driving from Wauchope to Port Macquarie with a 6*4 trailer loaded about 4ft high with hardwood timber pailings, and on occasion the tow ball force was so high it lifted the front wheels up enough so he could not steer. Weather it was slipping or not making contact I don't know, but we veered all over until he touched the brakes. Now I regularly check the tow ball for damage, and the nut for tension, and I never ever exceed the rating of the trailer, especially for tow ball weight. We plan on getting a caravan soon and plan on doing the same with it.
Hi John, through observations of others issues in the ball tow area , I have to inform all reading that a bit of industrial KY / bearing grease should be used in the coupling to ball area . Why you may ask and I will tell you now: The ball coupling when dry can bind and spin off the tension of the nut when you take a few corners by spinning the ball end on the tongue, so a bit of grease will stop your coupling from dry binding , deforming, and becoming chatters too. The adjuster flat blade and nut will never have to be attended to either when using grease as your cheap cast metal coupling ceases to deform in shape. Do not grease the tongue to ball contact area as that would be pointless, but you can use some sort of lock tight/nail polish or urethane glue there if you must. So in conclusion to your lengthy presentation I must add for all to get a black rubber tow ball cover with a little non runny grease inside and pop it on when not in use so the grease is there ready for your next hitching. And please remove all protruding leg breaking tow tongues when not in use - should be a firm topic for you to cover too. Happy motoring you - all.
When I was on naval submarines, some torques were applied in the 12,000Nm range with hydraulic torque multipliers. That was cool. Until one day it was discovered that they were miscalibrated by a classified factor. Then panic all around 😅
John. A minor error in your video. I sat on the committee that writes the ADRs. ADR62 does not have in it the strengths or material characteristics or other information you mention. It calls up the Australian Standards for tow couplings which have that information in it. I was a member on that committee also. It took a long time to write, possibly ten years as it covered all vehicle coupling types. In recent years the Standard has been split up into few smaller ones. The one that covers both 50mm & 70mm balls is both a performance & prescriptive Standard. If you want to go the performance way you can choose any material you like including plasticine. All you have to do is submit it to three million (as I recall) fore & aft full load cycles. Unfortunately there was only one test facility in Australia and the test takes several weeks possibly into the months. This becomes expensive so we also introduced a prescriptive part specifying the steel type, dimensions etc. We tested this and knew it complied so in that way those with a CNC lathe can churn them out knowing they are complying only having to perform manufacturing tolerance checks and that they are being supplied with the correct grade of steel. Make sure your balls are marked to meet the ADR or Australian Standard (ouch). In regard to using multi-grip pliers to help start the tightening procedure, I noticed that Hayman-Reece balls have two flats on the bottom of the ball flange. I fitted one once and as I remember I used a 36mm open-end spanner. Possibly other manufacturers are doing the same. Also, laser cut steel single hex ring spanners are available to fit the nut. They can be hit with a hammer without fear as they are cheap to buy. I think I have even seen them in Bunnings.
@@DavePearce-vm4xy You need to determine what is a failure and why. Might not even be caused by the tow ball but the tow bar. Our testing was done on what was considered a standard tow ball. Standard meaning what you see every day including the height of the ball above the flange. Those extended height balls you sometimes see must be tested by the manufacturer as the bending stress is greater.
@@cameronmartin93112” shifter is fine if you put the appropriate 380ftlb torque on it. Which is about 173kg force. Personally I used a 2 foot pipe wrench and a 2 foot 3/4 drive ratchet on my neighbours Pajero, the pipe wrench pushing about 80-100kg of force on a 50c piece area of my chest bruised though
I couldn't answer your Two questions as I have never Towed anything before. I certainly learnt a few things from this video that I didn't know before. Thanks John.
I found a loose pin type towball on a customer van last week, if he hadn’t had a trailer problem it might have been bad. Caravan weigher had told him to put washers under it to raise the drawbar. 5 non hardened washers of a smaller diameter than the pin were between the flange and tongue. I spotted daylight between the washers laying on the ground to do a trailer plug repair. 1 thread barely showing through nut. Took a few spins to tighten by hand, then nipped right up with a ring spanner. A bit of minor knowledge on what to check when you are going to tow 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes behind you would be handy in my book.
Caravan weighers are those people who dropped out of school and then couldn’t pass an apprenticeship. Now they roam the streets confusing beard strokers 😂
@@superwag634 If there was a legend icon, i would hit it,. perfect way of putting it. $400 for a weigh that means nothing if you pile all the crap back in and drive off.
Informative as always. As an aging fitter and turner, I can recall the inch & 7/8” cast, two pice ball, with 3/4” bolt. These were used to tow many a Millard, viscount or Franklin caravan across this empty land in the sixties and seventies on a tongue between 9/16” and 5/8” thick. When they came loose (course threads), the neck of the ball would crack and mayhem could ensue at its random best. Simpler times. And it would be remiss to not mention the screw down retainer on the trailer coupling 1/2” coarse thread.
The place that sold me my 17'6" 7500 pound cargo trailer didn't have a torque wrench that would apply the required 450 ft.lbs specified for the 2 5/16" ball with 1 1/4" shank of the Curt 40008 ball hitch (sold by Reese along with my load distributing hitch). I had to go and check what I bought, and it is stamped into the top. I went for a ball rated for nearly three times the trailer weight. The ball has a flat on the base and I held that with a suitable, very large, wrench. I turned the receiver hitch 90 degrees and then tightened, locking the holding wrench up against the underside of the hitch mount, then stood on the 24" breaker bar. Given my (cough) 250 lbs and the 2 foot length of the bar I think that should be much closer than they got with their 250 foot pound wrench. It is much easier to apply loads vertically, so turning the hitch 90 degrees, temporarily, is a useful trick. I used a paint pen to mark a line along the side of the thread and onto the nut. So far it hasn't moved. I have not been able to tighten it more, and it has been a few years, but only about 3500 miles. The huge wrench and 1" drive socket and breaker bar are in my trailer hitch bag. Just in case. If it ever comes loose I will unhitch and retighten it properly.
I don't have a caravan, but I can see the attraction: Familiar sleeping place, familiar safe food; less likely to leave something important behind; no schlepping luggage.
A quick and easy way to check fasteners is a tell tale. Depending on orientation a line drawn over the fastener with a marker pen can give a very quick way of visually checking the joint whenever you walk past.
Thank you John for great information. I had trouble with my tow ball coming loose, it was not tightened sufficiently, so one put on facebook to pull the tow ball shank out turn it 90° and then I use a 3/4 socket and bar and put all my weight on the end of the bar. It has never come loose since I did that. About 400 NM.
Another crucial area of possible failure / fatigue is the mounting bolts used on the tow coupling to the drawbar - regular checking there too would be beneficial after corrugated roads.
As a semi driver having dealt with 500 ft/lbs up to 750 on steel wheels olden days I would say 900 would indeed be tough to achieve in the dirt. Respect for the hammer technique and the CEE reference!
John the DO35 is the most common off road coupling in Australia and CruiseMaster is an Australian company based in Qld. DO35 is the 3.5 tonne coupling and the DO45 is the 4.5 tonne coupling. I don't know of any others. 50mm balls are not suitable for off road use. Cruisemaster supply a handbook with their couplings and that includes the torque spec which is beyond the torque of any home mechanics torque wrench. The DO couplings also come with a special spanner for holding the flange while tightening.
Ark and Al-Ko also have their style of coupling. And there are those cheap poly-block jobs (usually to 2T). But the CruiseMaster is certainly considered the best. John obviously skimped on his research and just went with a hunch to illustrate his ignorance.
I’ve never had one of these come loose. I use a spring washer and make that but as tight as possible with the longest spanner I can use and give the spanner a whack with the hammer too. It just needs to be extremely tight. I definitely will be checking mine now though. Thanks John.
@@ChristopherHallett well that might be too. But for this case I’ve never had a tow ball come loose. Just tighten it with a long spanner or breaker bar.
I’ve had a trailer disconnect then caught by the crossed chains And the reason is the hitch on the trailer that goes down onto the ball has a spring loaded trigger which kind of operates a latch under the ball And that spring loses it tension you go over a bump and it unhitches Quite the drama, I can assure you
So, before a cross drill and split pin I think I would use a second nut as a lock nut. Perhaps pach this up with a nordlock washer to compliment the lock washer. Then to cement the entire deal, how about some lock tight thread locker. All this without a cross drill and split pin. All this assuming the correct torque has been applied to the first nut in the first place...
Throw the spring washer in the bin, and tighten the towball nut up until you're about to bust your other nut. Chuck a bit of thread lock on first if you never want to remove it again. A bit of silicon on the exposed thread is a good (just in case) safety to stop the nut from winding completely off if it does happen to loosen, but I have never had a tow ball come loose.
all good until you have to replace it. i have seen several snap off the ball from the shank, right where the thread finishes, and a couple where the ball starts on neck. Should be replaced every couple of years. especially towing 3 tonne monster portaslums to DPC.
John, loving the engineering breakdown videos. You take brain bleeding high level geek stuff, and make it understandable by low to mid level geeks, like me. Even a particularly bright caveman could get it on a good day.
Here is a solution. take the hitch out of the reciever, turn it 90⁰ so the nut is on the left side. While wearing solid sole shoes put all of your 80kg of weight on the end of that 500mm long spanner. hey presto, 40kg/m of torque.
A lot of people use the Super Cheap stamped metal multi-fit wrench which is designed to fit in the glove box. It's not terrible, but using it without a mallet is probably gonna result in under torquing
At 1.33 in the video, I noticed Old Mate put a superfluous split pin through the threaded end of the lowball, but I would have disposed with the spring washer and replaced it with a high tensile flat washer instead. Also, a dab of low strength thread locker would be useful, it would also prevent thread corrosion in harsh environments.
Hi John, while you’re talking about towing, just wondering what your thoughts are on the upcoming ford ranger super duty. According to Ford, it will have a 4.5 tonne GVM and a 4.5 tonne braked towing capacity. My understanding of physics tells me that even towing 3.5 tonnes is not a good idea with conventional dual cab utes of this size, so towing 4.5 tonnes seems, for lack of a better term, fucking absurd. Would you be able to walk us through what engineering changes ford would have made to the ranger to allow it to tow 4.5 tonnes? I’m struggling to see how this isn’t like aftermarket companies selling GVM upgrades that are a bit bullshit to begin with.
Here in the UK the yow ball is fixed on with two 16mm ht bolts using nylocs as a rule, never known them come loose in the 50 odd years I have been using and making trailers. The new cars tend to have swan neck tow balls now which either clip into a socket or hinge out of the way, the only bolts are the ones holding the tow bar to the vehicle.
I hate spring washers ,most will stretch out at well before 1000fp .Agood quality flat washer is needed at this torque . I would recommend a correct size flogging spaner and a decent lump hammer for in the field.
In New Zealand if a breakaway system fitted. Cable under 2.5 tons, electric over 2.5 tons then safety chains are not required. Any trailer without breakaway do require chains.
@ my camper 6500 lbs has both brake away electric brakes and safety chains. Trailers over 2000lbs are required to have brakes on all axles and a yearly safety inspection
No one ever talks about the most failure proof way of secure fasteners.. a good quality thread-locker like Loctite 243…, it Lubs, going on, seals from corrosion & locks , but will come about with the same tool it was done up… Btw.. after years of labs work.., easy to proof that spring washers don’t lock at all…
Yeah that should have been the default/first thought. Clean the threads on both parts, put some red loctite on there, and it should never come off again. At least without a propane torch.
Hi John, I understand your dislike of towing and for most of my trips I camp out in very remote areas, so sleep in the rear of my Troopy. But if free camping as many do the 200k plus investment makes traveling Australlia in remote areas something you can do for months, years, decades.. If your idea of a good trip is looking at motel walls rather than a nice river bank, then cool as it leaves more parking space for me.
The fun thing about a DO35 is they supply a very short tool to stop it from rotating. So you hold that with your left hand while you torque the nut to 440nM with your right hand.
I had loose Left Front wheel nuts on my '17 Camry a week ago. I was alerted by a "throbbing" sound at the rate of wheel rotation. The noise developed over a couple of days of non-highway driving. Oddly, both accelerating and decelerating seemed to quieten the noise. A visual check showed at least a couple of the nuts had obviously backed off. Two wheel nuts took less than one turn to torque, two took half a dozen turns, and one took nearly a dozen turns.
As far as the mating surface not being flat. Take a good file, make sure it is flat and straight first, and lay it across the surface and carefully lap it, work the file back and forth keeping it flat on top of the surface. Use a bit of oil when you do that. If you do it right, you will get a nice flat surface. Check both sides.
44:18 No problem here John. Lubricate threads and surfaces associated with the nut. Leave surfaces associated with the "bolthead" clean and dry. Provides all the "fixing" I have ever needed. Must note: because I have to work with different hitch heights, I do the sin of cutting the thread flush with the assembled nut. Makes each hitch reorientation painless.
Hi John @AutoExpertJC , I know you're not a fan of Weight Distribution Hitchs (WDH), However, from an engineering point of view and in relation to WDHs with steel tongues, not cast iron, 1. is it okay to cut the WDHs tongue shorter and, 2. re-drill the tow hitch pin hole, so that the WDH fits into the manufacturers factory fitted towbar, as many only allow the manufacturers standard hitch tongue which are typically much shorter i.e. does it make any difference to shorten the tongue of a WDH? Thank you.
@craigoOZ yes, I was also thinking that reducing the tongue length and overhang would be advantageous, but wondered if @AutoExpertJC could tell us if this is okay to do or if it compromises the WDH in some way.
My DO35 loosened shortly after fitting it to a new tongue (I checked at 100km then 500k after fitting). So I retightened it and it has been fine since. No drilling required. :)
Hi John, a small error in your video. The DO35 coupling is not US specific. It was actually designed and made by Cruisemaster in 2018 for Australian conditions. Cruisemaster is a Brisbane company. They are common on caravans and trailers that require greater articulation and strength than standard tow balls.
First they could ask a man to help them tighten it. Next if you drive around with your hitch in your vehicle receiver for one Wisconsin winter it will not come loose or the ball mount ever come out of the receiver again. Even if someone stole your pin the hitch will not slide out of the receiver.
A 3/4" Whitworth nut is 33mm across the flats. If you want a decent spanner, jump on EBay and you can pick up a vintage 3/4" Whitworth spanner in: Sidchrome, King Dick, Dowidat (or similar) in a double ring key for around the $25 to $30 mark. One of these brand spanners that was forged back in the day, will far outlive both the car and caraven.
I have always had the opposite problem when it comes time to replace the tow ball. That dammed nut just dose not budge, especially when the bolt thread has had several thousand km of stone strike damage.
Corrosion and burred threads were more than enough for me to counter the towbar mounted bike rack. Never even felt compelled to add a small dab of weld on the thread for good measure. The next owner might have to use a gas axe to take it off though.
Spring washers do f#*k all until the nut is already loose. The most you can expect from them is maybe they will bind with the nut to stop it falling off entirely
@@SuperNova-Steve That is so interesting to me, as I have never been able to "get" how they can do what they are supposed to. I mean, you tighten the nut until the spring washer is practically a normal washer anyway, only cracked, sort of.
its funny as he explains this im thinking about a vehicle front axle spindle which is set up exactly the same way. Uses a pin to keep the bearing from falling off 🤣😂😁 The difference being that the bearing nut on spindle is not tight to begin with, it has to be backed off a bit 1/4 turn i think or youll freeze the bearing up.
Hi John, I just watched the latest video from a channel called Lil and Jake and their experience with the front suspension on their new Prado. They also showed a video of a journalist calling them liars without ever talking to them. It looked to me like a simple case of a bolt falling out but I would love to get your thoughts on this, and the journalist. Apparently Toyota replaced the whole front left hand side suspension and sent it back to Japan for inspection all under warranty. Thanks, Stuart.
The viewer's solution is a shocker. All he needed to do was use a second lock-nut. Torsion tighten them against one another and it will never happen again. Maybe, ifyou really want to be sure, add a little locktight to the locknut thread.
I run one of couple mates tow balls with a 50mm riser, made from 4140 and rated to 2500kg, (one would assume lowered because of the additional bending moment) - more than adequate for my falcon with a 1.6 tonne towbar. If i had the 2.3 tonne towbar I would probably go to a standard height 25mm riser , rated at 3500kg.
I loctite the thread and use a torque wrench to 200nm. Also happens to be what hi rise Al-ko towballs are spec'd to. Mark nut with a pen to keep an eye on it.
Cruisemaster specify that the DO35 should be torqued to 440nm which is far beyond most people’s tools or ability. Took mine to a Truck mob who torqued it for me
good video. Ii was thinking that there should be a ''push'' for brake lights to come on automatically when the car is moving is also moving at 10 kph or less. Good or bad idea?
i have the complete opposite issue, my tow ball has been torqued down and rusted solid, and as it's an old-style drawbar, i don't intend to replace the complete unit just because my balls are undersize, and the trailer wants to jump and disengage every time i hit the tyre killing potholes in my town's roads on my way to the refuse centre.
Underlying problem is these towballs are designed for use in the Northern Hemisphere. Down here the threads need to be left handed. That way the vibration will make the nut tighten. vibration. Seriously the cotter pin mod is not a bad idea. Sure it will not stop the nut working loose but I'd imagine trying to find a replacement nut back of Dingo Piss Creek would be a problem. Wired nuts are common in aircraft engines where a loose nut is one thing, one rattling around in a jet engine another.
Are the towballs, nuts or spring washers themselves shit material now, or are the people tightening them up piss weak? I lived permenantly in large caravans for the best part of two decades, spanning the late '70s, 1980s and early 90s, towed them on crappy roads all over Australia chasing contract work. Never had a towball come loose. To tighten them I just used a 12" shifter, sat on the ground, held onto the towbar with both arms, and pushed on the very end of the shifter handle with my right leg's size 10 as hard as I could, followed by a couple of stout kicks for good measure, job done.
The spring washer is a locking mechanism that digs into the metal of the receiver insert in this instance and the nut on its apposing side, however one has to watch that the lock washer does not open up upon torquing the nut as that always has to be inspected after the ball hardware is torqued. A typical flat washer is relatively soft metal and has no locking ability and may even deform with high torque.
Aside from torquing the towball hardware to the proper spec for the thread size which is very important, my other concern is with the quality of crap that is flogged off on the market these days, towballs made by suspect companies that they never put a brand name on tends to raise my hairs. I would much rather pay a bit more for a known brand name towball and receiver insert for that matter that is clearly marked/stamped with their brand and ratings.
What about replacing the nut with a Nylock type? I have had replacement ball joints which employ this technique as opposed to the split pin type and not had any issues to date... generally speaking, something like this which is engineered is done so for a specific reason, either the split pin is not needed or the nut employs some other means of protection from coming loose and it would have been tested...so I don't think I could make it any better in my garage...
I had a 3.5ton empty trailer on the back of the ute , i was coming over a hill on a duel lane bridge at 4am , i hit a bump and heard a bang and can see the trailer dragging on the road behind me in the rear view mirror ! next thing the trailer is going done the hill beside me ....shit ! ahead at the bottom of the hill stopped at the lights i could see a Telsla and a Mercedes , so i side swipped the trailer as it was passing me against the bridge concrete barrier to arrest it before it got away , so i basically smashed into it. The trailer did a 360 degree pirowet and came to a stop about 10m away from the cars ahead. The safety chain snapped right off and the tow ball was still attached to the trailer , i dont know how the bolt came loose , a complete mystery ? I was coming back from a 700km trip maybe it rattled itself loose ? The whole passenger side of ute was damaged , broken mirror, dents, scrapes, broken mirror ect. It was a nighmare and freaked me right out , and i still think i was lucky that the trailer didnt smash into the cars ahead as i had no insurance at the time !
12:49, dead right, unless it is a castleated nut the pin will not stop the nut coming loose, but it may keep the ball on there long enough for you to stop before it can,
Fellow Eng - 1986 version which makes me even more crap! I always carry a decent impact wrench (Dewalt DCF 399 etc) which is mainly used for wheel nuts and crank pulleys - it will even just about undo Honda crank pulleys. Smaller ones don't really cut it in reality, and I have several, generally pre-load with 10mm, 13mm and 8mm deep sockets etc Totally agree about spring washers and also about a big spanner and a hammer - see above, same thing essentially. It's not ever happened to me, but if I was out there and trying to do up a spinning tow ball I'd first slam the van on it which may well have 150Kg of ball weight or more given how overloaded most setups are here. Add more weight via humans etc to suit. If that really didn't work introduce a very little sand in-between the ball flange and the tow bar, but I mean a little just to give a little extra friction - this would be a final course action. Another option be to install a 2nd nut and lock the two together
I work in aviation. We split pin or lock wire most nuts / bolts in critical areas. If your not locking a nut then we would use a thread locker & generally mark the position of the nut with torque seal paint. This way you can tell if the nut has moved at all during your regular inspections. Everything is torqued to the OEM specs.
I've been a reliability engineer for many years. I bought a new mobile outhouse a few years ago and watched the workshop tighten my brand new D035 coupling pin with a 12in adjustable wrench. Got my 24in breaker bar and 1 5/16 socket out the back of my ute and showed the guy i could achieve another complete turn on the nut.
Typical...
They should be ashamed of themselves - the DO35 has a factory torque spec, FFS.
Were the banjos playing?
What, no spot or two of dirty stick weld on the thread? Rough.
Hi John, I was thinking of you when I saw the largest battery plant in the world burn down! Yep, it just happened to the Moss Landing power plant in Monterey , California. I am hoping you will do a video on it. I've learned so much from you on these Colbalt chemical fires!
I should also mention there appears to be a very large diesel generator charging all these Amazon electric trucks we now have in California. I'm not sure if it's real, but it appears to be just like the one you exposed in Australia.
@@deardra5619 - no secret here.. Just like the Diesel ferry banning EV charging - lol, so EV users were expecting to plug in while on a boat... Brain freeze - must hurt.
MGUY covered that,this morning
Where is C.A.R.B.?
What a bunch of hypocrites.
Greetings from NJ
This is from the local paper - Santa Cruz County health officials said there was “no immediate threat” from smoke Friday morning. “Moderate” air quality is expected Friday and Saturday, according to the Monterey Bay Air Resources District. Hydrogen fluoride is a hazardous gas that can be emitted by a lithium battery fire, and none of the Vistra’s air monitors had detected the gas, officials said Friday morning. The pollutants are expected to break down within hours or days, experts said.
These absolute IDIOTS said the air quality is moderate. The videos I've seen are of super big black plums of toxic gases.
The lessons I learned 40 years ago in the Army are now embedded in my brain.
"First Parade" the vehicle before you go anywhere.
"Halt Parade" the vehicle when you stop for fuel or a meal.
"Last Parade" the vehicle when you stop for the day.
And an old Cavalry phrase: The Horse, the Saddle, the Man (i.e. sort out your vehicle before you worry about yourself).
Been there, done that. true words. nothing ever fell off either.
26 tpt. Never fails.
@ 1st Armoured, 2nd Cavalry.
@@whya2ndaccount 44tpt sqn 9LSF
My dad used to have the tow balls come loose all the time, and looking back I know exactly why. Back before the current 50mm coupling, there was one with a screw down handle and locking pin - dad used to hammer the coupling handle down until it was so tight it literally gripped the tow ball (and he never used grease on the tow ball). Now add numerous turns towing a trailer that was grossly overloaded and you have a recipe for disaster.
Hell I remember driving from Wauchope to Port Macquarie with a 6*4 trailer loaded about 4ft high with hardwood timber pailings, and on occasion the tow ball force was so high it lifted the front wheels up enough so he could not steer. Weather it was slipping or not making contact I don't know, but we veered all over until he touched the brakes.
Now I regularly check the tow ball for damage, and the nut for tension, and I never ever exceed the rating of the trailer, especially for tow ball weight. We plan on getting a caravan soon and plan on doing the same with it.
Hi John, through observations of others issues in the ball tow area , I have to inform all reading that a bit of industrial KY / bearing grease should be used in the coupling to ball area . Why you may ask and I will tell you now: The ball coupling when dry can bind and spin off the tension of the nut when you take a few corners by spinning the ball end on the tongue, so a bit of grease will stop your coupling from dry binding , deforming, and becoming chatters too. The adjuster flat blade and nut will never have to be attended to either when using grease as your cheap cast metal coupling ceases to deform in shape. Do not grease the tongue to ball contact area as that would be pointless, but you can use some sort of lock tight/nail polish or urethane glue there if you must. So in conclusion to your lengthy presentation I must add for all to get a black rubber tow ball cover with a little non runny grease inside and pop it on when not in use so the grease is there ready for your next hitching. And please remove all protruding leg breaking tow tongues when not in use - should be a firm topic for you to cover too. Happy motoring you - all.
grease and dirt, perfect cutting paste. Always been taught use dry in the industry side anyway.
When I was on naval submarines, some torques were applied in the 12,000Nm range with hydraulic torque multipliers. That was cool. Until one day it was discovered that they were miscalibrated by a classified factor. Then panic all around 😅
John. A minor error in your video. I sat on the committee that writes the ADRs. ADR62 does not have in it the strengths or material characteristics or other information you mention. It calls up the Australian Standards for tow couplings which have that information in it. I was a member on that committee also. It took a long time to write, possibly ten years as it covered all vehicle coupling types. In recent years the Standard has been split up into few smaller ones. The one that covers both 50mm & 70mm balls is both a performance & prescriptive Standard. If you want to go the performance way you can choose any material you like including plasticine. All you have to do is submit it to three million (as I recall) fore & aft full load cycles. Unfortunately there was only one test facility in Australia and the test takes several weeks possibly into the months. This becomes expensive so we also introduced a prescriptive part specifying the steel type, dimensions etc. We tested this and knew it complied so in that way those with a CNC lathe can churn them out knowing they are complying only having to perform manufacturing tolerance checks and that they are being supplied with the correct grade of steel. Make sure your balls are marked to meet the ADR or Australian Standard (ouch).
In regard to using multi-grip pliers to help start the tightening procedure, I noticed that Hayman-Reece balls have two flats on the bottom of the ball flange. I fitted one once and as I remember I used a 36mm open-end spanner. Possibly other manufacturers are doing the same.
Also, laser cut steel single hex ring spanners are available to fit the nut. They can be hit with a hammer without fear as they are cheap to buy. I think I have even seen them in Bunnings.
Just. Been looking for Toyota interior email, tow ball should be changed every 2 years ,as there been failures,
@@DavePearce-vm4xy You need to determine what is a failure and why. Might not even be caused by the tow ball but the tow bar. Our testing was done on what was considered a standard tow ball. Standard meaning what you see every day including the height of the ball above the flange. Those extended height balls you sometimes see must be tested by the manufacturer as the bending stress is greater.
Nah a 12" shifter is good, there is plenty of bite on those big nuts, and it has other uses around the camp as well.
All made in China any purchased from Amazon/eBay.
@@cameronmartin93112” shifter is fine if you put the appropriate 380ftlb torque on it. Which is about 173kg force.
Personally I used a 2 foot pipe wrench and a 2 foot 3/4 drive ratchet on my neighbours Pajero, the pipe wrench pushing about 80-100kg of force on a 50c piece area of my chest bruised though
I couldn't answer your Two questions as I have never Towed anything before. I certainly learnt a few things from this video that I didn't know before. Thanks John.
You're welcome, dude.
Thanks 👍
I found a loose pin type towball on a customer van last week, if he hadn’t had a trailer problem it might have been bad. Caravan weigher had told him to put washers under it to raise the drawbar. 5 non hardened washers of a smaller diameter than the pin were between the flange and tongue. I spotted daylight between the washers laying on the ground to do a trailer plug repair. 1 thread barely showing through nut. Took a few spins to tighten by hand, then nipped right up with a ring spanner.
A bit of minor knowledge on what to check when you are going to tow 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes behind you would be handy in my book.
Caravan weighers are those people who dropped out of school and then couldn’t pass an apprenticeship. Now they roam the streets confusing beard strokers 😂
@@superwag634 If there was a legend icon, i would hit it,. perfect way of putting it. $400 for a weigh that means nothing if you pile all the crap back in and drive off.
Informative as always. As an aging fitter and turner, I can recall the inch & 7/8” cast, two pice ball, with 3/4” bolt. These were used to tow many a Millard, viscount or Franklin caravan across this empty land in the sixties and seventies on a tongue between 9/16” and 5/8” thick. When they came loose (course threads), the neck of the ball would crack and mayhem could ensue at its random best. Simpler times. And it would be remiss to not mention the screw down retainer on the trailer coupling 1/2” coarse thread.
All motorcycle rear axle nuts have used this method for many years to stop the rear wheel from coming loose. Usually with a castle nut.
The place that sold me my 17'6" 7500 pound cargo trailer didn't have a torque wrench that would apply the required 450 ft.lbs specified for the 2 5/16" ball with 1 1/4" shank of the Curt 40008 ball hitch (sold by Reese along with my load distributing hitch). I had to go and check what I bought, and it is stamped into the top. I went for a ball rated for nearly three times the trailer weight. The ball has a flat on the base and I held that with a suitable, very large, wrench. I turned the receiver hitch 90 degrees and then tightened, locking the holding wrench up against the underside of the hitch mount, then stood on the 24" breaker bar. Given my (cough) 250 lbs and the 2 foot length of the bar I think that should be much closer than they got with their 250 foot pound wrench. It is much easier to apply loads vertically, so turning the hitch 90 degrees, temporarily, is a useful trick. I used a paint pen to mark a line along the side of the thread and onto the nut. So far it hasn't moved. I have not been able to tighten it more, and it has been a few years, but only about 3500 miles. The huge wrench and 1" drive socket and breaker bar are in my trailer hitch bag. Just in case. If it ever comes loose I will unhitch and retighten it properly.
I don't have a caravan, but I can see the attraction: Familiar sleeping place, familiar safe food; less likely to leave something important behind; no schlepping luggage.
A quick and easy way to check fasteners is a tell tale.
Depending on orientation a line drawn over the fastener with a marker pen can give a very quick way of visually checking the joint whenever you walk past.
Thank you John for great information. I had trouble with my tow ball coming loose, it was not tightened sufficiently, so one put on facebook to pull the tow ball shank out turn it 90° and then I use a 3/4 socket and bar and put all my weight on the end of the bar. It has never come loose since I did that. About 400 NM.
Another crucial area of possible failure / fatigue is the mounting bolts used on the tow coupling to the drawbar - regular checking there too would be beneficial after corrugated roads.
I have seen many loose or sheared ones. utes with extended trays and long mounting plates working their leverage on the fasteners.
As a semi driver having dealt with 500 ft/lbs up to 750 on steel wheels olden days I would say 900 would indeed be tough to achieve in the dirt. Respect for the hammer technique and the CEE reference!
John the DO35 is the most common off road coupling in Australia and CruiseMaster is an Australian company based in Qld. DO35 is the 3.5 tonne coupling and the DO45 is the 4.5 tonne coupling. I don't know of any others. 50mm balls are not suitable for off road use. Cruisemaster supply a handbook with their couplings and that includes the torque spec which is beyond the torque of any home mechanics torque wrench. The DO couplings also come with a special spanner for holding the flange while tightening.
Ark and Al-Ko also have their style of coupling. And there are those cheap poly-block jobs (usually to 2T). But the CruiseMaster is certainly considered the best. John obviously skimped on his research and just went with a hunch to illustrate his ignorance.
I live in the "rustbelt" of the States, a couple winters of salted roads will guarantee it never comes loose again. Even with a big fuck wrench.
Good to have the tools on hand agreed.
You could also mark the thread and nut with a paint pen or your wife’s camping nail polish and check it daily.
Great idea and I totally agree.
I use a bit of liquid paper on key points on a big trip. It sticks, it's cheap and you can get it almost anywhere.
Great video. Rosie references much appreciated. When it comes to towin' - she steals the show.
Welcome back, John! I hope you, Tiffany and the ex-wives all had a great holiday season.
Thank you - we all had a jolly time. Then I went to China on assignment.
@@AutoExpertJC Picking up Ping Pong?
I’ve never had one of these come loose. I use a spring washer and make that but as tight as possible with the longest spanner I can use and give the spanner a whack with the hammer too.
It just needs to be extremely tight.
I definitely will be checking mine now though. Thanks John.
Ditto
Spring washers are shit and don't work. Find me one spring washer on a modern aircraft.
@@ChristopherHallett well that might be too. But for this case I’ve never had a tow ball come loose. Just tighten it with a long spanner or breaker bar.
@@gman7949 Again Ditto,.. and I am very happy that Aircraft are NOT assembled with a common fastener system like bolts, nuts and washers :)
I’ve had a trailer disconnect then caught by the crossed chains
And the reason is the hitch on the trailer that goes down onto the ball has a spring loaded trigger which kind of operates a latch under the ball
And that spring loses it tension you go over a bump and it unhitches
Quite the drama, I can assure you
So, before a cross drill and split pin I think I would use a second nut as a lock nut. Perhaps pach this up with a nordlock washer to compliment the lock washer. Then to cement the entire deal, how about some lock tight thread locker. All this without a cross drill and split pin. All this assuming the correct torque has been applied to the first nut in the first place...
Hi John, if a tow ball has come loose, it tends to elongate the hole . From that point onwards its pretty hard to keedp them tight.
John you talking about loads on the tow ball was spot on, at @ the 31 min mark of your video I too lost my load of my two balls.
Throw the spring washer in the bin, and tighten the towball nut up until you're about to bust your other nut. Chuck a bit of thread lock on first if you never want to remove it again. A bit of silicon on the exposed thread is a good (just in case) safety to stop the nut from winding completely off if it does happen to loosen, but I have never had a tow ball come loose.
all good until you have to replace it. i have seen several snap off the ball from the shank, right where the thread finishes, and a couple where the ball starts on neck. Should be replaced every couple of years. especially towing 3 tonne monster portaslums to DPC.
John, loving the engineering breakdown videos. You take brain bleeding high level geek stuff, and make it understandable by low to mid level geeks, like me. Even a particularly bright caveman could get it on a good day.
What about a lock nut, with some loctite, since you have all that extra thread?
Assuming you have the primary nut at the correct torque.
Here is a solution.
take the hitch out of the reciever, turn it 90⁰ so the nut is on the left side. While wearing solid sole shoes put all of your 80kg of weight on the end of that 500mm long spanner. hey presto, 40kg/m of torque.
I only use Hayman Reese towballs; recommended tightening tension is 250Nm, never comes loose.
A lot of people use the Super Cheap stamped metal multi-fit wrench which is designed to fit in the glove box. It's not terrible, but using it without a mallet is probably gonna result in under torquing
Interesting news about Mitsubishi this week. Keen to hear your take on it.
Finally, back to a quality video.
At 1.33 in the video, I noticed Old Mate put a superfluous split pin through the threaded end of the lowball, but I would have disposed with the spring washer and replaced it with a high tensile flat washer instead.
Also, a dab of low strength thread locker would be useful, it would also prevent thread corrosion in harsh environments.
Hi John, while you’re talking about towing, just wondering what your thoughts are on the upcoming ford ranger super duty.
According to Ford, it will have a 4.5 tonne GVM and a 4.5 tonne braked towing capacity. My understanding of physics tells me that even towing 3.5 tonnes is not a good idea with conventional dual cab utes of this size, so towing 4.5 tonnes seems, for lack of a better term, fucking absurd.
Would you be able to walk us through what engineering changes ford would have made to the ranger to allow it to tow 4.5 tonnes?
I’m struggling to see how this isn’t like aftermarket companies selling GVM upgrades that are a bit bullshit to begin with.
Hello John please put up another video. Thanks Richard.
"Balls!" said the Queen. "If I had two, I could be King!"
The King laughed. Not because he wanted to, but because he had to.
Here in the UK the yow ball is fixed on with two 16mm ht bolts using nylocs as a rule, never known them come loose in the 50 odd years I have been using and making trailers. The new cars tend to have swan neck tow balls now which either clip into a socket or hinge out of the way, the only bolts are the ones holding the tow bar to the vehicle.
I hate spring washers ,most will stretch out at well before 1000fp .Agood quality flat washer is needed at this torque .
I would recommend a correct size flogging spaner and a decent lump hammer for in the field.
Well before 1000 ft/lbs? Are you serious?
I’m from the USA. I was stunned when I learned other countries don’t require safety chains on their trailers
WHO exactly doesn’t require safety chains? I’ve never heard of that.
In New Zealand if a breakaway system fitted. Cable under 2.5 tons, electric over 2.5 tons then safety chains are not required. Any trailer without breakaway do require chains.
@ my camper 6500 lbs has both brake away electric brakes and safety chains. Trailers over 2000lbs are required to have brakes on all axles and a yearly safety inspection
No one ever talks about the most failure proof way of secure fasteners.. a good quality thread-locker like Loctite 243…, it Lubs, going on, seals from corrosion & locks , but will come about with the same tool it was done up…
Btw.. after years of labs work.., easy to proof that spring washers don’t lock at all…
Yeah that should have been the default/first thought. Clean the threads on both parts, put some red loctite on there, and it should never come off again. At least without a propane torch.
@
Why would you use red 263..?
Just creates an issue when removing that provides no add functionality .. 243 is a permanent hold…. 222 is low strength
@
Interesting the use of thread lockers.. people tend to either do nothing or go over …
@ That was a half-ass joke. I would have thought that was evident by the propane torch bit. Lighten up.
@
Apologies for upsetting ya there🤗
Scrape off the paint is a good tip. I couldn't even get mine to bite and stop spinning with the gloss paint on the neck.
I am excited for this. I recon I’ve got my finger on the pulse with one, buuuut, always keen to be schooled and learn something new.
John, I have no idea about DO35 and US standards, but the DO35 is designed and manufactured in Australia. They are very common here.
Hi John, I understand your dislike of towing and for most of my trips I camp out in very remote areas, so sleep in the rear of my Troopy.
But if free camping as many do the 200k plus investment makes traveling Australlia in remote areas something you can do for months, years, decades..
If your idea of a good trip is looking at motel walls rather than a nice river bank, then cool as it leaves more parking space for me.
The fun thing about a DO35 is they supply a very short tool to stop it from rotating. So you hold that with your left hand while you torque the nut to 440nM with your right hand.
Now you need to do a similar video on wheel nut torque.
I had loose Left Front wheel nuts on my '17 Camry a week ago.
I was alerted by a "throbbing" sound at the rate of wheel rotation.
The noise developed over a couple of days of non-highway driving.
Oddly, both accelerating and decelerating seemed to quieten the noise.
A visual check showed at least a couple of the nuts had obviously backed off.
Two wheel nuts took less than one turn to torque, two took half a dozen turns, and one took nearly a dozen turns.
he has
As far as the mating surface not being flat. Take a good file, make sure it is flat and straight first, and lay it across the surface and carefully lap it, work the file back and forth keeping it flat on top of the surface. Use a bit of oil when you do that. If you do it right, you will get a nice flat surface. Check both sides.
44:18
No problem here John.
Lubricate threads and surfaces associated with the nut. Leave surfaces associated with the "bolthead" clean and dry. Provides all the "fixing" I have ever needed. Must note: because I have to work with different hitch heights, I do the sin of cutting the thread flush with the assembled nut. Makes each hitch reorientation painless.
Just sending it home with the hi-torque impact for a few seconds really works well
Hi John @AutoExpertJC , I know you're not a fan of Weight Distribution Hitchs (WDH), However, from an engineering point of view and in relation to WDHs with steel tongues, not cast iron, 1. is it okay to cut the WDHs tongue shorter and, 2. re-drill the tow hitch pin hole, so that the WDH fits into the manufacturers factory fitted towbar, as many only allow the manufacturers standard hitch tongue which are typically much shorter i.e. does it make any difference to shorten the tongue of a WDH?
Thank you.
I have to admit doing that. ( in a machine shop) It made the tow ball 75mm closer to the car, therefore reducing overhang. over 150,000kms.
@craigoOZ yes, I was also thinking that reducing the tongue length and overhang would be advantageous, but wondered if @AutoExpertJC could tell us if this is okay to do or if it compromises the WDH in some way.
My DO35 loosened shortly after fitting it to a new tongue (I checked at 100km then 500k after fitting). So I retightened it and it has been fine since. No drilling required. :)
Hi John, a small error in your video. The DO35 coupling is not US specific. It was actually designed and made by Cruisemaster in 2018 for Australian conditions. Cruisemaster is a Brisbane company. They are common on caravans and trailers that require greater articulation and strength than standard tow balls.
Well before 2018 - about 2011 for the DO35 and before that Cruisemaster had the AT35. Yes, they are great Aussie company based in Brisbane.
First they could ask a man to help them tighten it. Next if you drive around with your hitch in your vehicle receiver for one Wisconsin winter it will not come loose or the ball mount ever come out of the receiver again. Even if someone stole your pin the hitch will not slide out of the receiver.
Correct tension and yes paint.
⛔THE OLD CVNT HASN'T UPLOADED A VIDEO IN AWHILE.⛔
A 3/4" Whitworth nut is 33mm across the flats.
If you want a decent spanner, jump on EBay and you can pick up a vintage 3/4" Whitworth spanner in: Sidchrome, King Dick, Dowidat (or similar) in a double ring key for around the $25 to $30 mark. One of these brand spanners that was forged back in the day, will far outlive both the car and caraven.
I have always had the opposite problem when it comes time to replace the tow ball. That dammed nut just dose not budge, especially when the bolt thread has had several thousand km of stone strike damage.
As usual, EXCELLENT
Corrosion and burred threads were more than enough for me to counter the towbar mounted bike rack. Never even felt compelled to add a small dab of weld on the thread for good measure. The next owner might have to use a gas axe to take it off though.
Never personally had one come loose. Used the socket + 3/4 inch breaker bar + 1m long steel pipe + software loaded upstairs method
the only problem i see, is that the people who really need to see this video will never watch it.
Did I miss it? I didn't see the spring washer mentioned once?
Spring washers are useless. Just there for show.
@@AutoExpertJCI beg to differ.
Spring washers do f#*k all until the nut is already loose. The most you can expect from them is maybe they will bind with the nut to stop it falling off entirely
NASA did extensive tests on the effectiveness of spring washers. Sadly they are pretty useless. Used them all my life, only recently found this out.
@@SuperNova-Steve That is so interesting to me, as I have never been able to "get" how they can do what they are supposed to. I mean, you tighten the nut until the spring washer is practically a normal washer anyway, only cracked, sort of.
We've missed ya, John
its funny as he explains this im thinking about a vehicle front axle spindle which is set up exactly the same way. Uses a pin to keep the bearing from falling off 🤣😂😁 The difference being that the bearing nut on spindle is not tight to begin with, it has to be backed off a bit 1/4 turn i think or youll freeze the bearing up.
Hi John, I just watched the latest video from a channel called Lil and Jake and their experience with the front suspension on their new Prado. They also showed a video of a journalist calling them liars without ever talking to them. It looked to me like a simple case of a bolt falling out but I would love to get your thoughts on this, and the journalist. Apparently Toyota replaced the whole front left hand side suspension and sent it back to Japan for inspection all under warranty. Thanks, Stuart.
The viewer's solution is a shocker. All he needed to do was use a second lock-nut. Torsion tighten them against one another and it will never happen again. Maybe, ifyou really want to be sure, add a little locktight to the locknut thread.
Was there a graph showing youngs modulus, i got distracted.
I run one of couple mates tow balls with a 50mm riser, made from 4140 and rated to 2500kg, (one would assume lowered because of the additional bending moment) - more than adequate for my falcon with a 1.6 tonne towbar. If i had the 2.3 tonne towbar I would probably go to a standard height 25mm riser , rated at 3500kg.
I loctite the thread and use a torque wrench to 200nm. Also happens to be what hi rise Al-ko towballs are spec'd to. Mark nut with a pen to keep an eye on it.
How about adding an extra spring washer plus an extra nut plus locktite, should hold don’t you think?
Spring washers are useless, and Loctite is not a substitute for inadequate assembly torque.
Cruisemaster specify that the DO35 should be torqued to 440nm which is far beyond most people’s tools or ability. Took mine to a Truck mob who torqued it for me
Can you tell me how to stop cracking my knee on the trailer hitch despite the fact that it has never not been there?
good video. Ii was thinking that there should be a ''push'' for brake lights to come on automatically when the car is moving is also moving at 10 kph or less. Good or bad idea?
Moss landing fire, would like to hear your thoughts.
I'll check mine today I think 👍
Funniest thing ever, a Zone ad in your show first up after your opening. 😂😂
Cute John. I caught the Sly mention about Kurtis from Cutting Edge. I watch them also.
He's a Jedi. Best practical engineer on YT.
Yup. Great channel. Great videography too.
Can't get enough of Homie chewing on the squeaky toys.
i have the complete opposite issue, my tow ball has been torqued down and rusted solid, and as it's an old-style drawbar, i don't intend to replace the complete unit just because my balls are undersize, and the trailer wants to jump and disengage every time i hit the tyre killing potholes in my town's roads on my way to the refuse centre.
Underlying problem is these towballs are designed for use in the Northern Hemisphere. Down here the threads need to be left handed. That way the vibration will make the nut tighten. vibration.
Seriously the cotter pin mod is not a bad idea. Sure it will not stop the nut working loose but I'd imagine trying to find a replacement nut back of Dingo Piss Creek would be a problem. Wired nuts are common in aircraft engines where a loose nut is one thing, one rattling around in a jet engine another.
Are the towballs, nuts or spring washers themselves shit material now, or are the people tightening them up piss weak?
I lived permenantly in large caravans for the best part of two decades, spanning the late '70s, 1980s and early 90s, towed them on crappy roads all over Australia chasing contract work.
Never had a towball come loose. To tighten them I just used a 12" shifter, sat on the ground, held onto the towbar with both arms, and pushed on the very end of the shifter handle with my right leg's size 10 as hard as I could, followed by a couple of stout kicks for good measure, job done.
Does the spring washer need to be used? Flat washer do the same job ?
The spring washer is a locking mechanism that digs into the metal of the receiver insert in this instance and the nut on its apposing side, however one has to watch that the lock washer does not open up upon torquing the nut as that always has to be inspected after the ball hardware is torqued. A typical flat washer is relatively soft metal and has no locking ability and may even deform with high torque.
No mention of the spring washer. A good ball has flats to grab it.
Spring washers are useless. Ask NASA...
Yes u should put oil on threads
I've recently bought a Vevor adjustable drop hitch tongue.
You're right, I didn't even check if it meets Australian standards,
She'll be right hey?
Aside from torquing the towball hardware to the proper spec for the thread size which is very important, my other concern is with the quality of crap that is flogged off on the market these days, towballs made by suspect companies that they never put a brand name on tends to raise my hairs. I would much rather pay a bit more for a known brand name towball and receiver insert for that matter that is clearly marked/stamped with their brand and ratings.
im just starting the vid but what ive done in teh past is nordlock or avionics wire through a hole in the bolt/stud.
What's your thought on the merger of Kneesarn and Honda John? Good, bad or indifferent?
It's a comedy that ends in tears.
Loctite on the turbo entabulator then tighten the eccentric bell crank !
You can get a mild steel sledgehammer, which is much cheaper. The copper ones harden with use anyway.
They are called a normalised steel hammer.
I agree - mild steel is an excellent choice. Just get an offcut of hot-rolled round bar 75-is mm in dia. and DIY it. No need to normalise, however.
What about replacing the nut with a Nylock type? I have had replacement ball joints which employ this technique as opposed to the split pin type and not had any issues to date... generally speaking, something like this which is engineered is done so for a specific reason, either the split pin is not needed or the nut employs some other means of protection from coming loose and it would have been tested...so I don't think I could make it any better in my garage...
I had a 3.5ton empty trailer on the back of the ute , i was coming over a hill on a duel lane bridge at 4am , i hit a bump and heard a bang and can see the trailer dragging on the road behind me in the rear view mirror ! next thing the trailer is going done the hill beside me ....shit ! ahead at the bottom of the hill stopped at the lights i could see a Telsla and a Mercedes , so i side swipped the trailer as it was passing me against the bridge concrete barrier to arrest it before it got away , so i basically smashed into it. The trailer did a 360 degree pirowet and came to a stop about 10m away from the cars ahead. The safety chain snapped right off and the tow ball was still attached to the trailer , i dont know how the bolt came loose , a complete mystery ? I was coming back from a 700km trip maybe it rattled itself loose ? The whole passenger side of ute was damaged , broken mirror, dents, scrapes, broken mirror ect. It was a nighmare and freaked me right out , and i still think i was lucky that the trailer didnt smash into the cars ahead as i had no insurance at the time !
A bit of blue locktite would do the job with out incurring the ire of authorities should an accident occur.
Not a substitute for inadequate assembly torque, sadly - but good insurance, certainly.
Glad you finally showed your GF on your channel (the ice-cream eating was a bit much though) haha
I switched to a ringfeder for towing my boat. If that ever comes undone I’m going to be dead in the wreckage.
12:49, dead right, unless it is a castleated nut the pin will not stop the nut coming loose, but it may keep the ball on there long enough for you to stop before it can,
Fellow Eng - 1986 version which makes me even more crap! I always carry a decent impact wrench (Dewalt DCF 399 etc) which is mainly used for wheel nuts and crank pulleys - it will even just about undo Honda crank pulleys. Smaller ones don't really cut it in reality, and I have several, generally pre-load with 10mm, 13mm and 8mm deep sockets etc
Totally agree about spring washers and also about a big spanner and a hammer - see above, same thing essentially. It's not ever happened to me, but if I was out there and trying to do up a spinning tow ball I'd first slam the van on it which may well have 150Kg of ball weight or more given how overloaded most setups are here. Add more weight via humans etc to suit. If that really didn't work introduce a very little sand in-between the ball flange and the tow bar, but I mean a little just to give a little extra friction - this would be a final course action. Another option be to install a 2nd nut and lock the two together