Has any one used an Adjustable Trailer ball mount

At least as important will be to get rid of the ball and fit a fully articulating hitch.
To not do so risks breaking the ball off or breaking something even more important.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome

G'day Rich
A personal view, but, everytime I see one of those, I think of all the forces being taken by one bolt because of the towing forces, only one bolt is towing and the other is in not.

I know the bolt's is/are high tensile but the ball position is a fair way from the bolt and therefore applies more force to one bolt than the direct pull forces.

I don't like the idea of the investment being towed by just two bolts.
If the two faces of the fitting were machined flat and the bolts a precision fit, the idea would be better, as it is it is just two bits of steel being roughly clamped.

I will never use one and often question a friend who has one, he is aware and will only use his on the trailer to the tip, not for a van.

I agree with Peter, if going off road the angle of departure or vehicle to trailer twist will get a normal ball to the full extent and then it breaks, so no good for a ball in off road situations. Just one good dip or bank and you are history.

Apparently a trailer flaps around a lot on just chains.

Cheers
Ross M

I've used one as a drop hitch to tow an on-road van all over the place, mine is the Hayman Reece version. The bolts holding it together are pretty big and there's two of them, remember the tow ball is basically a single bolt with a round ball end that the caravan attaches to so in my opinion it would be the weakest link.

Anyway, my van was only 800kg tare and about 1200kg loaded so it's likely to be much lighter than the off-road van you want to tow. From memory the Hayman Reece drop hitch had two different max limits, one as a drop hitch and another as a raised hitch.

Hi Richard,

I use one all the time.
I have been on many trips towing two camper trailers and an off road trailer without any issues at all.

My hitch is a Hayman Reece brand and mine is used inverted from the picture shown in your link. (ie. the goose neck is pointing up)
I have used the hitch for 5 years since purchasing the Colorado with first an off road Treg coupling and now a Hitchmaster D035 coupling which enabled me to lift the hitch height without fouling the tailgate when I lower it.

I don't see any issue at all with the strength of the hitch. It is a certified hitch from a reputable Company capable of a 3.5t loading, the same as my towbar.
The two bolts that attach the angled section to the body of the hitch are high tensile 1/2" (or 12mm) diameter and would be as strong, if not stronger than the welding that holds the flat plate to the square section.

I just brought a tongue from Probar, it is rated at 3500Kg and has the two bolts. The only way the tongue can come apart is for the bolts to fall out. How do you think
most of the old bridges in this country are held together.

I have been using one for a while because when towing a boat the height was insufficient to level out the trailer and to get the jockey wheel down. I also have my original tow ball mount. The boat weighs over 2 tonnes I don't believe strength is an issue.

Hi,
I am looking to use it ,for a rise of 100mm.

How have you use it or fitted the bit the ball goes in , normal or inverted?

Richard

Hi,
An update. I went to the local caravan place and was able the find a hayman reese trailer ball mount which is very close to what I want.

I will not know for sure until I put it all together with the van but should be OK at least for now.

Many thanks to those providing advice, always good to hear other people opinions.

Richard

I have been using one for about 5 years. I have adjusted to the correct height to keep my van level with the 4 shepherd crooks. So it didn't break any screw nut, I run some weld up both sides. one inch of good weld is good for 8 tonne i'm told. Larry