Here is our beginner’s guide to Towing

Understanding Towing

Many times, you find that using a trailer will be a magnificent idea. After all, with the right bumper trailer hitch you will be able to tow a boat, and in the end, it will be an excellent, enticing experience to say the least. Plus, the simple fact that you can have great control over towing while also getting quite a bit of value is what makes it very good to have a good trailer tow hitch ball unit. Thankfully, you don’t have to stress yourself over towing, many times it will be extremely intuitive and easy to do, all you need is to have the right approach, and the experience will be second to none.

This quick guide will tell you everything you want to know about towing, and it will provide you with a great way to understand why you need a hitch trailer, how you can use it and the type of results you want to get from it.

What will you tow?

Before you go ahead and start finding the best hitch extender or the best trailer coupler, you have to figure out the type of trailer you tow. You can use an RV, livestock trailer, boat trailer, camper and so on. Depending on what you use, you may need a regular receiver as well as a heavy-duty gooseneck hitch. Sometimes, the trailer will not come equipped with brakes, so you have to find a good tow hitch that will support all the pressure. If you don’t, then results can be very challenging.

What vehicle do you use for towing?

Aside from that, you need to focus on finding the type of car you use for towing. A van, SUV or truck, minivan or crossover can work here, but not all cars have their factory tow package. Many of them will require a hitch trailer coupler and hitch receiver installation to deal with this properly. Then, each vehicle comes with a different capacity, so try to keep that in mind. It’s important to figure out where you will be towing too because the distance and road conditions also matter. Sometimes, if you have a bad trailer hitch receiver and you don’t do the tow hitch installation properly, you will find it hard to operate on the road.

Which are the basic towing components?

Depending on the situation, you will see that there are multiple components for each towing system. Keep in mind that a simple towing system doesn’t have solely your car and your trailer, there are other components like the truck hitch or the hitch ball here as well. With that in mind, here you have the towing components that you need to focus on:

Tow Vehicle

The tow vehicle can be an SUV, RV, van, crossover, car or truck. As you can imagine, each car comes with its capacity, so it will be limited in regards to the type of trailer it can tow. The rule states that even the towing components with the lowest rate will need to support the highest weight range.

Trailer

Trailers are also necessary, and there are many types of trailers. You can find boat trailers, flatbeds, livestock trailers, enclosed car trailers, popup campers, travel trailers and so on.

Trailer Hitch

The trailer hitch is extremely important. This is the major component for every towing system, and it will attach a trailer to the vehicle. The thing you need to keep in mind is that the hitch also has its components that include a trailer ball mount as well as other relevant features that you need to focus on. All of these are extremely important, and they will show the sheer amount of value and quality that you can obtain in the end. Plus, you will have to find the right trailer hitch type depending on the situation, and you will also need to make sure that the receiver hitch mounts to the frame properly. Make sure that you pick the right trailer hitch if you want to have a great towing experience.

Ball Mount

This is the next component, and this is a metal tube that will be inserted in your trailer hitch. It also has a mounting plate that will keep the trailer ball in place. Keep in mind the fact that ball mounts come with a wide range of capacities and styles that you can opt for, each one is bringing its set of features, and you should consider that right off the bat. Usually, the ball mount is kept in place with a hitch clip and pin or a hitch lock.

Trailer Ball

The trailer ball is very important, and it’s also called a trailer ball mount or a hitch ball. The reason why it’s important is because it allows more mobility. As a result, you don’t have to worry about being disconnected, you just need to have coupler mounts, and your trailer will have a bit of mobility.

Hitch Pin and Clip

The hitch pin and clip is a very small metal rod, and this is created to hold the ball mount right in the hitch receiver tube.

Coupler

The coupler will be connected to the how hitch ball and it will allow your vehicle and trailer to move over any dips and corners, all without having to worry about being disconnected in any way, to begin with.

Safety Chains

Safety chains are also added here, just because there are situations when a hitch or coupler will fail.  Two safety chains are mandatory for any towing hitch because you never know when that will be needed.

Trailer Wiring and Lighting

Trailer wiring and lighting is also important. The idea is that your trailer will need electricity and this is how you will transfer it, so you have to plus this in if you want to get the necessary energy.

Types of trailer hitches

Trailer hitches vary in size and style. With that in mind, there are different trailer hitches that you can find on the market, and here are some of the best.

Class 1 Receiver Hitches come with a weight capacity of over 2000 lbs, and they also have a 1 1/4″ x 1 1/4″ receiver tube.

Class 2 Receiver Hitches also have a 1 1/4″ x 1 1/4″ but the weight capacity increases to 3500 lbs.

Class 3 Receiver Hitches bring a receiver tube opening of 2″ x 2″. Thanks to that, they have a higher weight capacity that goes up to 8000 lbs.

Class 4 Receiver Hitches bring a 2″ x 2″ opening and their own, and they can carry up to 10000 lbs. They are compatible with a weight distribution hitch most of the time.

Class 5 Receiver Hitches tend to come with a 2″ x 2″ or 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ opening. They can carry up to 20000 lbs.

Bumper Hitches have a 2″ x 2″ receiver tube opening, and they work with regular

Front Mount Hitches also have a 2″ x 2″ receiver tube opening, they are mounted in the front of the truck, and they can carry around 5000 lbs.

Weight Distribution Hitches work solely with the class 3, 4 and five receiver hitches.

5th Wheel Hitches are usually set to work with the kingpin of a 5^th wheel trailer. These tend to support up to 25000 lbs.

Gooseneck Hitches are great because they don’t take a lot of space and you will be able to accommodate them without that much of a hassle, plus you get support for up to 30000 lbs.

Pintle Hitches are the toughest ones available, and the great thing about them is that you will be able to haul around 60000 lbs, which makes them very powerful and tough to use.

How can you pick the right trailer hitch?

Finding the right trailer hitch is quite challenging, to say the least. The idea is that you need to first know the make, years, style and model of your vehicle. Once you do this, you will also need to understand the maximum weight carrying capacity.

There are multiple classes. Usually subcompact and full-size cars, as well as crossovers, are included in the first class. The second class has full-size cars, crossovers, minivans and quarter ton trucks and SUV. The third has crossovers, minivans, quarter ton trucks and SUVs, as well as half ton trucks, ¾ ton trucks as well as 1-ton trucks. The final two classes include half ton trucks and above.

When it comes to picking the right ball mount, you need to find the shank size that will match the receiver tube opening for your hitch.

How can you pick the trailer ball? Some of the ball mounts will have one attached. The idea here is that you need to know the torque you have to prepare for, the coupler size and the trailer ball hole size. Also, the weight capacity rating is important, because this way you know what will be ok for you, what will fit and what won’t work!

In conclusion, it’s a magnificent idea to have a lot of attention when you opt for a car hitch or cargo hitch because you always want to get the very best value. It will certainly take a bit of time to get used to it, but with the right approach, you will find the value to be magnificent as a whole.