Convert-a-ball

[VTRedSled]

Anyone have any experience with these, good or bad?

[cphilip]

I have a set. 1 7/8 and 2". Find little use for the 1 7/8 now a days. But use the 2" all the time. Held up nicely. Have used em for years now.

I do not however use them on the TT big ball. I have a dedicated solid ball for that thing. On its own class five reciever with the tow bar brakets built into that one. So I would only get the smaller set like mine for your Lawn trailers and smaller stuff. No need to get a big ball third one I would think.

[VTRedSled]

What's a TT big ball?

I need the 2 5/16 for a dump trailer (not huge maybe 8 - 10 ft?) I occasionally borrow and maybe a concession food trailer. Do you think the strength is suspect at that point?

[Joshs1100]

I've had no problems with mine. Use the 2 5/16" to pull a bumper pull skidloader trailer mostly. The convert-a-ball was rated higher (10,000 lbs) than all of the solid shank balls that they had at Fleet Farm when I picked it up.

[VTRedSled]

Thank you.

[cphilip]

Yea thats the one.

I suppose I am overly cautious about. Sounds like its working fine for some.

But since I have a larger Reciever that special for just that Travel Trailer and its Load Leveler brackets... it seemed prudent to just dedicate a ball to it. That was more the reason than anything.

But my little Bar has one and seemed prudent to make that one as versatile as possible. And being smaller and lighter its easier to stuff in the Tool box. So no need for the big ball on that one cause if ever the need were to pull something with a bigger ball... well... I already got a bar rigged up for that. Dedicated to that size. Bigger solid bar too.

So just make sure if you want the big ball aplication... that your bar is rated high enough and you get the 1" shank to get the 1ok rating everyhwere. No weak link. The reciever bar nor the shank should be under the largest thing your going for.

But big rated Reciever bars are heavy!

[HoustonStroker]

I like my Quickdraw. It has all three ball sizes, a 10,000lb rating and it folds up under itself. And it is adjustable for different trailer heights. I'll use it to pull my TT short distances.

[cphilip]

If thats the one I am thinking of its a solid bar too is it not? So its suitable for the nice big tow rating.

I prefer a light bar for my normal around the house yard trailer hitching up. A hollow 5 -6 K one with the convertaball set up is my normal set up for this kind of thing. for one thing I need and use a 6 inch drop on those trailers. To stay level. Otherwise I find the 12 foot mesh utility trailer will drag its rear end on me in some situations.

Then I only use the heavy solid bar 10K plus one for the camper and use its bigger ball. And it does not need any drop of any kind in my case to stay level. It does however need the spring bar brackets in place for high speed highway runs. And those are built into this bar. Not that it could not be used without them. I have for short distances used it. And I suppose you could tow a heavy equipment trailer with it. I have in fact used it for a Car Hauler flat bed trailer once or twice. Without using the load bars. But I actualy mounted a gravel brush to this reciever. To keep the rocks off the trailer. So its heavy and bulky. And it doesn't lend itself to everyday light duty use as it is. Works wonderfully well for its intended purpose though.

I just don't find one single particular receiver bar to fit all my needs. Two set ups seems to do it with what I pull and the variations of those things. But thats just me...

[VTRedSled]

I may end up having to do the same thing as far as a couple of setups. I was trying ot avoid this, but the trailers seem to have different heights, so two setups may be cheaper than a variable height / multiple hitch ball setup. Thanks for all the input. I wonder what people did before message boards... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shrug.gif[/img]

[mgraveman]

I have problems getting mine out after it sits.

I'd sell you mine with all three balls on it, I never use it anyway and they get stuck.

[tclark1960]

I have 2 sets,One is mounted on a 2" reciever hitch and the other is mounted on bumper of work truck. I do have an old boat trailer with the 1 7/8 hitch,but most everything now is 2".I pull a 16'trailer with tractor and equipment with the 2 5/16 and it works great.Just tap out the pin and trade ball sizes. kinda pricey,but well worth it in the long run.

[buck183]

I realize this reply maybe a little late. Just had to offer a suggestion.

Take a look at the link. This is what we sell in my store. Best of all worlds for us. Height adjustable, good load ratings, easy to use, great looks, has three different ball combos available.

http://www.tjtrailers.com/store/product11798.html

Buck

[03six0]

Another late reply guys, but If you do very consistent towing the convert-a-ball is not the way too go. I found that the pin loosened on the ball itself, and actually came out on the highway with no trailer in tow. The next time I hooked up the trailer the ball was still on the shank, but there was no pin (which I did not know). Yep you guessed it the trailer popped off the truck several miles down the road, and you can only imagine the look on my face when I saw the shank on the truck, and the ball still in the trailer. This was in a rural area -- no possiblility of theft of the pin. Needless to say I immediatly purchased a reciever that had 3 ball sizes welded to it. Probably wouldnt be an issue if you didnt tow very often as the pin would not have time to wear out, but for me It became a big safety issue.

[FHAREN]

Get one of these. Adjustable Mount
It also acts as a secondary bumper for your rear end.
It's bulky when not on the truck. It also weighs 44 lbs.