I have the chance to get a very nice box trailer, but it has the Pintle hook on it, not a ball hitch. I've towed equipment trailers in the past with Pintle hooks and never had a problem, really. Just wondering on a trailer that might be used for long hauls, would the Pintle hook be OK, or should I consider a 2 5/16 ball hitch?
Thanks.
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Re: Disadvantages with using a Pintle hook trailer.
The disadvantage I can think of is stopping and taking off. You get a nice heavy trailer hammering on your rear end when you goto stop. Then you take off and it slams again. Though I've only towed a pintel once, but thats what I noted; the extra wear and tear.
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Re: Disadvantages with using a Pintle hook trailer.
I can't stand the banging. I'm such a nut about it that every one of my ball mounts I added that threaded insert and the threaded pinbolt that locks the ball mount to one side of the receiver tube. If I had to suffer a pintle hook trailer, I'd probably machine a teflon or delrin sleeve to try and take up any slack.
On the 5er I put really heavy grease on the pin. I need to get one of those teflon slip plates to see if that helps as well.
Re: Disadvantages with using a Pintle hook trailer.
Hi Jim,
If you use the pintel with surge brakes then you will have a maximum 2000lbs of tongue weight as that's common rating for surge brake couplers.
I used a 40ton pintel coupler off a semi that uses a air operated luna eye shoe to keep the slop out of the hitching. I just made a mechanical linkage to replace the air shoe and I get a very quite ride.
I like my GN dual tandum 100% more than my tri-axle pintel tho as there's just no comparrision between the two types of hitching. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif[/img]
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Re: Disadvantages with using a Pintle hook trailer.
The Pintle hitch was developed for off-road articulation more so than for highway use; such as crossing ravines and cresting rises that would twist a normal ball or clevis hitch off the frame.
Re: Disadvantages with using a Pintle hook trailer.
My trailer is a pintle for easy of hookup and drop off (no binding) untill I go on a long trip then I change to the 2 5/16 ball the trailer "behaves" better with the ball hitch.
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Re: Disadvantages with using a Pintle hook trailer.
Having towed with both I will say the pintle hook / lunette eye is easier to hook up, can usually carry AND tow more weight (provided the truck and such are up to the task), as mentioned above handles articulation better and is considered safer in most applications.
On the down side they do hammer a bit. If your prospective trailer lunette eye is bolted on (as many are) you can get a bolt-on 2 5/16 hitch ball that will go into the same track like <font color="blue">THIS ONE</font>
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Re: Disadvantages with using a Pintle hook trailer.
I've towed my 14,000# equipment trailer for a while with a pintle hook, as stated above, it'll drive you crazy with the bang and slam that it does. It can't be good for any transmission. I switched it out pronto!
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John
2008 Job 2 F-350 4x4 Crew Cab SWB dually
Lariat with the chrome package.
Re: Disadvantages with using a Pintle hook trailer.
Holy Cow!
Thanks for all the great info.
[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]
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Black, '96, F-350, 4x4, Day Cab.
Black/Silver, '97, F-250, 4x4, CC SB DzlJim.com for some redneck engineered projects.
www.racerxautomotive.com for your upgraded E4OD/4R100 needs.
Re: Disadvantages with using a Pintle hook trailer.
I use a pintle type hitch for my hay/equipment trailer and it is VERY noisy when empty, once I get a load on it with sufficient tongue weight the noise goes away and life is good. If you pull empty a lot, it may not be the best choice. It rattles bad enough empty to wear through the hinge pin in the top part of the pintle, last time I arrived in Yakima the trailer was just sitting on the hook part and the top was GONE [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]
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Re: Disadvantages with using a Pintle hook trailer.
Our equipment has nothing but pintles. So does my car trailer. I use the combo ball/pintle hitches on our trucks. They have a "pocket" the eye drops into, much quieter then a standard hitch. Another good option is getting a Hammerlock combo hitch. That design locks the eye in place, reduces the rattle to almost nothing. I sell those to my customers everyday, they love em....
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99 F250/PSD/SC/6Spd/chipped/K&N Lovin life
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Re: Disadvantages with using a Pintle hook trailer.
I pull a 12k dump trailer, a 12k equipment trailer and a 6.5k chipper and all three have pintle hitches. I've made out fine with them. I've never thought much about the banging and just accepted it as the cost of doing business.
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Re: Disadvantages with using a Pintle hook trailer.
We got a tri-axle pintle in exchange for $200 worth of straw. First thing we did was change to a ball hitch.
Pintles beat the heck out of the tow vehicle IMO.
-Dan.
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VIN recieved 5/17/05. Truck on the dealers floor 6/15/05 
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