I have been towing my 12ft enclosed trailer since I bought it new in 1996 with a 2" ball. I just noticed on my trailer to use a 2 5/16 ball. I'm towing a trailer from NY to SC with it loaded pretty good. Should I change it from a 2 to 2 5/16?

 

it couldnt hurt, thats almost 1/2" difference

 

Yes, it def needs a secure, tight fit for a trip like that.

 

Every trailer hitch I have ever seen is adjustable (within limits). For instance, a 2 inch hitch usually can be adjusted down small enough to work with a 1 7/8" ball. If a 2" hitch is adjusted too loosely on a matching 2" ball, the trailer can come unhitched when the towing vehicle hits a dip in the road with enough force to bounce the hitch off the ball. Conversely, if it is adjusted down too tight, it will be impossible to close the coupler on the ball.

To adjust the coupler: Look on the under side of your coupler. If your coupler is like all I have ever seen, there is a nut about 3/4" in size holding the apparatus together. Experiment by loosening and tightening this nut while the trailer is hitched up, latched down properly and ready to go. Pretty soon, you will see that it is possible to loosen the hitch enough (in most cases) that the coupler can be pulled up and off the ball. However, if you loosen it too far the apparatus will fall apart and the guts will fall out of the coupler and onto the ground. This is how the innards are replaced when they wear out. On the other hand, tighten this nut far enough and it will be physically impossible to get the coupler off the ball. If you can tighten the coupler tight enough so it is physically impossible to pry it off the ball, you are in like flynn. But do not over tighten it. The trick is to tighten it enough so it is physically impossible to pry the coupler off the ball, but loose enough so it swivels and turns without too much friction. I always put a light coat of grease on the ball to cut down on wear and friction.

Now, a real life story about this isssue. My buddy and I were traveling along a four lane road while towing a fishing boat & trailer. We came to a city where our road crossed another 4 lane highway where the two road beds were about 6" different in height. The speed limit was 45 MPH. The dip in our road, where it came in contact with the crossing road, caused our vehicle to bounde quite hard. At 50 MPH, the trailer bounced right off the ball. We were not using safety chains, so the trailer was on its own. Very quickly a car pulled up beside us and yelled to us that "you lost your trailer!" We turned around and went back to where the trailer had simply pulled off the road and parked itself just like it had eyes. We hooked that sucker up, went to the nearest parking lot and adjusted the coupler so it could no longer come off the ball. That day, we were lucky, not good. After we adjusted the coupling, we were good and did not have to depend on being lucky anymore.

So, simply adjust your coupling to determine if it is within tolerance and can do the job. If you have a 1 7/8" ball and a 2 1/2" coupling, it is unlikely it can be adjuted sufficiently to do the job and the ball will have to be changed. There is also a safety concern here. If you are towing a load too heavy for a 1 7/8" ball, you should use a larger, heavy duty ball rated for the load.

 

Thanks Jon, I did adjust that nut back in the day when I bought it. The 2" ball and shaft is rated for more than I tow. I too have had some nasty bumps, luckily it never came off the hitch. One time I was pulling a boat that my dad hooked up. He did not lock it down and it came off. The safety chains caught it, but it was still a sound I never want to hear again.

 

Change the ball bro that is why it is recommended, its only a couple of dollars for peace of mind as well as the correct size

 

I agree, you could end up killing someone by using the wrong equipment.

 

I saw a boat heading down the 'on-ramp' on 75 all by itself. The driver of the vehicle just kept going.

I was on my scooter when I noticed it was trying to merge into my lane.

 

Yep change the ball!

 

if it calls for the big ball, use it. the hitch is designed to use it, not the small one. I know a guy in town that was towing his brand new boat home with the 1-7/8 ball when it called for the 2, made it all the way to town from where he bought it (120 miles aways), went over the tracks in town, and it bounced off and beat the hell out of the new boat.