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Thread: Tow Balls - Why So Awkwardly Complex?

  1. #11
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    Ok thanks - never had that issue - I just use a big shifter or stilsens to tighten the nut - I have never had one that is tapered.

    Cheers

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  2. #12
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    Most reoutable tow hitches have retaining slots to hold the ball itself and all you have to do is to crank up the retaining nut against the spring washer as hard as you can (preferably using a 24inch shifter or stilson) end of story and it will NEVER come loose

    Why do people get "Technical" or way "Overthink" such simple procedures
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  3. #13
    Lionelgee is online now YarnMaster Silver Subscriber
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    Hello All,

    Well according to Bruno Latour, I have made a big mistake. I have questioned something that everyone takes for granted as something common place that just simply works in everyday life. This is described as "Blackboxing".

    Where Blackboxing ...

    Is the way scientific and technical work is made invisible by its own success. When a machine runs efficiently, when a matter of fact is settled, one need focus only on its inputs and outputs and not on its internal complexity. Thus, paradoxically, the more science and technology succeed, the more opaque and obscure they become.

    As cited in, Latour (1999). Pandora's hope: essays on the reality of science studies. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 304.

    I made the mistake of lifting the curtain and I took a peek inside the blackbox.

    It's all good folks tow balls are just tow balls.... Nothing to see here .... moving right along...

    Kind regards
    Lionel

  4. #14
    Lionelgee is online now YarnMaster Silver Subscriber
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    Quote Originally Posted by trout1105 View Post

    Why do people get "Technical" or way "Overthink" such simple procedures
    Hello Trout,

    Two reasons at first spring to mind: 1) Autism Spectrum 2) PhD Candidate... = I think too much.

    Oh and 3) probably trying to do the "right" thing - which links back to 1).

    Plus 4) faith that someone studied an Engineering degree and wrote some technical specifications that should be followed so a product does not fail... Okay link this back to 1) as well.

    Kind regards
    Lionel

  5. #15
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    Sounds like it's a poorly made nut, very slightly larger at one end rather than deliberately tapered.

    Use a 1 5/16" AF deep socket or large adjustable.
    You could use the 33mm socket as on that diameter .5mm bigger shouldn't be an issue.

    I wonder if you could get to 250Nm with the pressed steel spanner ? Maybe a long tube on the end and turn the spanner till it bends ?

    Never heard of a torque wrench being used but 250Nm tells me it needs to be tight.


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  6. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lionelgee View Post
    Hello All,

    I made the mistake of lifting the curtain and I took a peek inside the blackbox.
    Thought it was a Brownbox that the tow ball come in Tow Balls - Why So Awkwardly Complex?

    Either way i see you point and assume this the first time you’ve fitted a tow ball and hooked up a trailer.

    The tow-ball is only a very small part of the towing and probably the easiest.

    From memory you’ve mention getting a car trailer with a 3.5T ATM. Towing with 3.5T there is a whole lot more to learn than getting the ball 100%.

    I’d personally ditch the tow ball you purchase and just get a standard towball that a shifter fits. Spin the nut on and do up as tight as you can.

  7. #17
    Lionelgee is online now YarnMaster Silver Subscriber
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    Quote Originally Posted by W&KO View Post
    Thought it was a Brownbox that the tow ball come in Tow Balls - Why So Awkwardly Complex?

    Either way i see you point and assume this the first time you’ve fitted a tow ball and hooked up a trailer.

    The tow-ball is only a very small part of the towing and probably the easiest.

    From memory you’ve mention getting a car trailer with a 3.5T ATM. Towing with 3.5T there is a whole lot more to learn than getting the ball 100%.

    I’d personally ditch the tow ball you purchase and just get a standard towball that a shifter fits. Spin the nut on and do up as tight as you can.
    Hello W & KO,

    No - an incorrect assumption; this is just the first time I have made the mistake of reading the label and instructions. Previously I have used either a nice big shifting spanner or an equally long set of Stillsons.

    No none of the other installations of tow balls or tow bars fell off or did anything bad. Each application was successful.

    Towing - as a former Horticulture/Agriculture TAFE Trade teacher I used to teach people to tow and reverse trailers and large farm machinery. This was back in the day that there was a "tractor licence" and an independent tester would award a ticket like a fork-lift licence gets tested now. Having worked in five local government shires in Queensland, within parks & gardens, I have also towed quite a range of things behind me all day in different vehicles.
    I also have a UD classification on my Queensland Driver's Licence. - now a defunct classification apparently.

    Today, I just made the mistake of looking into the blackbox.

    Kind regards
    Lionel

  8. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by gromit View Post
    Sounds like it's a poorly made nut, very slightly larger at one end rather than deliberately tapered.
    I would add that the stamped spanner probably isn't meant to be tapered so when put together with the particular nut it appeared as a design feature.

    I use an 18" shifter.
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  9. #19
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    Just weld the nut on.

  10. #20
    Lionelgee is online now YarnMaster Silver Subscriber
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    Hello All,

    I neglected to mention - not being happy with the amount of leverage offered by the new special tow ball tool - I used the new tool in conjunction with my old Record T channel sash clamp, which I fitted to the flats of the tow ball. This gave me a 1500 mm long lever to clinch down onto the tongue with. I think I got the nut good and tight.

    Kind regards
    Lionel

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