Thread: Towing hitch

Dropping a ball into the top hole seems to be pretty common although not totally kosha. My old series 3 was like this when I got it and it did pass the safety cert so maybe the age of the car helped this to fall through the gaps where more modern vehicles may fail (don't know). In theory the method is strong enough provided the hitch isn't rusted to buggery but I can't promise you will pass the safety cert.

Do you perhaps mean like this:


Sorry about the pic size, cropped from a larger one.
The top horizontal part is bent, it would take a pretty substantial force to have done so.
Cheers,
Mark

Yes, exactly like shown in the picture. The towball fits neatly through the hole, but the amount of metal around it seems to be much less than on a conventional towbar tongue.

I'm really starting to think of a mod to make a Hayman Reese type towbar. I've got a spare Series hitch, and a genuine Hayman Reese hitch off a Landcruiser, so a bit of cannibalisation should produce something useful.

All I have to do is get the towball out of the Landcruiser hitch . . . back to my previous question, does anyone know what size socket I need to get the towball nut off?

Thanks, Peter

The towball in the top of the towing jaw has been used on Series Landrovers for sixty years. I have been using it myself for almost fifty years on various Landrovers, and have never had any problems, as long as you are reasonable with the load you put on it. I have however towed two tons without any problems.

As far as legality goes, it is worth pointing out that certified and labelled tow bars did not exist until some time about 1990, and as far as I am aware, there is no retrospectivity. However, all 50mm balls and couplings are required to be labelled. Not too sure what the deal is if you have a vintage trailer with inch sized coupling (usually 1 7/8", 2" or 2 1/8" - one advantage of metrication was that 50mm replaced a number of sizes!).

John

Nut size should be 1 5/16". Mine has a tounge made out of what loks like 150 x 150 x 12 angle iron bolted on to where the oringinal clevis was. The original clevis now resides on the front bumper (very handy for pushing trailers into tight spots in the back yard). Sorry but I don't have any pics of the set up.

Cheers, Mick.

I'll be doing something along those lines. I've already sorted out a front bumper with a Hayman Reese fitting on the front, so I can push things around.

Peter

Thanks for the info about the nut size, Mick. I was in Darwin last week, and picked up a socket the right size while I was up there. I was able to use it when I got back to pull apart a towbar from an HJ60 I bought on ebay (for $5.50!!) and assemble the contraption below.

I think it'll do the job, although it'll look a bit better after it's been sandblasted and painted.

Peter

Thinking of doing something similar mate so thanks for the inspiration! and the pic

Jimmy