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Pulling a ball hitch trailer with a -35

N

notso

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Does anyone know of an adapter of some kind to be able to pull a 2" ball trailer (A hay wagon actually) behing a Deuce with a standard pintle hitch?

Or, how hard is it to swap the hitches?

I have the oppurtunity to pull a hay wagon at an upcomming event here and they are all 2" trailer ball hitches.

Thanks
 
Jake0147

Jake0147

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Panton, VT
The solution most people on this site (with pictures anyhow) have used is to use a commercial two inch receiver hitch that holds the receiver fairly low (the deuce uses fairly standard frame rail spacing in the MD truck world), and then use a drop ball mount to get the hitch down to somewhere in the ballpark of the height where the civilian world places their two inch trailer hitches. The whole thing ends up well below the existing pintle so it need not be disturbed at all. A welder and torches can do a lot, but the factory deuce hitch is not one that easily lends it's self to bolting up a different style of hitch.
 
M

m109guy

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Go with the new hitch assembly route.

I bought a hitch system which is made for custom installations. It comes with the two side plates and the main hitch assembly bar. You bolt or weld the plates in place then weld the bar to the plates. This is great as you can set it at any width or height that you want.

Another reason I got it is that my local trailer place did not carry a hitch that would fit on the deuce. All the hitches they had were either 1-2 inches too narrow or too wide. Plus it is not legal to drill holes in the bottom or the top of the frame on a big truck up here. You can only use existing holes that were made by the manufacturer in the top and bottom of the frame, and I had none. And since I have to get my truck inspected every year up here, just saying "to hell with it and drilling through the top and bottom was not an option, I had to be able to bolt through the side of the frame for the hitch assembly. This kit let me do that.

I removed the light brackets and bumperettes off the back of the truck, marked the holes in the plates after deciding on the height of the hitch, then drilled the holes in the plates and bolted everything back into place (hitch plates, bumperettes, and light brackets). Once it was all bolted back together, I centered the bar assembly and welded it into place.

Once I repaint the truck, the hitch assembly will pretty much look stock on the truck. The hitch is a class V, which will take pretty much any trailer I can connect to it.
 
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Wolf.Dose

Wolf.Dose

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M109guy offers the only solution which would be legal in Germany. All other solutions, especially home made, are not legal over here!
The designe and the strenght must be legaly tested and approved. The procedure is not only expensive, also very often results in a failure, which means redesigne and rertesting.
Wolf from Germany
 
M

m109guy

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bottleworks said:
Mine isn't legal in your land? I don't buy that. I would think the Curt hitch would be the safest solution.
Click to expand...
I don't think he is talking about your setup, but others who have made their own hitch assembly. I don't think he worded it properly. You have a commercially made hitch that would be legal, but in some places, the home made hitch assemblies are not legal due to possible safety reasons. I know Europe has some crazy laws in place for vehicles, so I wouldn't doubt it for a minute.

The transport authority around here are complete a*sholes when it comes to big trucks. Making a custom hitch for something like this would not be a good idea, as they would probably give me a ticket or something as it is not professional done, so a commercial hitch it is must. This is pretty stupid, as the transport authority will do anything they can to give me a ticket, but if some guy drives by with a rusted out pickup truck and a trailer that is falling apart, he won't even bother to stop him because he can only give him a 48 hour ticket, and cannot fine him right away. But since I am driving a big truck, he is allowed to fine me right away.
 
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jrou111

jrou111

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Actually I bet it has to do with the fact that M109's hitch is bolted to the side of the frame vs. other's that are bolted to the bottom of the frame.

Side mount puts a shear load on the bolts, like with a hitch pin. Bottom mount puts tension on the threads, i.e. weaker.
 
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M

m109guy

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jrou111 said:
Actually I bet it has to do with the fact that M109's hitch is bolted to the side of the frame vs. other's that are bolted to the bottom of the frame.
Click to expand...
I thought the other way because he mentioned "home made". So I thought he was talking about home made hitch assemblies.

jrou111 said:
Side mount puts a shear load on the bolts, like with a hitch pin. Bottom mount puts tension on the threads, i.e. weaker.
Click to expand...
Someone had mentioned this to me, and I decided to check it out before I did anything. I visited 2 truck shops and afterwards decided to visit the transport authority to be sure, and was told by all three that I could not bolt through the top or bottom of the frame. Worked out well in my case, as the hitch system I found bolted to the sides of the frame.
 
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