Ball hitch vrs Pintle hitch

[3cylinder]

Looking at a used 22ft tilt car/machinery trailer. It's a tilt with 4 ft front deck. It has a pindle hitch. Is a ball hitch any better or is the pindle. I'll be hauling both bobcat, ford tractor with bush hog and a car once in a while.
Thanks

 

[merlin5577]

Stick with the pintle hitch. Far stronger and greater control of the trailor.

 

[btfarm]

Stick with the pintle hitch. Far stronger and greater control of the trailor.

Could you elaborate? I'm pretty satisfied with my 2-5/16 ball setup and I view a pintle as a rattle and jerk problem kinda like hauling farm wagons. Not disagreeing with you Robert, just wondering because I don't have any experience with a pintle hitch.

 

[saratoga]

A ball will rattle around less, especially when unloaded. The lunette ring will bang around going over every bump and any time you start/stop. Once there's a load on the trailer, it quiets down.

 

[stacks04]

i have used both and dont have a preference. they both function the same. i bought the combo hitch so i can tow both.

 

[merlin5577]

Could you elaborate? I'm pretty satisfied with my 2-5/16 ball setup and I view a pintle as a rattle and jerk problem kinda like hauling farm wagons. Not disagreeing with you Robert, just wondering because I don't have any experience with a pintle hitch.

I sure can Mike. A pintle hitch is like a giant clamp that closes around a loop attached to the trailor. This gives the tow vehicle more control over the trailor and less likelyness of losing the trailor during tow. This is why most medium duty trucks use pintle hitches instead of ball hitches. Yes, they rattle more then ball hitshces, and can bounce during acceleration and decelleration, but if the brakes on the trailor are adjusted properly this should be barely noticeable. Hope this clears up my previous post.

 

[btfarm]

Thanks. I have friends that tow with pintles and had a choice when I bought my utility trailer but after all the banging around with farm stuff, I decided not to. I do agree it's probably more secure especially when loading but my drop down ramps have the ground supports on them. I'll find out soon enough because I'm going to be running loads with the Brother-in-law's pintle rigged dump trailer in a couple of weeks.

 

[merlin5577]

Thanks. I have friends that tow with pintles and had a choice when I bought my utility trailer but after all the banging around with farm stuff, I decided not to. I do agree it's probably more secure especially when loading but my drop down ramps have the ground supports on them. I'll find out soon enough because I'm going to be running loads with the Brother-in-law's pintle rigged dump trailer in a couple of weeks.

With a pickup truck, its really a matter of preference. Either one can/will work great. I always suggest error on the side of caution with heavier loads though. A good rule of thumb; If you think you need it, you do.

 

[buddy]

I like the simplicity and strength of the pintle hitch, but dont like the jerking. With enough weight on the hitch it doenst as much though. Ive never had any problems with ball hitches though so cant say they arent strong/reliable for 10K lbs I have pulled.