How to Tighten a Hitch Ball Without a Torque Wrench

Topic: can you over tighten hitch ball ?

Posted By: bill321 on 06/14/09 05:47pm I purchased a new Equal-i-zer hitch and a their brand of 2-5/16" ball online. Since I don't have the tools needed to assemble the hitch, I took the hitch head and ball down to the local RV storage lot because those guys also do RV repair and would have the proper tools.

The tag on the ball said to torque it down to 430 ft-lbs. The guys used an air-powered torque gun to tighten up the nut and when I asked them how we would know if it had been tightened down to the proper 430 ft-lbs, they said the gun was rated at 1,000 ft-lbs. So now with the ball mounted to the hitch using the lock-washer and nut, I can see about 1.5 or maybe 2 threads of the ball shank sticking out passed the nut.

So my question is can this be over-tghtened?
Should I be worried or am I just being too cautious?

And while I am on the subject.....
The shank bolts that connect the hitch head to the shank say to tighten down to 320 ft-lbs. Am I the only one out there that doesn't have the proper tools to set up an Equal-i-zer hitch? I thought about buying the necessary tools, but it would cost more than the hitch !

I was trying to save some money buy purchasing the hitch online and installing it myself.....but it looks like I am still going to have to pay somebody [emoticon]

Thanks,
Bill321

* This post was edited 06/14/09 05:54pm by bill321 *

Bill321

2009 Jayco JayFlight G2 23FB
2008 Toyota Tundra 5.7V8 4x4 w/tow package
Equal-i-zer and Prodigy

Posted By: marvmarcy on 06/14/09 05:58pm Yes, any bolt can be over tightened. I've seen semi truck wheel studs broken and stripped when torqued to well over 450 ftlb, so I would expect a possible bolt failure if it was tightened to well over the recommended 430 ftlb. The issue in your case is determining how much torque was actually used - is the bolt not tight, just tight enough or too tight?

Marv

2001 Volvo VNL42T420, ISX450/1650, super 10sp w/GearMaster
2003 Newmar Mountain Aire 38RLRK (20K GVWR, tandem duals)
Piaggio MP3 400 scooter
RVing since 1979 - Fulltime since 2000 (mostly CO, MT, NC & Key West)
Retired USAF

Posted By: LarryJM on 06/14/09 06:03pm

bill321 wrote:

I purchased a new Equal-i-zer hitch and a their brand of 2-5/16" ball online. Since I don't have the tools needed to assemble the hitch, I took the hitch head and ball down to the local RV storage lot because those guys also do RV repair and would have the proper tools.

So my question is can this be over-tghtened?
Should I be worried or am I just being too cautious?

I was trying to save some money buy purchasing the hitch online and installing it myself.....but it looks like I am still going to have to pay somebody [emoticon]

Thanks,
Bill321

This is not a politically corect answer, but on the hitch ball I think you're all right that is is giant bolt and nut. On the Equal-z-er torques they recently changed from a grade 5 to grade 8 bolts to attach the hitch head to the shank and you should bet that torqued close to specs and not "just close". They have had failures of some of the grade 5 bolts so upgraded to the grade 8.

Larry

2001 standard box 7.3L E-350 PSD Van with 4.10 rear and 2007 Holiday Rambler Aluma-Lite 8306S Been RV'ing since 1974.
RAINKAP INSTALL////ETERNABOND INSTALL

Posted By: oldjj on 06/14/09 06:06pm I know for sure that a craftsman 1/2" breaker bar with a six foot pipe on it will shear off at 230 ft. lbs. so you'll need a much bigger tool to get that nut off.

Posted By: Artum Snowbird on 06/14/09 06:14pm One way to reach to a higher torque level is to use a pipe over the high quality ratchet handle that you might have. To reach to 430 pounds with a two or three foot pipe would take a very strong pull. Imagine how it would feel to lift 140 to 200 pounds just using your arms.

If you do this, always imagine what might happen if the ratchet breaks. Don't put yourself in a place that you may injure yourself if things break.

You should have a 3/4 inch heavy duty drive ratchet at least. I doubt if a half inch drive would be very safe.

Mike
2012 Winnebago Impulse Silver 26QP
2005 16.6 Double Eagle
2018 Jeep Wrangler JK
previously Snowbird Campers,
Triple E Motorhome and Fifth Wheel

Posted By: Chuck&Gail on 06/14/09 06:59pm If it was mine, I'd go to a truck repair place that actually owned a torque wrench, and ask them to put on a NEW ball, at the proper torque, and to torque the other bolts. Doubt they would charge much.

I HATE people who improperly use impact wrenches, which is by far the majority.

Chuck
Wonderful Wife
Australian Shepherd
2010 Ford Expedition TV
2010 Outback 230RS Toybox, 5390# UVW, 6800# Loaded
Not yet camped in Hawaii, 2 Canada Provinces, & 2 Territories
I can't be lost because I don't care where this lovely road is going

Posted By: time2roll on 06/15/09 08:17pm I like the idea of a 3/4" or 1" breaker bar extended if needed and calculate for your standing weight how far out to stand on the bar. Don't bounce, just stand.

430 / 180 = 2.4' out, or 430 / 260 = 1.65' out etc.

2001 F150 SuperCrew
2006 Keystone Springdale 249FWBHLS
675w Solar pictures back up

Posted By: Albin on 06/15/09 11:55am

BenK wrote:

Oh, forgot to mention a cool way to tighten it without having to horse around
with a vice (it won't hold at those forces), etc.

Stuff it back into the TV's receiver, but turned 90* so that the torque handle
tightens going 'down'...

Yep, that's how I do it. Then you can stand with one foot on the back bumper, one of the wrench and torque to what feels right based on your weight and the length of the wrench.

KI4Dxx
'85 Toy 4Runner
'06 F-350 SRW 6.0 PSD XLT 4x4,

Posted By: RETIREDHSTEACHER on 06/15/09 04:57pm

BenK wrote:

Lucky that the designers & engineers have dialed in lots of safety factor

Using a pipe wrench has the risk that one of those 'cut' lines becomes
a stress raiser to split that nut along that 'cut'....especially if
that 'cut' line is at the middle of one of the flats...the thinest
and the area of a nut that will stretch...

Cheater bars on a torque wrench handle will ruin that torque wrench. Proper
'cheater' bar is supposed to be on the head towards the fastener. That
way the torque wrench only sees it's dialed in torque.

Sure, agree with those who have done that for 'thousands' of miles, even
millions of miles with no problems....but it only takes a fraction of
a mile to have an accident. Look up what an 'accident' means.

All things designed and engineered are for the 'bad' or 'worse' day
out there. It is called safety margin.

The best adage for this is the reference to a $0.03 washer causing
whatever to fail....or it is only as strong as it's weakest link.

Too much to cover and not many will bother to listen or read, but the
folks who PM me do, so here are some links on the topic of fasteners

Bolt Science Consulting Services
Bolt Science: Questions we are Frequently Asked
Bolt Science Information related to Bolted Joints

The Basics of Tightening Threaded Fasteners

PS...I've eyeballed a 2.5" dia bolt sheared in half during tightening
Have seen even larger bolts, but didn't eyeball it breaking, just the
end results. Have also seen nuts split

PPS...have actually broken many, many, many things (bolts included)
in my strength of materials classes in college. From tension to shear
Funny how they all look just like the pictures on the Bolt Science
site (laws of physics seems to know no bounds or persons).

Nobody said put a pipe wrench on the nut. Ah, you college guys are all the same, can't read. [emoticon]

[b/]2005 Sierra 2500 Duramax HD 4WD EXT Cab SLT
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and many more additions.

Posted By: BenK on 06/15/09 05:09pm

RETIREDHSTEACHER wrote:

snip...

Nobody said put a pipe wrench on the nut. Ah, you college guys are all the same, can't read. [emoticon]

RETIREDHSTEACHER wrote:

snip....

This is the way I do it which might be safer- I assemble the whole thing on to the hitch head and then put the nut in a big vice. Then I use a

big a__ pipe wrench , with an extention if you think it's necessary, on the base of the ball. I have done many, many trailers this way and driven them hundreds of thousands of miles and never had a ball come loose. I doubt if any of us can break a big pipe wrench. Easy to borrow. Many people have them.

my bad, thought you said the nut [emoticon]

-Ben Picture of my rig
1996 GMC SLT Suburban 3/4 ton K3500/7.4L/4:1/+150Kmiles orig owner...
1980 Chevy Silverado C10/long bed/"BUILT" 5.7L/3:73/1 ton helper springs/+329Kmiles, bought it from dad...
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Praise Dyno Brake equiped and all have "nose bleed" braking!
Previous trucks/offroaders: 40's Jeep restored in mid 60's / 69 DuneBuggy (approx +1K lb: VW pan/200hpCorvair: eng, cam, dual carb'w velocity stacks'n 18" runners, 4spd transaxle) made myself from ground up / 1970 Toyota FJ40 / 1973 K5 Blazer (2dr Tahoe, 1 ton axles front/rear, +255K miles when sold it)...
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Posted By: BenK on 06/14/09 07:04pm 1,000 ft/lb is a bit over the 430 ft/lbs and 'if' it truly did tighten it to that,
then sure it is over tightened and maybe junk.

I've designed stuff that had bolts/nuts spec'd out to 650 ft/lbs and had the guys
out in the shop and in the field over tighten. Some plain broke, others during
the QA check, had to have the whole assembly redone with 'new' bolts and nuts.

Just remember that the only thing holding your trailer on is the coupler to ball
connection. Sure there are safety chains, but do you really wish to go that route???

Plus 1/2" socket wrench stuff isn't rated for that level of torque
and is dangerous. As the metal is hardened and if/when they break
'can' become hardened metal shards to maim or more.

Posted By: RETIREDHSTEACHER on 06/14/09 07:35pm

Artum Snowbird wrote:

One way to reach to a higher torque level is to use a pipe over the high quality ratchet handle that you might have. To reach to 430 pounds with a two or three foot pipe would take a very strong pull. Imagine how it would feel to lift 140 to 200 pounds just using your arms.

If you do this, always imagine what might happen if the ratchet breaks. Don't put yourself in a place that you may injure yourself if things break.

You should have a 3/4 inch heavy duty drive ratchet at least. I doubt if a half inch drive would be very safe.

This is the way I do it which might be safer- I assemble the whole thing on to the hitch head and then put the nut in a big vice. Then I use a big a__ pipe wrench, with an extention if you think it's necessary, on the base of the ball. I have done many, many trailers this way and driven them hundreds of thousands of miles and never had a ball come loose. I doubt if any of us can break a big pipe wrench. Easy to borrow. Many people have them.

Posted By: ritterjw on 06/15/09 08:50am Being a heavy equipment mechanic most of my life I would question a 1000ft-lb impact wrench. It would have to be rather large wrench and very expensive. Not to mention a large CFM air compressor to turn it. 430ft-lbs is a very healthy pull on a 3/4 drive ratch with a 4ft cheater pipe. You always want some threads sticking out past the nut with that kind of torque.

I think you will be ok.

Posted By: mosseater on 06/15/09 09:08am Achieving 430 lb/ft is fairly easy if you have a safe extension. 430lbs force applied 1' from the center of the bolt equates to 215 lbs applied 2' from the center of the bolt. Or, even easier, 108 lbs applied 4' from the center. Hardest part about this task is stabilizing the joint while you root on it. An extra person or two is helpful if you don`t have a way to hold it still. I did mine on a concrete floor with a four foot section of conduit and a pipe wrench on the ball shoulder to hold it. My friend held the unit in place while I applied the force. I also like the blue loctite 242 just for kicks.

"It`s not important that you know all the answers, it`s only important to know where to get all the answers" Arone Kleamyck
"...An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." Col. Jeff Cooper
Sunset Creek 298 BH

Posted By: Camper G on 06/15/09 09:42am Here we go with the overtighten hitch ball question again.

I'd like to know just how many of you have ACTUALLY, PERSONALLY seen the shank of ANY hitch ball Snapped off due to overtightening? Your talking about a shank over 1" in diamter. I just put one on for my BIL on Saturday. I used my 1/2" IR gun and just let it tighten the nut for all it was worth. I think it's about 450FT LBS Forward and 600 Reverse.

The lock nut was flattened out approprately. He'll be fine. I've tightened several hitch balls this way and driven THOUSANDS of miles without a failure.

Your tightening a hitch ball, not tightening a rod or main bearing cap.

To answer your question, I'm sure your fine. Use it, go camping and don't give it a second thought. Eventhough they used a 1K FT LB gun, that does not mean it was tightened to 1K FT LBS. Any decent mechanic is going to know when a nut/bolt is tight enough without overtightening it.

Just my .02, others disagree and that's fine. I've seen some failures from being too loose (IE coming apart or egging out the hitch stinger, but never from being too tight.

2017 Dodge Ram 2500 HD, 4x4, CCSB, 6.4L HEMI, Snow Chief, tow package.,1989 Skyline Layton model 75-2251.

Posted By: BenK on 06/15/09 10:37am Lucky that the designers & engineers have dialed in lots of safety factor

All things designed and engineered are for the 'bad' or 'worse' day
out there. It is called safety margin.

The best adage for this is the reference to a $0.03 washer causing
whatever to fail....or it is only as strong as it's weakest link.

Too much to cover and not many will bother to listen or read, but the
folks who PM me do, so here are some links on the topic of fasteners

Bolt Science Consulting Services
Bolt Science: Questions we are Frequently Asked
Bolt Science Information related to Bolted Joints

The Basics of Tightening Threaded Fasteners

PS...I've eyeballed a 2.5" dia bolt sheared in half during tightening
Have seen even larger bolts, but didn't eyeball it breaking, just the
end results. Have also seen nuts split

Posted By: BenK on 06/15/09 11:01am Oh, forgot to mention a cool way to tighten it without having to horse around
with a vice (it won't hold at those forces), etc.

Stuff it back into the TV's receiver, but turned 90* so that the torque handle
tightens going 'down'...

Posted By: Housted on 06/15/09 01:11pm

Albin wrote:

BenK wrote:

Oh, forgot to mention a cool way to tighten it without having to horse around
with a vice (it won't hold at those forces), etc.

Stuff it back into the TV's receiver, but turned 90* so that the torque handle
tightens going 'down'...

Yep, that's how I do it. Then you can stand with one foot on the back bumper, one of the wrench and torque to what feels right based on your weight and the length of the wrench.

X2, thats what I did for the 30,000# ball in my hitch. 4 foot wrench and my 200# on it = 800 ft lbs called out on the ball.
Been working for several years. Your mileage may vary.

Housted

2015 Dodge 3500 Laramie 6.7 CTD Tow Rig Integrated ball with Andersen Ultimate 5th Wheel hitch
2011 Arctic Fox 29-5T 5th - 4 Pt Leveling, Disk Brakes, 1050 W Solar,
300 Amps of LiFePO4,3000 Watt Inverter

pic
Too many mods to Truck and trailer to list.

Posted By: loufish on 06/18/09 09:34pm

Quote:

1. Put the shank in the truck on its side, so the nut is on the left.
2. Put a standard 3/4" drive ratchet or breaker bar on the nut.
3. Stand a 200lb person on the end of the wrench handle until the nut stops tightening.
4. Bounce up and down a couple of times for good measure.
5. Done.

...Yeah that too... [emoticon]

"I won't camp next to you, if you don't camp next to me!"

2004 Titan King Cab, 2wd, 5.6L V-8, 5 Speed Auto Trans
Tow Package with killer 3.73 tow gears and TruTrac.

2002 Honda XR650R

Posted By: bill321 on 06/17/09 04:23pm Thanks all for the great tips and tricks.

For what it is worth.....I asked this same question to Equal-i-zer and here is their response:

Bill,

As with any threaded bolt, it is possible to over torque it, and thus stretch the threads. I would recommend that you visit with a machine shop or an rv dealer as many of them have torque wrenches. Some folks have had luck with semi-repair shops, as well. I don't know that the RV storage guy over-torqued it even though his impact gun had such a high capacity, but to be sure, I recommend having it checked.

And as for being too cautious, I think you're just taking care of those who go with you, those who share the road, and the money you have invested in your rig. I think you're being wise.

Posted By: mkirsch on 06/16/09 11:22am Here we go again... Omigod, omigod, the ball is going to fall off if it's tightened to 429 ft-lbs, and the shank will snap at 431 ft-lbs!

No.

1. Put the shank in the truck on its side, so the nut is on the left.
2. Put a standard 3/4" drive ratchet or breaker bar on the nut.
3. Stand a 200lb person on the end of the wrench handle until the nut stops tightening.
4. Bounce up and down a couple of times for good measure.
5. Done.

Putting 10-ply tires on half ton trucks since aught-four.

Posted By: reno82 on 06/16/09 12:00pm

mkirsch wrote:

Here we go again... Omigod, omigod, the ball is going to fall off if it's tightened to 429 ft-lbs, and the shank will snap at 431 ft-lbs!

No.

But what if i weigh 225 lbs? will the ball break off? [emoticon] and who is this "nut" doing the tightening that I have to wait till he stops?

Posted By: loufish on 06/15/09 08:56pm

Quote:

Here we go with the overtighten hitch ball question again.

The lock nut was flattened out approprately. He'll be fine. I've tightened several hitch balls this way and driven THOUSANDS of miles without a failure.

Your tightening a hitch ball, not tightening a rod or main bearing cap.

Just my .02, others disagree and that's fine. I've seen some failures from being too loose (IE coming apart or egging out the hitch stinger, but never from being too tight.

Pretty much what I've done for years...Hitch goes in good vice, and my big-bad-a$$ gun tightens until it stops...Plenty of torque for a 1" shank...

Never had a single problem this way....BTW I DO have a Snap-On 3/4" torque wrench, it's about 3ft long and goes to 500 ft/lbs...

How to Tighten a Hitch Ball Without a Torque Wrench

Source: https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/22868596/print/true.cfm

How to Tighten a Hitch Ball Without a Torque Wrench

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