In this video, we cover the various types of pintle hitches as well as the benefits of each. For more information and purchasing options please visit: www.truckspring.com/towing/pi...
I've had lots of Failed 6Axle ,S/A Pony up jeep Tree length logging pole trailer Experience When I first Started Hauling logs Northern Alberta 1994 and fortunately Zero injuries to anyone , the Top latch opened 1 time Fully loaded leaving Cut block and Once M/T or Unladen on Highway with trailer down ,The Owner l was Driving for didn't seem to mind the Equipment failure & didn't Buy a New Pintle hitch,I Drove Successfully for Alexander Logging Enterprises For 4 Full Winters and learned almost everything I know today. Jack is a good hard working man with Chinese wife Suzie.
My reason for watching is to learn if pintle can be used with a ball couple (if I'm using correct name of part). Mainly as I like extra assurance the trailer doesn't unhook. Since this information was not discussed, and next hitch was a combo, I assume I need a ball shape. Also, slop/play was not discussed. This is important detail and better made parts have smaller gaps. When I don't hear this discussed, I think cheaper part made to lower standards.
Slop/play WAS discussed at 3:16 with a mechanical solution that attenuates or eliminate the problem, otherwise slop and play are just one of accepted features (or bugs, take your pick) of the pintle hook/lunette draw bar system. HOWEVER, the size and ID of the lunette are variable and you can pick the combination (pintle and lunette) that reduces play and slop but like I said, slop and play are usually a a feature and not a bug as the whole system is designed for heavy duty use/off road use as it allows an extreme amount of articulation on the X and Y axis. The combination pintle hook mentioned at 2:46 I think addresses your first question and the answer is yes. I would recommend the type with the removable or bolt-in ball hitch. The presenter made a mistake at 3:09; if the ball is damaged, just replace it because it is replaceable (duh), but if the whole thing is damaged somehow, then replacement is necessary as it is with any product.
Why do the civilian pintle hitches have so much more slop than their military counterparts? I used them all the time in the Army, and though they had play between the ring and hitch it was still a fairly snug fit. I now use them at work on equipment trailers, and it is like being rear ended everytime you stop.
The military may be using a standardized pintle and ring setup to match the sizing or they may have been using cushioned type pintle hitches. Without know which vehicle we are unable to comment on exactly what setups they are using. If you notice more slop than usual between your pintle hitch and rings there may be wear on one or both items causing the extra slop or it may be a mismatched ring and pintle hitch.
Is there any drawback to using a recover mount vs welding/bolting it directly? For example would a pickup truck with a pintle in the recover be rated to tow the same as a dump truck with the pintle bolted straight to the truck? (Ignoring the obvious difference in truck, just the hitch rating)
The pintle hook itself will not be derated for being mounted in a receiver but the towing capacity will be limited to the weakest item in the system. Depending on the pintle hook rating and the rating of the mount the weakest link may be the receiver itself. A 50 ton pintle mounted correctly to the back of a dump truck will be suitable to tow a gross trailer weight of 50 ton and a 50 ton pintle on a receiver mount will be rated at the maximum of the receiver which may only be 5 ton.
We have a shock absorbing swivel pintle hitch. It has some play, should the castle nut be tightened/adjusted to reduce the play? My co-worker seems to think it's fine but he isn't the one driving the truck/trailer. Thanks!
For spring type, shock absorbing pintle hooks, the large castle nut should be tightened until snug against the spring, plus an additional 1/2 turn minimum before the cotter pin is installed. If yours is the spring type it should be adjusted.
Swivel Pintle hitches are great... been using them for years and they're amazingly easy to work with. Not really sure why ball's are so popular.. they're fiddly and a pain in the ass to lock.
@@TobiasHinz1992 Can you elaborate? UN and military vehicles all use em'. Fast to hitch, a clear "locked" vs "unlocked" state. Simple to operate.. smooth towing.
@@Alex-je6od the military uses them because they are better Offroad. I never had a problem locking a ball hitch. Modern hitches have an indicator that shows clearly that it's locked, so there is no problem with that. A ball hitch has literally no play, so there is no smoother solution. For heavier trailers we Europeans use different hitches. It's "Maulkupplung" in German, which would translate to "jaw coupling". Its more robust and automatic, so it's at least 3 times faster to couple.
Lunette rings can have large gaps of play/slop that makes it unlikely to bind when unhooking but also noisy. Your citing ball couplers as "fiddly and a pain in the ass to lock" is not something I've heard much of or experience myself. If coupler is hard to remove it is because the weight is causing a bind and it is the fault of the driver. There are techniques to make a job easy. Don't do it right and task becomes impossible for a human. Why are balls popular? I would say due to lower price. It appears to me that ball and coupler use less metal and fewer manufacturing steps. Also, ease of use, and tighter fitting (means less noise and wear) parts, and the ball shape allows articulation without paying extra for an articulating connection. They're adequate for the lightweight trailers; which far outnumber the medium weight trailers. The ring seems overkill. Hardly see them in USA and then on medium weight trailers. So it not necessary to have, and pay for, a connection that is much stronger than the demand placed on it. The advantage (and the only one I can think of) of ring and pintle seems to be the more secure connection that is less likely to separate.
There are pintle hooks with hitch balls built into them but I have not seen a lunette ring with a locking mechanism. If you have any questions, please let me know.
