Trailer Hitch sizes ?

I have a 2 inch receiver ball hitch on my Jeep. I am looking at a small
trailer, which uses a 1 7/8 inch hitch. Yes, I know that I can buy
other balls, etc, but here is my question:

Are these two sizes somewhat interchangeable? As I recall, there is some
"adjustment" to the hitch part, that makes the hitch clamp down tighter on
the ball.

Thanks for any comments.


James

If the trailer takes a 1 7/8 ball, then you buy a 1 7/8 ball and bolt it to
your receiver. Or, even better you buy a new receiver for the new ball. When
you pull a trailer that takes a 2" ball, then you have to swap out the 1 7/8
ball and put in the 2" ball. If you have two receivers, this is a very easy
task, if you only have one receiver then it is still easy, but you need a
wrench. In theory, you could clamp the 2" tongue down on a 1 7/8 ball, but
this is a very bad idea because the size of the tongue is relative to the
weight of the trailer, and the size of the ball should always match the
tongue on the trailer. You could overload a 1 7/8 ball if you attempt to
connect a 2" tongue. The result could be a catastrophy.




"James" > wrote in message
...
>I have a 2 inch receiver ball hitch on my Jeep. I am looking at a small
> trailer, which uses a 1 7/8 inch hitch. Yes, I know that I can buy
> other balls, etc, but here is my question:
>
> Are these two sizes somewhat interchangeable? As I recall, there is some
> "adjustment" to the hitch part, that makes the hitch clamp down tighter
> on
> the ball.
>
> Thanks for any comments.
>
>
> James
>
>

You know the receiver is the the thing that fits into the square hole on the
back of your Jeep, right? The size of the hole dictates the size of the
receiver, but you can bolt various sizes of ball onto the receiver.

You can buy a receiver that fits the hole at WalMart and other places, and
buy balls that bolt to the receiver.





"James" > wrote in message
. ..
> Thanks Jeff !! Makes sense to me.
>
> James
>
>

Thanks Jeff !! Makes sense to me.

James

Yes, I am aware of this.

James
-----------------------
You know the receiver is the the thing that fits into the square hole on the
back of your Jeep, right? The size of the hole dictates the size of the
receiver, but you can bolt various sizes of ball onto the receiver.

You can buy a receiver that fits the hole at WalMart and other places, and
buy balls that bolt to the receiver.

I think JCWhitney.com provides two solutions for you.
One is an adapter with several different size balls permanently installed.
You just twist it for the correct size and insert it into the hitch.
http://www.jcwhitney.com/Ball-Mount-.../600002322.jcw

The second option is a ball that allows you to easily change it's size by
pulling a pin out and swapping in another size ball and pin.
http://www.convert-a-ball.com/

I personally have several adapters with different ball sizes and different
drop sizes, but I also have a front hitch installed. <g>
--
later,
dave AKA vwdoc1
88 XJ 4.0 auto

On Wed, 31 Oct 2007 21:53:24 -0500, "James" >
wrote:

>Yes, I am aware of this.
>
>James
>-----------------------
>You know the receiver is the the thing that fits into the square hole on the
>back of your Jeep, right? The size of the hole dictates the size of the
>receiver, but you can bolt various sizes of ball onto the receiver.
>
>You can buy a receiver that fits the hole at WalMart and other places, and
>buy balls that bolt to the receiver.
>
>
>
>


I would suggest that if you plan to use a 1 7/8 ball that you get a
reciever with a 3/4 inch hole in it as they can be had with 3/4, 1 and
1 1/4 inch holes (1 1/4 is for HD 2 5/16 balls and generally not at
WalMart). 1 7/8 inch balls are usually 3/4 but I have seen one with a
5/8 once. 2 inch can be 3/4 or 1 inch (1 inch is rated higher trailer
weight) and 2 5/16 can have a 1 inch or 1 1/4 shank (again bigger
shank higher trailer weight rating) Anyway it is advisable to have the
hole in receiver match the shank size for best the " grip" on it when
ball is tightened down in/on it.
-----------------
TheSnoMan.com

What he said.

Just get yourself an extra set of balls. I keep both sizes handy since we have
trailers with either in the family.

-jenn


On Thu, 01 Nov 2007 00:15:48 GMT, "Jeff Strickland" > wrote:

>>If the trailer takes a 1 7/8 ball, then you buy a 1 7/8 ball and bolt it to
>>your receiver. Or, even better you buy a new receiver for the new ball. When
>>you pull a trailer that takes a 2" ball, then you have to swap out the 1 7/8
>>ball and put in the 2" ball. If you have two receivers, this is a very easy
>>task, if you only have one receiver then it is still easy, but you need a
>>wrench. In theory, you could clamp the 2" tongue down on a 1 7/8 ball, but
>>this is a very bad idea because the size of the tongue is relative to the
>>weight of the trailer, and the size of the ball should always match the
>>tongue on the trailer. You could overload a 1 7/8 ball if you attempt to
>>connect a 2" tongue. The result could be a catastrophy.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>"James" > wrote in message
...
>>>I have a 2 inch receiver ball hitch on my Jeep. I am looking at a small
>>> trailer, which uses a 1 7/8 inch hitch. Yes, I know that I can buy
>>> other balls, etc, but here is my question:
>>>
>>> Are these two sizes somewhat interchangeable? As I recall, there is some
>>> "adjustment" to the hitch part, that makes the hitch clamp down tighter
>>> on
>>> the ball.
>>>
>>> Thanks for any comments.
>>>
>>>
>>> James
>>>
>>>

jbjeep wrote:

> What he said.
>
> Just get yourself an extra set of balls. I keep both sizes handy since we
> have trailers with either in the family.

Jenn, do mean a pair about the size of the ones possessed by the guy pulling
his 35' boat with a YJ?

--
Will Honea

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On Thu, 01 Nov 2007 22:56:17 -0600, Will Honea wrote:

> jbjeep wrote:
>
>> What he said.
>>
>> Just get yourself an extra set of balls. I keep both sizes handy since
>> we have trailers with either in the family.
>
> Jenn, do mean a pair about the size of the ones possessed by the guy
> pulling his 35' boat with a YJ?
>
> --
> Will Honea

Or do you possibly mean a pair about the size of the ones possessed by the
guy pulling the wool over his own eyes and throwing his morbidly obese
weight around here?

--
Cooyon Billie might actually be good with computers. After all, long
before they were available to the public, he was already quite adept
at Booting the Colonel......