Trailer Parts

TRAILER HITCH

Trailer hitch is a device that can be attached to the back of a truck so it can pull your trailer. There are various types of trailer hitches and choosing the correct one is important depending on what you are hauling.

There are 5 classes of trailer hitches – Class I through V.

  • Class I supports up to 2,000 pounds of weight and is recommended for light loads
  • Class II trailer hitch supports slightly larger loads with 3,500 pounds of weight maximum
  • Class III trailer hitch is used for moving large load, RV’s, campers, boat trailers etc. It has a maximum weight limit of 5,000 pounds
  • Class IV hitch is typically used for the same load as Class III with only a bigger limit of 10,000 pounds.
  • Class V trailer hitch technically is not a part of this system, but it is used by manufacturers to define a heavy duty trailer hitch for moving very large loads like construction equipment, locomotive parts etc. It has a load limit of 17,000 pounds.

There are also many different accessories such as custom vehicle wiring, hitch adapters, hitch balls and many others. When choosing a trailer hitch, if you want to customize it, you need to make sure you pick the type of trailer hitch that can accept different accessories. Those are called receiver type trailer hitches, and with them you can replace a lot of different accessories to custom fit them to do different jobs, depending on what you need them to do currently.

DRAWBAR

A drawbar is a type of coupling that is sees wide use in rail and road transport. The difference between the common fifth wheel coupling with semi trucks, is that a drawbar only transmits a small amount of weight to the vehicle, while on the other hand fifth wheel coupling puts a much larger load on the vehicle itself.

TRAILER JACK

When choosing trailer jacks, it is crucial that you know what you are looking for and choose exactly the right equipment for the job. Trailer jacks are an important piece of trailer equipment that are used for placement of trailers on your rig. Coupling and uncoupling of the trailer can go a lot smoother if you use high quality jacks that are specifically designed to be used for the trailer you are trying to place. They also provide stationary support to the trailer that is important even when you are storing your trailer without any risk of damage.

HITCH BALLS

When it comes to trucks, many modern trucks come with multiple mounting positions that can accommodate to any and all types of hitch balls. They are usually placed side by side with the ones that are to the very left or right are used, for example farmers that want to pull wide farm equipment. It is important to assess the weight of your load, because of the difference in tolerance between a frames mounted hitch and a rear bumper of a truck as the bumper hitch does not generally provide much strength when it comes to load limit, and is used for lighter equipment. These weight loads for front or rear mounted bumper hitches can be found on the bumper of the pickup truck in question.

COUPLERS

Couplers include Automatic and Fifth wheel coupling.

Automatic coupling was widespread, it was being operated completely by the driver from inside the cabin, however it was replaced by fifth wheel coupling almost completely. Fifth wheel coupling means that the truck has a coupling plate known as a fifth wheel placed on its chassis where the trailer rests and pivots. Most of the process about the coupling and uncoupling is done by the driver manually.