Towbar fitter

[Buckman]

OH I think it is very important people are made aware never to use the tow ball for recovery so it is important that you mentioned this aspect. I think at some stage we have all seen people using their tow ball to recover a vehicle on a muddy field.

 

[Hutch]

I think I would rather pull someone out of the mud with my tow ball, rather than the towing eye.

 

[Buckman]

I think I would rather pull someone out of the mud with my tow ball, rather than the towing eye.
View attachment 4440

Extremely dangerous and not worth your life. You could use the tow bar itself if not keen to use a towing eye.

 

[ProfJohnL]

My question was to try and find out what part of the arrangement actually failed, which has not been answered, was it the tow ball casting that broke, was it the ball's securing bolts, or was it the tow bar.?

 

[GaryB]

My question was to try and find out what part of the arrangement actually failed, which has not been answered, was it the tow ball casting that broke, was it the ball's securing bolts, or was it the tow bar.?

I recall seeing a video on this, it was put together by 4x4/off-road enthusiasts where the sudden snatching effect when trying to tug a vehicle stuck in deep mud snapped the tow ball off and launched it through the rear window of the vehicle doing the pulling. I’m sure it was Australia and the ball was like the US ones that have a threaded shank on the base.

 

[Buckman]

I recall seeing a video on this, it was put together by 4x4/off-road enthusiasts where the sudden snatching effect when trying to tug a vehicle stuck in deep mud snapped the tow ball off and launched it through the rear window of the vehicle doing the pulling. I’m sure it was Australia and the ball was like the US ones that have a threaded shank on the base.

I have also seen that video, but the other one was in SA where they were pulling a vehicle out of a rut however I don't think they were snatching, just pulling. It appeared that the tow ball snapped off the towbar and went through the rear window of the pickup. I cannot recall if it was the neck or the bolts that snapped.

 

[GaryB]

There was a spate of US tow balls snapping a few years ago (reported on two US car forums I belong to) where cheap tow balls had been manufactured by the threads on the shank being cut in manufacturing rather than being rolled giving a much weaker shank.

I have an old American car with an American Class 3 tow bar (hitch) fitted with a 50mm ball (that I had to source from Australia!) and while the tow bar itself is a very sturdy piece of kit I've never liked the shank-style tow ball as it's only held in place with one (albeit substantial) nut & washer.

 

[otherclive]

I recall seeing a video on this, it was put together by 4x4/off-road enthusiasts where the sudden snatching effect when trying to tug a vehicle stuck in deep mud snapped the tow ball off and launched it through the rear window of the vehicle doing the pulling. I’m sure it was Australia and the ball was like the US ones that have a threaded shank on the base.

They were clearly using a technique called Kinetic Energy Recovery and it requires a special towing rope that will stretch. I’ve done it once under training but certainly would not use that technique attached to a towball of any type.

 

[Hutch]

Extremely dangerous and not worth your life. You could use the tow bar itself if not keen to use a towing eye.

If you look, I have the tow strap around the tow hitch but also the end of the strap is hooked to the towbar, so that if the tow ball or bolts fail the tow ball would only go less than a meter from the car. Engineers anticipation.