Could have been very nasty!

[myoung84]

Re: Could have been very nasty!

If nothing else I learned something about balls from this thread.

I had always assumed that each ball diameter had a specific shaft diameter. I didn?t realize that you could get a 2" ball with either a 3/4" or a 1" stud which is scary in itself to me. The 3/4" stud is rated to #3500 where as the 1? shaft is rated to #6000 lbs.

I wonder how many people are dragging around trailer in excess of #3500 using a 2", 3/4" shaft ball?

I was also unaware of this until yesterday. I just assumed the they were all 1" shafts. I went to the auto parts store to pick up a new ball and picked up the 3/4 shank and almost paid for it until I read all the dimensions on the package. I quickly put it back and got a new one.

 

[getinmerry]

Re: Could have been very nasty!

My bad...

After reading the last few posts, I went out to my car and grabbed the ball that broke. It is a 1" shank.

Here are the markings stamped on it in case anyone is interested:

CTP
2"
A16F
6000lb

The ball was packaged by Reese, but nowhere on the ball does the Reese name appear. Nor does it give country of origin. It also doesn't say if it's forged or cast.

Chuck

 

[AnonymousBoater]

Re: Could have been very nasty!

Reese's are made in China, but I already said that.


Anyway...what brand did you find that was made in the US and where did you get it because I want one...?

 

[12vMan]

Re: Could have been very nasty!

Never had a ball break, but have had to re-tighten a few. Always check to make sure they're tight,,lockwasher or not

 

[fire831]

Re: Could have been very nasty!

My 2" ball says

Reese
2"
c
58
6000lb
It is round at the base of the ball. I bought a 1 7/8 to get my boat home from where I purched it last year and it has a hex base that goes into the hex notched out spot on the drawbar and it says
CTP
1 7/8"
a15f
My drawbar has a Reese sticker on it and it says Elkhart, Indiana and Oakville, Ontario. I put a 2" hitch on my trailer as soon as I could after I bought it. Had a 1 7/8 on it. It's a 17 foot 1978 ProCraft Bass Boat. This is an awakening thread. I will keep an eye on that ball every so often now.

 

[fishntoss]

Re: Could have been very nasty!

That is really something.. I've never heard of one coming apart. My Dad, his friends, my Brother, his friends , my friends.. nothing...I've seen some pretty scary setups as far as towing over the road.. Just never heard of it...

A letter, whether nor not it makes some kind of difference, should be written to em

Pulling on that stump would be close to towing a boat over a curb or a rut in the road.. Tell em that.. If they're selling junk someone should know..

Good to hear nothing, including yourself was messed up over it..

 

[Lakester]

Re: Could have been very nasty!

Reese's are made in China...

.

hello,
i had a 5/8" motor shaft turning a small oiless compressor snap in two. couldnt believe it! i could see a bearing fail, but not a 5/8" steel shaft. made in china!!

otherwise the compressor was in good condition. rendered it a worthless bunch a parts.

good input on the ball. i will be sure to ck mine routinely... and made in usa.

regards
lakester

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Could have been very nasty!

this is the exactly purpose of the requirement for safety chains.

 

[bjcsc]

Re: Could have been very nasty!

this is the exactly purpose of the requirement for safety chains.

That's a good point, TD. Another "check me" that should come out of this thread is everyone's safety chains and what they may/may not be rated for...

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Could have been very nasty!

My 2" ball says

Reese
2"
c
58
6000lb
It is round at the base of the ball. I bought a 1 7/8 to get my boat home from where I purched it last year and it has a hex base that goes into the hex notched out spot on the drawbar and it says
CTP
1 7/8"
a15f
My drawbar has a Reese sticker on it and it says Elkhart, Indiana and Oakville, Ontario. I put a 2" hitch on my trailer as soon as I could after I bought it. Had a 1 7/8 on it. It's a 17 foot 1978 ProCraft Bass Boat. This is an awakening thread. I will keep an eye on that ball every so often now.

You may have something there with the hex based balls, I have one here that looks suspect, but it came on a garden tractor I bought. The threads where they meet the ball look rough and it almost appears that the ball is cast and the threads are either just poorly machined or a separate piece of metal that was either cast over or threaded into the ball. My bet is that they cast the ball over a threaded stud and somehow yours got head damaged during the process? My older 2" balls are all either Reese USA or Putnam, 10,000 pounders. All are 1" shank. The two Reese 2" balls I have here read "Reese 63829 6,000lb USA" Both are older, at least ten years or so.
Something that always scared me when it came to tow balls is those China made two and three way hollow draw bars with the balls just welded to the outside of the 2" square tubing. They look like an accident waiting to happen. The better quality ones are made or solid 2" bar and the balls are welded or forged right to the bar.

As far as contacting Reese, I would definitely email them through their website, www.reeseprod.com , they have a contact form there.
I'd make sure they know how easy that ball broke, regardless of how it was being used. If they have an issue with them, they need to know as does everyone else using them. Chances are they already know. I'd venture to guess they will make good on at least the ball. I do notice that they don't list those hex based balls on their website. I also don't see the stainless draw bars and balls that Walmart sells either. I was actually looking at getting one of those but I may think twice now if they're not US made.

After reading this thread, I took an inventory of all of my tow equipment and found that other than a few older balls, three weight equalizing hitches, and two drawbars, not much of my stuff is Reese. The majority of it all is either Drawtite or Hidden Hitch. Mostly just by chance but I do prefer the Reese style weight transferring hitches with the knuckle style torsion bars.

 

[Irv964]

Re: Could have been very nasty!

It is also possible that your Reese ball is not a Reese ball, it could be some type of counterfit with their name on it? It happens all the time, you think you are buying something genuine only to find out the hard way that it isn't.

Also there is some sort of trade clause that states, even though the item(s) are made in a different country but are packaged in the receiving/selling country then the receiving/selling country can put it's "Made in the USA" stamp on it!!
I am sure that is true with other countries as well. If you don't believe it, look it up because it is true!!................Irv

 

[getinmerry]

Re: Could have been very nasty!

It is also possible that your Reese ball is not a Reese ball, it could be some type of counterfit with their name on it? It happens all the time, you think you are buying something genuine only to find out the hard way that it isn't.

My ball came as a kit with the 2" drop/ lift hitch kit. It was a 3 pc. kit that consisted of a 2" ball, a 1 7/8" ball, and the 2" drop mount bar. I still have the packaging and the stickers are still on the ball mount.

I have 2 trailers: the boat uses the 2" the flatbed uses the 1 7/8'. I thought it would be good to have both just in case. I typically tow the flatbed with my wife's truck and haven't had a need for the 1 7/8" ball yet, but it's there if I need it.

Chuck

 

[getinmerry]

Re: Could have been very nasty!

UPDATE:

I went to Auto Zone a few minutes ago to look at the Reese line of products. I know a guy that works there. I was telling him about the broken ball. He asked to see it. I went to the car and got it. He starred at it for a minute and called the manager from the back.

The manager took the ball and made a phone call. He returned a minute later and told me he was keeping the ball to return to Reese, but would give me a new one since they are liftime warrenteed. I quickly replied that he can't keep it. I will deal with Reese myself. Plus, I didn't buy it from them.

He replied that he had explicit instructions the keep the ball. I replied- "fine" you keep it and I'll call the police. At this point, I'm smelling a cover-up. I left the store with my ball in hand (pardon the pun). There was no way I'm giving it up yet. about 1 minute after leaving the store, my cell started to ring. It was my friend from the store. He wanted to know if the manager could have permission to forward my info on to his supervisors and to Reese. I told him that was fine, but I will only turn the ball over to a Reese rep, or send it to them directly. I was told to expect a call later today.

One interesting note: while I was there, I looked at the balls they were selling (Reese). Only about 3 out of 30 or so had the Reese name on them. All of the "package deal" kits had generic balls on them (no Reese name on the ball). The only ones I found that had the name stamped into them were the very expensive individually wrapped ones. The packaging all had the Reese name, but the balls themselves had no name on them. I'm thinking that they are outsourcing production of their most popular products. Possibly to China??

Chuck

 

[njlarry]

Re: Could have been very nasty!

A very interesting thread. Who does make American made hitch bars and balls?

 

[samo_ott]

Re: Could have been very nasty!

This is quite the story. I tow many things with many different sized balls (most older balls) but now I'm going to go check em all. I cant believe the manager was going to keep the ball. Keep the updates coming!

 

[j_martin]

Re: Could have been very nasty!

UPDATE:

I went to Auto Zone a few minutes ago to look at the Reese line of products. I know a guy that works there. I was telling him about the broken ball. He asked to see it. I went to the car and got it. He starred at it for a minute and called the manager from the back.

The manager took the ball and made a phone call. He returned a minute later and told me he was keeping the ball to return to Reese, but would give me a new one since they are liftime warrenteed. I quickly replied that he can't keep it. I will deal with Reese myself. Plus, I didn't buy it from them.

He replied that he had explicit instructions the keep the ball. I replied- "fine" you keep it and I'll call the police. At this point, I'm smelling a cover-up. I left the store with my ball in hand (pardon the pun). There was no way I'm giving it up yet. about 1 minute after leaving the store, my cell started to ring. It was my friend from the store. He wanted to know if the manager could have permission to forward my info on to his supervisors and to Reese. I told him that was fine, but I will only turn the ball over to a Reese rep, or send it to them directly. I was told to expect a call later today.

One interesting note: while I was there, I looked at the balls they were selling (Reese). Only about 3 out of 30 or so had the Reese name on them. All of the "package deal" kits had generic balls on them (no Reese name on the ball). The only ones I found that had the name stamped into them were the very expensive individually wrapped ones. The packaging all had the Reese name, but the balls themselves had no name on them. I'm thinking that they are outsourcing production of their most popular products. Possibly to China??

Chuck

They want that ball pretty bad, don't they. Like I said, it should be worth something to them. I got a lot of chit for it, but I stand by my reasoning.

About the folks all saying they're going to check their hitch balls. You can't see this defect until you break it, unless you're going to use magnaflux or dye penetration testing on it. Best bet is to pull a stump now and then so it don't break while you're towing your boat. Oh yea, don't forget the safety chains, crossed over and short enough to carry the tongue just off the road.

hope it helps
John

 

[mcbroomsear]

Re: Could have been very nasty!

This is a REAL eye opener.

I work as a fleet manager and we tow trailers all the time with loads up to 5500lbs. We just bought a bunch of those Reese kit's and now, they're coming off those trucks and headed right back to where we got them from...

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Could have been very nasty!

UPDATE:

I went to Auto Zone a few minutes ago to look at the Reese line of products. I know a guy that works there. I was telling him about the broken ball. He asked to see it. I went to the car and got it. He starred at it for a minute and called the manager from the back.

The manager took the ball and made a phone call. He returned a minute later and told me he was keeping the ball to return to Reese, but would give me a new one since they are liftime warrenteed. I quickly replied that he can't keep it. I will deal with Reese myself. Plus, I didn't buy it from them.

He replied that he had explicit instructions the keep the ball. I replied- "fine" you keep it and I'll call the police. At this point, I'm smelling a cover-up. I left the store with my ball in hand (pardon the pun). There was no way I'm giving it up yet. about 1 minute after leaving the store, my cell started to ring. It was my friend from the store. He wanted to know if the manager could have permission to forward my info on to his supervisors and to Reese. I told him that was fine, but I will only turn the ball over to a Reese rep, or send it to them directly. I was told to expect a call later today.

One interesting note: while I was there, I looked at the balls they were selling (Reese). Only about 3 out of 30 or so had the Reese name on them. All of the "package deal" kits had generic balls on them (no Reese name on the ball). The only ones I found that had the name stamped into them were the very expensive individually wrapped ones. The packaging all had the Reese name, but the balls themselves had no name on them. I'm thinking that they are outsourcing production of their most popular products. Possibly to China??

Chuck

How about taking some good pics of that ball and the broken surfaces. I'd also take some good pics if you do give up the ball for your records.
From a marketing standpoint, I'm sure they want that thing to dissapear asap.
From a liability standpoint, I am sure they are eager to find the problem and get it under control before it ruins their reputation. I would think that even one failure like that would set off all sorts of alarms at a company with a reputation to uphold like Reese.

Something else I was thinking about, I have a few no name balls from Harbor Freight and the likes on my tractor which I use around the yard and a few on draw bars at the shop which I use to move trailers around. I can't count how many times I've looped cables or chains over the ball to tow or drag a junk machine or vehicle around or to pull out trees. I'm sure I've exceeded their capacity more than a few times and they are left outside to rust year round.
My point is that it seems that a ball from a name brand maker like Reese has proven itself substandard to even the likes of Harbor Freight products. I have bent a few balls but never to the point that I felt they had to be changed. Never has one broken off. I used one the other day with about 100' of chain to raze an old one floor house, I run a chain through the front door, bolted to a telephone pole out the back wall and pulled, down it came, no broken ball.
No give, no regard for shock or impact. I used an old Case 530 to do the pulling which has a 2" receiver welded to the rear axle housing assembly. The best part is that I can pretty safely say that those off brand balls are well proven and not likely to have an defects after all the years of abuse.
But that in itself may be the key, since yours was a current Chinese product?

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Could have been very nasty!

Got one no-name on the front of the Fergie tractor and two for the other vehicles and am heading out to the garage right now for a closer look.

Hope my wife calls for me cuz I really want an excuse to yell "Be up in a minute hon...just outside checking my balls!"

 

[getinmerry]

Re: Could have been very nasty!

UPDATE:

I spoke with a rep from Reese and made arrangements for the ball to be sent back. It's on the way. In all honesty, they didn't seem too concerned (didn't say much as I described what happened), but they were sending a replacement. I'm sure they're going to write it off as abuse, even though I don't believe it was abused.

My daughter dropped our digital in the lake a few weeks ago, so I had to buy a disposable camera and snap a bunch of pictures.

I will put pictures up soon and keep everyone updated as to the response.

Chuck