Trailer Brake Lock-Out Key Question/Issue...

[King]

Media Center | ShoreLand'r©

www.shorelandr.com

(the link to the current Shoreland'r manual; note the brake info on p. 8)
My trailer came with a separate manual for the brake actuator...

Allow me to open a whole new can of worms when it comes to information not quite matching up...

First thing's first. I need to get to the boat and do some digging for that trailer manual and to check what's printed on the trailer. Because, I may have, with your help, come across another potential issue. At the point the boat arrived and we were notified to come on down I asked about trailer hitch ball size and was told 2". Great, I thought, 2" is what I have. Now, seeing the chart below from page 4 of the manual, should I be running a 2-5/16"? The GVWR for the trailer and the boat is over 5000 lbs.. The boat by its self is 4034 lbs., and that's dry. Yamaha has dry weight on trailer listed at 5224 lbs., and I think that's based off of the painted trailer, not the galvanized one. Add 75 gallons of gas, and the rest of the bring-a-longs to that and we're topping out just over 6000 lbs.. Take that in to consideration with us noticing that the hitch has been chewing the 2" ball up a bit with some deep scratches. Am I running the wrong sized ball? Like sated before, I need to get tot he boat and research this further to find out more. One day this week I'll make my way up to storage and do just that.

I'm starting to feel like an idiot that didn't verify the information I was being told. I would be so screwed without this group!

 

[adrianp89]

I doubt a 2-5/16 even fits in the trailer.

 

[Thermobrett]

I’m pretty sure 2” is the standard. Only trailer I have ever had a smaller ball was my old Sea Doo trailer and that was 1 7/8”. The dealer should definitely know this.

 

[Julian]

Never heard of our trailers coming with anything but a 2" ball, which is good to 12,000 pounds.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Allow me to open a whole new can of worms when it comes to information not quite matching up...

First thing's first. I need to get to the boat and do some digging for that trailer manual and to check what's printed on the trailer. Because, I may have, with your help, come across another potential issue. At the point the boat arrived and we were notified to come on down I asked about trailer hitch ball size and was told 2". Great, I thought, 2" is what I have. Now, seeing the chart below from page 4 of the manual, should I be running a 2-5/16"? The GVWR for the trailer and the boat is over 5000 lbs.. The boat by its self is 4034 lbs., and that's dry. Yamaha has dry weight on trailer listed at 5224 lbs., and I think that's based off of the painted trailer, not the galvanized one. Add 75 gallons of gas, and the rest of the bring-a-longs to that and we're topping out just over 6000 lbs.. Take that in to consideration with us noticing that the hitch has been chewing the 2" ball up a bit with some deep scratches. Am I running the wrong sized ball? Like sated before, I need to get tot he boat and research this further to find out more. One day this week I'll make my way up to storage and do just that.

I'm starting to feel like an idiot that didn't verify the information I was being told. I would be so screwed without this group!

View attachment 186984

My two cents,

First, independent of the ball size on your hitch, what is It rated for? There are some hitch / 2” ball set ups that are sold that are only rated for 5000#, others are rated for 7500#, so check your hitch.

Go over and check the tongue of your trailer and look for this sticker. Yours will probably be different than mine but you get the point.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Also, while it adds a bit of mess, put some grease on the ball, just a thin layer will do. You will need to occasionally wipe it down and add new grease. I either use spray lithium grease or a little water proof grease.

 

[King]

@Julian, @adrianp89, @Thermobrett, @FSH 210 Sport,

I think I'm just getting gun-shy, paranoid, and over thinking things after the whole "leave the lock-out key in at all times" discovery.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Have a look at the part the ball is mounted to… I think there may be a load rating stamped into the steel hitch as well. Not 100% sure on that.

 

[Thermobrett]

Looks like the hitch is raised in the photo opposed to a drop down, common but will change the weight rating on the receiver. I had a 6” drop I flipped to be a 4” rise on my van, then was lucky enough to be able to flip it back down for the new Yukon and it was the right height.

 

[King]

Have a look at the part the ball is mounted to… I think there may be a load rating stamped into the steel hitch as well. Not 100% sure on that.

Not stamped on this one but, a rather fancy sticker. We're well under 7.5k for sure. So, this aspect should be alright.


@Thermobrett, on the Tahoe, having the hitch in 'drop down' orientation made for a very level trailer. On the Tundra, 'drop down' caused the tongue to be a bit low. Had the tools at work to change it around. Figured I'd give it a shot and see if that levels things out on the new vehicle.

 

[Thermobrett]

This is the receiver I purchased. You can see the riser is 1,500lbs less capacity than using the drop. In any event, I'm sure you will be fine. A lot of very good information on this thread and this site in general. I had a boss once and I tell my kids this all the time. There is no dumb question, other than the question you did not ask.

 

[King]

This is the receiver I purchased. You can see the riser is 1,500lbs less capacity than using the drop. In any event, I'm sure you will be fine. A lot of very good information on this thread and this site in general. I had a boss once and I tell my kids this all the time. There is no dumb question, other than the question you did not ask.

View attachment 186998

Not sure what tongue weight is for our set up but, I should be good with the 6k. I've looked everywhere U-Haul has our mount listed and can't find a thing that mentions the change in poundage with the change in orientation. Going to keep looking though.

 

[Thermobrett]

Do you have the reviver part number? Or do you know the drop and rise in inches such as 2” drop? Mine is a 6” drop

 

[King]

Do you have the reviver part number? Or do you know the drop and rise in inches such as 2” drop? Mine is a 6” drop

It's a 2-1/4" drop and a 1" rise. Here's a LINK to it with the 2" ball on the U-Haul website, and this LINK is the same thing just without the ball.

If all else fails, I'll go overkill with something like this one rated at 17,000 lbs. and call it done. Photo is the link to the Curt webpage.

 

[Thermobrett]

Your part number should be 13111. Like you said I can’t find anything in reference to the 1” rise, only the 2 1/4” drop. Everything I read shows you lose about 1k to 1500lbs when flipping the hitch.

 

[King]

Your part number should be 13111. Like you said I can’t find anything in reference to the 1” rise, only the 2 1/4” drop. Everything I read shows you lose about 1k to 1500lbs when flipping the hitch.

I'm hearing "overkill".

 

[Thermobrett]

I'm hearing "overkill".

If anything is worth doing, it’s worth doing right ?

 

[Thermobrett]

Curt 45310 might be a good choice too.

 

[King]

Curt 45310 might be a good choice too.

Ooooh, that one does look nice.

 

[Thermobrett]

Ooooh, that one does look nice.

I believe that’s similar to your current set up, just a class 4 opposed to a class 3