A safe connection between your trailer and tow vehicle is essential when towing a camper. If you’re new to towing, you’ll need to find the right type of trailer hitch. Not all hitch types are created equal, so let’s break it down to help you understand the types of trailer hitches compatible with your setup.
Key Takeaways
- Understanding Hitch Components and Classes: Safe towing starts with matching your tow vehicle and trailer to the correct hitch class (1–5, plus commercial duty), each rated for specific gross trailer and tongue weights.
- Selecting Compatible Hitch Parts: Components like hitch receivers, ball mounts, and hitch balls must align in size (e.g., receiver opening, ball diameter, shank size) and rating to ensure a secure and balanced towing setup.
- Importance of Weight Distribution Hitches: For trailers over half the tow vehicle’s weight, weight distribution hitches improve handling, reduce sway, and are often recommended for safer, more stable towing.
Parts of A Trailer Hitch
First, you must understand the components required to tow a travel trailer safely. This graphic outlines the standard parts of a trailer hitch:
Editor’s Note: This article won’t cover the essentials for fifth wheel towing, as those setups vary. Use this 5th wheel tow hitch guide to learn more about that style of RV towing.
Common Hitch Classes
There are six standard classes of trailer hitch components, ranging from those rated to tow 2,000 up to 20,000 pounds. Hitch receivers, hitch balls, and hitch ball mounts are all rated for the allowable weight they can pull. The hitch components ratings should match each other and exceed your trailer’s gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR).
Technician Tip: If your hitch component ratings don’t match, you should only tow trailers under the maximum rating of the lowest-rated component. For example, if your hitch receiver is rated for up to 3,500 pounds and your hitch ball is rated for 8,000 pounds, your trailer’s GVWR must be less than 3,500 pounds.
Here’s a breakdown of the weight ratings for the common hitch classes:
Types of Hitch Receivers
For travel trailer towing, hitch receiver installations vary. Here are the most common types:
- Rear Mounted: These hitch receivers are installed to the rear of a tow vehicle. They can be bolted on or welded. Once installed, they offer the standard receiver for attaching a trailer.
- Front Mounted: Also welded or bolted on, these receivers attach to the front of a tow vehicle to secure bike racks, winch mounts, or other accessories.
- Bumper Mounted: These hitch receivers mount on the vehicle’s bumper, limiting their weight capacity to that of the bumper itself.
- RV Hitch: These receivers are designed for the rear of RVs or motorhomes, providing the required receiver tube for towing a vehicle behind an RV.
Technician Tip: There are also multi-fit hitch receivers designed to fit a wide range of tow vehicle applications.
Hitch receivers also come in different sizes, the most common being 1.25”, 2”, and 2.5”. This is the measurement of the square opening extending backwards from the hitch receiver, into which the ball mount inserts.
- Class 1 and Class 2 hitch receivers offer a 1.25” receiver.
- Class 3, 4, and 5 – Xtra Duty hitch receivers provide a 2” receiver.
- Class 5 – Commercial Duty hitch receivers offer a 2.5” receiver.
Types of Hitch Ball Mounts
Images by Camping World
You can also secure various ball hitch mounts into a hitch receiver tube for trailer towing. Like hitch receivers, ball mounts are rated for one of the standard hitch classes.
- Standard ball hitch mounts offer a single hitch ball of a specific size.
- Adjustable hitch ball mounts can be raised or lowered based on your towing needs.
- Cushion ball hitch mounts
- Deep drop hitch mounts are used when the trailer’s ground clearance is significantly less than that of the tow vehicle.
- Multi-ball hitch mounts generally feature two or more hitch ball sizes, allowing you to rotate the mount and use the preferred hitch ball size for different towables.
- Pintle hitch mounts offer a strong coupling mechanism with a hook and a ring. They’re mainly used for heavy-duty agricultural or industrial applications.
Common Ball Hitch Sizes
A travel trailer’s coupler fits a specific hitch ball diameter, but diameter is just one of four key measurements determining compatibility. In the US, inches is the standard metric for these hitch ball measurements.
The four critical hitch ball size measurements are:
- Ball Diameter: The width of the roundest, widest part of the hitch ball.
- Shank Diameter: The width of the threaded shaft that mounts the ball to the ball mount.
- Shank Length: The length of the threaded shaft below the ball’s base.
- Rise: The vertical distance the ball sits above its base or mounting platform.
Choosing the correct combination of these measurements is essential to ensure a safe and proper fit for your towing setup.
Ball Diameter
Hitch ball diameters typically range from 1-7/8″ to 3″, including metric sizes like 50mm. The most common sizes are:
- 1-7/8″ – Often used for small utility or light-duty trailers.
- 2″ – Standard for many travel trailers and medium-sized RVs.
- 2-5/16″ – Common on larger travel trailers and heavy-duty towing setups.
- 3″ – Typically reserved for gooseneck trailers and very heavy loads.
- 50mm – Predominantly found on European and Australian trailers.
Always match the ball diameter to the trailer coupler size to ensure a secure towing connection.
Shank Length
Hitch ball shank lengths offer the most variety, ranging from 1-⅝” up to 3.5”. Shank length helps you determine if the ball can fit into a mount with enough threaded rod for the hitch ball nut to tighten to the manufacturer’s recommendation.
Shank Diameter
The most common shank diameters are 0.75”, 1”, 1.25”, and 2”. A hitch ball’s shank diameter must match the diameter of the hole in the ball mount. If it’s too large, it simply won’t fit. But if it’s too small, it’s more likely to wobble when towing, which significantly increases the risk of the ball loosening or your trailer detaching, in the worst-case scenario.
Rise
Rise assists with level towing, acting as the opposite of a drop hitch mount. Hitch balls typically have no rise (0”) or a 1” or 2” rise. While many trailers are lower to the ground than their tow vehicles, a hitch ball with rise offers flexibility to achieve a safe, level tow when the opposite is true.
What Type of Trailer Hitch Do I Need?
Sizing the right components for your trailer hitch depends on several factors, such as tow vehicle capacities, trailer’s gross vehicle weight rating, trailer’s coupler size, and hitch ball mount hole diameter, to name a few. Use these quick tips to find the right type of hitch for your trailer and tow vehicle:
Start with Towing Capacities
Everything begins with how much your vehicle can safely tow. No component can change your vehicle’s towing capacity. Putting Class 5 – Commercial Duty hitch components on an SUV with a 4,500-pound towing capacity WILL NOT allow you to pull more than the vehicle manufacturer’s tow rating. Your tow vehicle’s towing capacity and the maximum ratings of all hitch components must exceed your trailer’s GVWR.
Select the Correct Hitch Ball Size
To ensure a safe and secure connection, your hitch ball must match three key measurements:
- Ball Diameter: Must exactly match the inside width of your trailer’s coupler. It is also stamped on the trailer’s coupler.
- Shank Diameter: Must fit snugly into the hole on your hitch ball mount. Spacers are available to fit a smaller shank to a larger hole, provided the weight rating of the ball exceeds the RV’s GVWR.
- Shank Length: Must be long enough to pass through the ball mount with additional thread exposed, allowing the hitch ball nut to be fully tightened.
Choosing the correct combination of these dimensions is essential for proper towing performance and safety.
Technician Tip: Hitch ball nut sizes also vary along with ball diameter. You may need a 1”, 1.5”, or 1-⅞” socket with a ¾” or 1” drive torque wrench to secure the nut on a trailer hitch ball. Avoid using an impact or cheater bar to ensure the nut is precisely secured to specification.
Strongly Consider a Weight Distribution Hitch
Weight distribution hitches for RVs offer crucial benefits for towing a travel trailer. They help you achieve more level towing, which can improve control, reduce sway, and even improve fuel economy in some cases. Most travel trailer owners learn to set up and adjust a weight distribution with sway control to enjoy more peace of mind on the road.
Considering safety and legality, most manufacturers recommend a weight distribution hitch if your trailer’s gross vehicle weight is more than half of your tow vehicle’s curb weight.
Hitching and towing an RV safely can pose a daunting challenge for those interested in RV camping. However, it’s less complicated than it may seem, and with assistance from a retail expert or online resource, you’ll be pulling your trailer to its next campground in no time.
Use these additional resources to learn more about RV towing components and hitch safety:
- RV Hitch & Tow Basics
- RV Trailer Weight Ratings Explained
- What to Know About Hooking Up Camper
- How To Set Up a Weight Distribution Hitch
- Emergency Essentials for RV Owners
What questions do you have about the types of trailer hitches? Let us know in the comments below.
