wingless' Weigh Safe Fixed Height Ball Carrier

[wingless]

My Reese 2” square drop ball carrier with 2” ball has been used by me on many different vehicles for almost 40 years. This has been disassembled, sanded, painted and reassembled about a half dozen times over the years. It has been a reliable workhorse and will outlast me.

 

Everyone that pulls a trailer knows that tongue weight is important. Frequently that parameter is a guess.

 

Recently I decided that instead of guessing I would measure the tongue weight. There are two devices that looked ideal for this measurement for my usage. One is the Sherline Products Trailer Tongue Weight Scale. This is available w/ 1,000 lbs, 2,000 lbs and 5,000 lbs full scale gauges. This is very well built and permits discrete measurements for tongue weight. The scale is specified for vertical storage, not on the side.

 

The other device is the one I selected. That is the Weigh Safe Fixed Height Ball Mount. This is a 2” square solid aluminum bar ball carrier w/ integrated gauge that continuously reads / displays tongue weight. This has a 2” drop w/ a 1” diameter ball hole. It reads / displays tongue weight, from 0 to 1,500 lbs, in the drop orientation and it tolerates the raise orientation, but will not read / display tongue weight when used in the raise orientation. The ball carrier does not have a storage orientation restriction. It is rated for 10,000 lbs and for 1,500 lbs tongue weight. It has a standard 5/8” clevis pin hole. The gauge and face are recessed slightly, providing physical damage protection. There is an engraved month and year date code on the bottom. The part finish is beautiful, a very fine, satin brushed finish.

 

The Weigh Safe design is VERY CLEVER. There is a “button” on the top rear, where it fits into the vehicle hitch receiver. When the ball is loaded by the trailer tongue that button is compressed. Compressing that button pushes internal fluid that is then shown as tongue weight on the scale.

 

The Weigh Safe Ball Mount has two VERY important physical requirements that I’ve been unable to locate documented anywhere else. One is that the center of the clevis pin hole to the wide part of the ball carrier is 2.7”. If the vehicle has the center of that clevis pin hole deeper, then this part won’t work. The other important dimension is that the upper “button” is 2.2” from the clevis pin hole. If the vehicle receiver tube doesn’t go past that dimension then this part won’t work.

 

One interesting feature is that the clevis pin hole is NOT round, but instead is a small slot. My speculation is that this shape permits the ball carrier to rock slightly, so the measurement may be performed.

 

My kit also included purchase of their 2” stainless ball w/ 1” shank. That ball is also made very well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Eric - TIA]

That is an awesome idea.  Never seen that with a built-in scale.

[wingless]

Just finished the assembly by tightening the ball.

 

My first step was to coat the stainless threads w/ Permatex Anti-Seize Lubricant. This is one of my favorite lubricants. It remains in-place and prevents corrosion. Sure stainless "won't rust" but will develop rust stains in areas devoid of oxygen, so hopefully this will keep the part nice.

 

Used my 1½" 3/4" drive socket and my adjustable wrench to tighten the ball nut. It is really nice the ball has flats for a wrench. That is waaay better than balls w/o those flats.

 

 

 

[Eric - TIA]

Smart about coating the threads.  It can be such a pain to try and remove down the road if you don't have a coating.