Ball

[theroadbeckons]

What size ball should I use to tow my 2015 Vibe 268 RKS? We have trouble unhooking the 2 5/8ths inch one that was installed with our equalizer. Someone suggested replacing it with a 2 1/2 inch one. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks very much.

[bikendan]

The required ball size is stamped on the tongue.

[asquared]

Check the tongue for proper size.make sure you have some grease on your ball. I always used bearing grease. Sometimes you need to rock the truck a bit. I also used to raise the hitch to disconnect my wdh bars, then lower the hitch to release the pressure, undo th d coupler and then raise the hitch again. If necessary one of us would stand on the truck bumper to bounce it a bit. Remember it should be tight because loose, the tongue csn easily pop off the ball going down the road. This isn't pretty. I have seen some ugly accidents due to this.

Some hitches have the ability to adjust the coupler a bit. This may help done too.

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by theroadbeckons

What size ball should I use to tow my 2015 Vibe 268 RKS? We have trouble unhooking the 2 5/8ths inch one that was installed with our equalizer. Someone suggested replacing it with a 2 1/2 inch one. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks very much.

Howdy theroadbeckons, and welcome to the Forest River Forum. It does appear you have been given some faulty advice by someone. There is no 2 5/8ths hitch ball size, or even a 2 1/2 inch one.

Bumper pull travel trailer hitch ball sizes are going to come in either a 1 7/8ths, 2 inch, or 2 5/16th sizes.

I believe you have a 2 5/16th size on your equalizer as this is the most common size for most travel trailers currently.

You cannot use a smaller diameter ball (which would have to be a 2 inch in your case) or the travel trailer will become disconnected while you are towing it. You will most likely kill or seriously hurt yourself and/or others...so we need to get you away from that line of thinking as to changing your hitch ball size.

Now, as to making it easier to connect/disconnect your trailer from your tow vehicle using the only/correct sized 2 5/16th ball, there are several little tricks of the trade so to speak that may help.

I am going to use the following abbreviations: TV means tow vehicle, and TT means Travel Trailer

1. It helps to be on level ground when connecting/disconnecting. but this is not always practical. You can make it easier on yourself though to ALWAYS place chocks in front and back of your TT's tires, so the trailer cannot roll forwards or backwards. If the TT is pushing forward (towards your TV) then it makes it harder to disconnect. The chocks will help alleviate this pressure and is a good practice to get in anyway as you should always chock your TT tires to keep the trailer from possibly running away.

2. Once you have the TT's tires properly chocked (in front and behind the tires), then put the TV in drive, but don't give it gas really, as you are just wanting to make sure the TV is pulling away from the TT, so the TT is not pushing forward to the TV as explained above. You can then put the TV in park or neutral if safe to do so. Now try to disconnect as Ally explained above, and it should disconnect a lot easier if the TT is not pushing forward towards the TV. You do want to make sure the hitch coupler on your trailer is fully pulled back so you can unhitch it from the ball.

The reason I said to put your TV vehicle in neutral (only and only if safe to do so and it won't roll if you don't have a second person in it to push the brake), is this allows the TV to move a little more freely as you are unhitching and can take the forward pressure from the TT off the hitch ball if on level'ish ground. If you are on a backwards slope, this might work against you, as you need the TV to not really be pushing back towards the TT.

3. As Ally explained above, you can use a little light grease on the top of the ball, which also prevents the inside of your coupler from rusting and/or becoming a dry ball socket so to speak. The turning of the TT on the ball can wear the inside of the coupler and the lubricant helps prevent this as much.

Hope this helps somewhat, and feel free to ask any/all questions.

EDIT: If you have a Harbor Freight near you, these are my favorite wheel chocks, and you can get them on sale a lot of times for $5 per:

http://www.harborfreight.com/solid-r...ock-96479.html

[theroadbeckons]

Thanks very much for your advice. I wasn't specific enough but getting the coupler to pull back is the real problem. We'll try what you advise, but if you have anything to add, please do.

[CedarCreekWoody]

I also had difficulty pulling back the coupler on mine when I first got it. The problem was it was in a slight bind. Getting on level ground and doing as described above was the solution. It is part of the learning curve. Lo,

[SuicideSaints]

I had the same problem when new, I have an EVO with the Equ brand WDH. I could never get the coupler to pull back. After some towing and grease it got easier.

I found mine had a "sweet" spot. Like others said, I used the jack to jack up and get the bars off, lowered down, with my truck in neutral and lowering the jack I keep pressure on the coupler (pulling back to unlock) and it always unlatched now.

I do the same for hooking up, truck in neutral, pressure on the latch (forward pressure). Since doing this I have never had a problem since. It seems truck in neutral was the key for me.

[rockfordroo]

Most of us are familiar with the large handle that you pop up to release and push down to lock the ball into the coupler that have been on trailer tongues for years.

However, FR seems to have recently changed to a "cheaper" version that has a thing you slide up and backwards to release. See pic in post 1 here:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...se-108177.html

There have been a number of people on the forum complaining that this style is difficult to release.

I get on the TV bumper and bounce it up and down while the DW raises the TT with the power jack. That seems to work fairly well, although it's a bit of a PIA.

[Ky-N]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

However, FR seems to have recently changed to a "cheaper" version that has a thing you slide up and backwards to release. it's a bit of a PIA.

No truer words have ever been written. It is an above average PIA. I would love to replace the hitch with the other style but as we all know the darn thing is welded and not an easy task to cut off and replace.

[mopwr4me2003]

Well this is a good thing to know for the future about the latch system. I think I will invest in a swear word dictionary, swear jar and a bigger hammer.

I do agree with the others though make sure you are using the correct size ball for the hitch and lube it up and see what happens.

[CedarCreekWoody]

It really hasn't been a problem once I figured out how to keep it from binding.