Well, after 10 years of manually splitting wood for our wood burning stove I'm getting a gasoline (not diesel ) wood splitter from HD. I have too much Hickory and Locust to split, my shoulders can't take that anymore.

It has a 1 7/8th ball so I need to get the receiver tube (don't know correct name for it) and the ball, but where do I hook up the two safety chains ???

I don't see anyplace to hook them up. Obviously I'm new at towing.

Thanks

Ron W.

 

Its a ballmount; and ball. Make sure you've got the right ball mount pin, otherwise it'll slam back and forth if you use the small pin in the large holes.

I hook my chains right up to the reciever (boat trailer); and for the util trailer I loop the chains thru.

If I hadn't had 4 or 5 ball mounts lying around, I would have gone out and purchased one of those adjustable ball mounts that has all 3 ball sizes on it and can carry up to 10k - you'll never know what you'll end up towing. But all those ball mounts in the box add some weight for the winter months too. You'll have to puchase 2 or 3 locking pins to ensure it doesn't walk off from some parking lot.

 

Bulabula,

Thanks for the reply, at least I know what to ask for now !

Another dumb question about the chains, the safety chains are on the splitter, is there a place on the hitch to connect them to?

Ron W.

 

Ron, go take a peek at the receiver (has the 2" square tube hole that the ballmount fits in). The receiver will have the cable and chain mounting positions integral to the receiver.

Pardon me for asking, but you do have the tow package don't you? Or at least a receiver installed?

Depending on the kind of hooks the splitter has on the ends of the chains, and thier length, will determine the best way to secure them to the receiver.

 

This really isn't a big deal. Go down to Walmart (or even Home Depot if that's where you're buying the trailer). If you have a 2" receiver already on your truck, just get yourself a drawbar (try to get one that will make the trailer ride level...probably a 2" or 4" drop depending on the height of your truck). Get a 1-7/8" ball with the biggest shank that will fit through the hole in the drawbar you just picked up. Get a 5/8" locking pin to lock the drawbar into the receiver. Put them all together and you're good to go.

The safety chains should hook directly to your hitch.

If you DON'T have a receiver hitch installed, measure the diameter of the center hole in your bumper and get a ball with the biggest shank diameter that will fit in that hole. Secure it to the bumper. You can then get two eyebolts and secure them to the outside two holes. You can use these to hook the safety chains to.

Generally, one would need to consider the weight of what they're hauling when selecting these items, but wood splitter will weigh virtually nothing and pretty much anything designed for a Class III hitch will be sufficient.

Hope that helps.

 

Make sure that you don't tow the log splitter too fast. Many of the brands that they sell around my area aren't designed for towing at highway speeds and the wheels will get smoking hot if you tow at higher speeds for more than a little while. If you don't pay attention, you may arrive at your destination with only the hitch and safety chains still attached to the rear of your truck!

 

Ditto on what Diesel Dave said. Most splitters are designed for towing speed of 25 mph. If I need to go long distances and travel at highway speed, I loan my splitter into my tandem utility trailer. Much safer that way.

 

With all this info I think I'm good to go, took a good look at the receiver hitch and can see where the safety chains go.

I started to look at drawbars (ballmounts) on the net and agree with Hoss about needing at least a 4" drop. The rear end of my 2500 points to the sky, i think dropping the nose of the splitter to be level would require that drop.

I WILL take the local roads home, I sort of figured wheels and bearings might be suspect with this low end ($) splitter.

Thanks for all your help, this place is a great resource of knowledge.

Ron W.

 

Could always throw it in the back of the truck, I hear they do almost as good a job at carrying things as they do pulling them.

 

When you attach the safety chains don't forget to cross them. In other words, the RH chain attaches to the LH attachment hole and vice versa. Also don't make them too long. I always make then as short as a tight turn will allow.

 

I thougth about loading it up on the bed, but how would I get it off, my wife could never catch it if i slid it off the back.

Well...maybe she could catch it once

Ron

 

[quote author=Mexstan link=board=11;threadid=22825;start=0#msg214202 date=1069809686]
When you attach the safety chains don't forget to cross them. In other words, the RH chain attaches to the LH attachment hole and vice versa. Also don't make them too long. I always make then as short as a tight turn will allow.
[/quote]

Good Point. My dad always taught me to do that. I never really did ask why, I guess I just assumed that it was incase something broke the tongue of the trailer would rest and ride in the craddle(sp) of the chains. Am I wrong?

 

Yep yer right ... this time ;D

 

[quote author=greatwhite link=board=11;threadid=22825;start=0#msg214966 date=1069966191]
Yep yer right ... this time ;D
[/quote]

Haha, and probably the only time!!! BUT I'm learning ;D

 

Thanks guys, picked up the splitter from HD and towed it home, no problem. I know that's nothing for most of you guys but I was nervous..

The guy helping me connect the splitter to the hitch at HD didn't know the trick you told me about crossing the chains under the ball when hooking up, I should have told him about DTR.

On smart thing I did, was to take of the tailgate, at least with it off I could SEE the splitter. Made backing up the driveway easy.

Ron W.