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What Hitching Equipment Should You Use for Your Trailer?

Mar. 22 2021 Buying Guide By Glenn's Trailer Sales

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When towing a trailer, it’s easy to forget how much there is to worry about besides the trailer itself and the towing vehicle. In addition to these two vital components, you’ll need some way to join them securely together: a hitch. HItches come in many shapes and sizes to suit different types of trailers and vehicles and cargo weights, so it’s important that you choose the right one for your specific hauling needs.

Glenn’s Trailer Sales is your Florida trailer dealer, located in Hobe Sound. Below, you’ll find a  buying guide to help you determine the proper hitching equipment for your trailer.

Weight Rating

The first thing you’ll want to do is check the weight rating of a hitch to determine if it meets your needs. The hitch weight rating is generally connected to the maximum weight rating of your trailer, which you’ll find in your owner’s manual. The maximum tongue weight limit is about 10% of the maximum trailer weight: for a trailer with 1000 pounds as as maximum weight rating, the hitch’s rating should be about 100 pounds. 

Upgrading your hitch can give you a higher weight limit, but that still won’t change the trailer’s weight limit, so be careful to not overburden either the trailer or the hitch.

Tongue Weight

The weight of cargo placed on the hitch is called the tongue weight, referring to the amount of downward force that your tongue will apply to the hitch. This number should be about 10 to 12% of the overall trailer weight to provide the best stability possible.

Towing Vehicle Limits

When shopping for a hitch, it’s also important to know the capacity of your towing vehicle, as this will also limit how much weight you can handle. Check your owner’s manual or look online to figure out just how much weight the whole unit can weigh (towing vehicle plus trailer) as well as how much weight the towing vehicle can support.

Ball Attachment

There are four different sizes of ball attachments to worry about: light-duty, medium-duty, heavy-duty and gooseneck. Each one’s limits are based on your gross trailer weight. You’ll find the general figures for gross trailer weights below:

  • Light-duty: 2000 to 3500 pounds.
  • Medium-duty: 3500 to 12,000 pounds.
  • Heavy-duty: 6,000 to 30,000 pounds.
  • Gooseneck: anything over 30,000 pounds.

Bear in mind that a gooseneck ball requires a different kind of hitch and possibly a different type of towing vehicle than you’ve got, but if you’re carrying really heavy weights, you probably already have such a setup.

Ready to look at some models? Come by our dealership in Hobe Sound, FL, to check our our fine stock of new and used trailers and hitching equipment for sale. We even offer trailer financing services to assist you with your final purchase. Glenn’s Trailer Sales proudly serves the cities of Jupiter and West Palm Beach, FL.