swivel trailer hitch for AATV

[bcsteve]

Anybody towing a trailer off road with their Argo or Max and have an articulated hitch of some sort? I'm planning on building a trailer to tow behind my Frontier during hunting season and I was thinking about what kind of hitch would work.

The traditional automotive ball and hitch doesn't seem to offer much range of motion for off road use.

A pintle hook and tow ring would work but all the ones I've are way too big and over built for and AATV application.

A lawn garden tractor simple pin type hook up probably doesn't offer much more range of motion than a ball.

What do you guy use? Any home made hitch with more range of motion?
I'm thinking something that would allow movement up and down, side to side and swivel.
Thanks.

[Beeman]

If you wanted something easy to find and decently cheap, you could got with a truck main driveline and lop off one of the ends so you have the u joint in the middle.. then weld one end to the trailer and make the other end a 2" or 1" receiver.

Sounds like a hack job, but if you did it right, you could make it look really nice.

[bcsteve]

I had though about that but was wondering if it would be strong enough? I know a U joint can take lots of torque but could it handle the pulling force?

After some "Googling", I also found this Trailer Coupling shouldn't be too hard to make by someone who can weld.

[GREASEMONKEY]

I had though about that but was wondering if it would be strong enough? I know a U joint can take lots of torque but could it handle the pulling force?

The averageU-joint willnot handle the pulling stress, but a jeep front axle assembly would be perfect for what you are describing. It's got thicker harder ears where the U-joint mount!
These are performance off road DANA44 axles, but notice the beefy U-joint section!

[Rock Doctor]

I use a ball and hitch, and don't normally have a problem. It can un-couple at times, but not often enough for it to be a PITA or anything.

If you want a hitch with "full range of motion" I would suggest using a "Snowmobile" Draw Pin Spring Loaded type hitch (No point in re-inventing the wheel), it will not un-couple, it has full range of motion, and it has shock absorbers built into it.

[GREASEMONKEY]

Snowmobile Sleds & Hitches

[bcsteve]

A beefed up version of a snowmobile hitch might work. An Argo can tow quite a bit more than a snowmobile and on rough and uneven terrain compared to a snowmobile. I don't know if a stock hitch would handle it on the trail with a full trailer.

[GREASEMONKEY]

No point in re-inventing the wheel

BTW: THE NEW WHEEL IS SQUARE!!!

[bcsteve]

I was playing with a ball and hitch I have in my garage and looking at how much range of motion it has. I could get a bit more range by grinding the "lip" that around the hitch. The "lip" contacts the ball first and limits the range. Without the "lip" I would get more range to the sides and to the front (wouldn't change anything at the rear). Another thing to consider to keep things simple.

[martwell]

swivel trailer hitch

Hi BC i think i found a nice design that you can copy for your trailer hitch. go to this site, on the home page, for nice detailed pics. They got a really nice camping trailer that give me a lot of idea... Hope it help..

Martin

OMF Performance Products | New Products

[bcsteve]

Thanks Martin, that's pretty much what I'm looking for, and like you said, it should be easy to copy. Their set up is a little different though, with the the coupler at the trailer and a solid bar coming out of the ATV. I would used their design but in a "normal" fashion.

[ygmir]

the hitches on my military trucks swivel......a large pin, through a bushing (that is welded to a mount and bolted to the frame), keeper(either nut or lock pin) to keep it from sliding through, then, large ring with pintle hitch...
The pintle/ring allows a lot of movement, and, the pin/bushing allows rotation.
I bet it could work with a ball hitch, too......
The pintle would be "clunky", but, really move a lot, the ball not so much, but, more limited in departure from horizontal....

the military hitches are made so if you flip the trailer, or whatever, it doesn't flip the truck, too.

just a thought,
Henry