Balls ain't Balls!

Tow balls are all the same aren't they ? Well they might look the same, but no they are not. A few years ago tow balls were just something you bought and as long as it was the right size and the size was the only thing that was marked on them, you wacked it on your car and except for a grease or not, you just forgot about it. It didn't matter whether you were towing a light trailer or a 2500kg van they were usually Australian made, but not necessarily a consistent product in quality.

Then the made in Taiwan started to arrive and there always seemed to be a certain number of horror stories around Australia of tow balls breaking. Then demands were made to make them better so Australian standards ,Australian design rules and other bodies got involved. The upshot was that 2500kgs was the norm and had to be stamped on them. They upgraded that last year to 3500kgs and also the manufacturer had to put their name or stamp on it to back the claims that samples had been proved at that 'weight' e.g. a Hayman Reese tow ball has H R 3500kgs 50mm on it. The 3500kgs refers not to the ball weight, but the sheer, bending, or whatever force required before it 'lets go'. I've used my tow ball for the last so many years besides the A'van only weighs 980kgs max I hear people say. For the cost of about $20 it pays to upgrade your tow ball just for the safety factor (a 4 ' G ' or above accident will take out this tow ball yours may only be a 1 or 2 'G ' one or you may wonder why your tow ball shank has bent)