cushioned ball mounts

robscar · 07-01-2007, 05:43 AM

Has anyone here used one of these? We need to purchased a new mount to set the correct drop for this truck and were wondering about these. The spec's look good as does the price. Cabella's seems to have the best price so far.

jguns2002 · 07-01-2007, 05:58 AM

What are you towing?

robscar · 07-01-2007, 07:26 AM

Horse trailer, 2450 lbs. Horse #1, 1400 lbs, horse #2, 1200 lbs. Possible horse#3, weight unknown. I know the capacity of these ball mounts far exceeds our needs, but who knows what the future holds.

jguns2002 · 07-01-2007, 07:22 PM

It couldn't hurt. The horses would probably appreciate it. Keep me posted if you get it. I would be interested in hearing your opinions fo it.

MuskyHunter · 07-01-2007, 08:27 PM

Yes, I have used cushion ball mounts on my last three trucks. They do a very nice job from keeping your trailer jerking your truck around, whether accelerating or decelerating.

I like it the best when towing my boat down dirt fire roads to that secret lake. I am convinced that they help save the differential and give the truck/trailer better road manners.

I use the Convert A Ball model AM-SC-4.

http://www.convert-a-ball.com/ballmounts.htm

They can be purchased from:

http://www.towingproductsco.com/Cush...allMounts.html

Also thinking about these stainless hitch balls:

http://www.qmctechnologies.com/news.html

robscar · 07-14-2007, 09:02 AM

I did a test tow with the new ball mount last night to see how it worked. Let me say first, the road we drive on to get to the game lands to ride is really crappy. I has lots of washboards, off camber corners, curves, and a couple blind corners. All in about 1 mile. With that being said, the ride was a bit smoother and a bit less jerky. All the bumps and ruts cause you too feel a lot of tugging from the trailer. You just can't get away from that. Taking a different route coming home using smoother roads I found myself going faster than I ever have during a tow. A couple times with only one hand on the steering wheel it was that smooth. Between this truck, the P3 controller, and the cushioned bell drop this can be a really smooth towing setup. The empty weight of the trailer was 2451 lbs. So for 62.00 bucks shipped I am satisfied, especially considering it has a 10,000 lb tow, 2,000 lb tongue capability.

This morning the wife took the truck with her sister and two horses out and she said it was definetly better than before. That weight with trailer, horses, gear, and two riders was around 5300 lbs. She loves this truck because it instills a feeling of confidence due to the handling and braking capabilities.

Tomorrow she will be taking it about 40 miles away to ride and will have an even better chance to try things out.

bigbang · 07-15-2007, 02:12 PM

Thanks for the review! Very helpful.

I've been thinking of getting one of those.

robscar · 07-16-2007, 06:53 PM

Okay, the wife went on another tow and ride session. She took the two horses and followed some friends with their Ford diesel, dualie, goose neck trailer. She reported that the tow down was very nice considering the route they took. No snap jerking from stops, over bumps, or when decelerating. What I mean is that when you go over a bump all the tension from the weight can sometimes seem to be released as the trailer crests the bump or ripples in the road. Then the truck takes up this slack and you get a snap jerk. Most of the time it is not much, but you can feel it tugging the truck when you go over the bumps. I could actually hear it in the tone of the engine as the load on it momentarily changed.
Being that this truck is new and the pin hole is still round (they do wear) that helped to reduce the amount of snap I would feel. According to the wife the new cushioned ball mount has reduced that to almost nothing. She would still feel some gentle tugging but not the instant jerk. I think the extra weight in the trailer may have allowed the cushion to do a better job by actually having to compress a little more than when the trailer was empty. Does that make sense? I do know that I feel more comfortable that I won't be as likely to damage something on the truck with the constant jerking and tugging.

She did get annoyed by the other driver when he said that he was worried about her truck being able to make it up the hill at the "Buck". His diesel has the horsepower but didn't know if she did! For this hill, you come to a dead stop at a major crossroad where you have to cross two lanes that are coming downhill, turning left and immediately going up a looong. steep hill. He obviously did not know what he was dealing with. She had no problem keeping up with him.

She loves her tow rig!!! And if momma is happy, everyone is happy.