welded trailer balls

jack707 · Oct 15, 2016

I had to weld this up because I was not going to spend 30.00! After all I had one just had to weld it to the reciver because when I cut it the shank it was not long enough to go thru the hole so how did I do? I had some 8018 left so I use them.

Redlands Okie · Oct 18, 2016

Weld on up on the other side, can be handy for height change or you can use a different ball size

LD1 · Oct 18, 2016

Looks good, but I'd still keep it off the road.

I have a few inserts that are homemade, and others that have had repairs. They get used behind the tractor pulling the wood hauling trailers, shuttling the logsplitter around, etc.

Not that I dont have confidence in my welds, as I believe they would hold whatever I wanted to tow......but its the liability thing. Too much risk to take over a $30 ball/insert combo.

Tomtint · Oct 18, 2016

I wouldn't use that over the road. 30.00 is not much to pay when a life may depend on it. .02

jack707 · Oct 18, 2016

I just put this together to tow my log splitter in to town. Then I won't use it anymore.

Thomas · Oct 19, 2016

For off road use :thumbsup:

RickB · Oct 19, 2016

Without any weld on the top side it's an accident waiting to happen, off-road or on.

coralhead · Oct 19, 2016

RickB said:
Without any weld on the top side it's an accident waiting to happen, off-road or on.

The 1st picture does show it welded on the top side.

RickB · Oct 19, 2016

coralhead said:
The 1st picture does show it welded on the top side.

I'd does. I would be OK with off-road use.

1stDeuce · Oct 19, 2016

I'd be OK with any use...
You can buy a welded ball assembly from Harbor Freight, and it's welded in China with sub-standard components, using sub-standard equipment... Your welds look solid, and from a materials standpoint, there really isn't any issue with what you've done.
I take that back. Generally speaking, you need to grind off the chrome plating before you weld, I believe. But you welded the top and bottom, so it's probably 2x stronger than the crappy HF 3-way ball mount, and I HIGHLY doubt they grind the chrome off the balls before they weld them.

Nice looking welds, btw.