Help! I need a trailer hitch!

[Zack]

So I just found my first teardrop at a wrecking yard.

Now I need to get it home. I've never pulled a trailer before. First I need to get a hitch for my 97' Honda Accord. Apparenly there are different sizes

Does anybody know how to figure out what kind of hitch to buy? Is there a standard connection for teardrops?

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Check out http://www.etrailer.com. They have a fitment guide that will tell you what you need. Most small trailers (without brakes) have a standard 4 pin connector. You'll probably have to get a trailer lighting control unit from etrailer as well.

[KCStudly]

There are several aspects that need to be considered, and Zach has steered you to an excellent resource to help figure it out.

Sounds like you are new at this, so I will run through the basics. Please don't be offended if you know some of this already; it is good for all of us to remember the basics from time to time.

You need to know what the towing capacity of your TV (tow vehicle, '97 Accord) is.

You need to know the gross weight of the camper to make sure that it is compatible with your TV (most likely under 2000#, maybe even under 1000# if small). If not sure, you can look at the tire's max load rating on the tire side wall (double it for a good idea of the "ball park/not higher than" number). If the tires are small and it only has 4 lug nuts that is a good sign of a light weight trailer.

If the trailer's gross weight is more than your TV towing capacity, so sorry. You either need a bigger TV or a smaller trailer.

If they are compatible you can start looking for a trailer hitch in this weight category (or higher) to fit your car (etrailer is a good place to start shopping and learning).

You need to know what size ball the coupler on the trailer tongue is sized for. This is usually stamped right into the coupler along with a weight rating. Don't worry is the weight rating is higher than what your car can tow; the coupler is almost always rated above the actual gross weight of the trailer. Your draw bar (if buying a receiver style hitch) or hitch needs to have the same size ball; close is not good enough! For any given size ball there are also different weight categories, so make sure that the weight ratings on your hitch, draw bar, and ball are all compatible, otherwise they may not fit together properly. The threaded end of the ball may be the wrong size.

Simple small trailers without brakes usually have a standard "4-flat" electrical connector with 3 female pin holes and one male pin on the TV side, and 3 male pins and one female pin hole on the trailer side. Check the trailer to be sure. What Zach said - you will need at least a wiring adapter, if not a relay style kit for your car (some cars cannot support the extra power requirements by just tapping into the existing tail light wiring and need to have a relay kit installed to take care of that). Check your owner’s manual, do a web search, or ask your trailer equipment store. (A word of caution, I looked into this for my TV and thought that I needed the relay kit because it was listed for my vehicle, but when I went to install it I found that I was already equipped with a factory harness point at the back of my TV. Not a 4-flat, but a connector that would have taken a simple pigtail adapter.)

Then you have to figure out how high the hitch ball needs to be so that your trailer tows flat (or slightly nose down) w/o dragging the hitch on the ground. Receiver style hitches are more forgiving of this because you can buy different draw bars with different hitch heights to correct for this (sometimes flipping the draw bar up to raise, or down to lower). If you tow with the trailer tongue high it can cause quirky, if not dangerous handling, especially in a panic braking situation. Don't assume everything is fine if it seems to tow okay under normal conditions; you want to know what it will do, and that it will be good in a bad situation before it happens to you.

When hooking up, before towing each time:
Make sure the camper has safety chains, and cross then under the trailer tongue when hooking them up to the hitch.
Make sure the chains do not drag on the ground, nor are they too tight so that they bind in a turn.
Always pin the coupler latch so that it cannot pop open.
After coupling up, lift up on the trailer tongue and try to pop it off of the hitch ball.
Check your brake, turn signals and running lights to make sure your electrical connection is good.

Oh, and make sure that you can see around the trailer with your stock TV side mirrors; if not get extended mirrors.

Well, that should get you started. Sometimes it is simple and easy, sometimes not so much.

[Shadow Catcher]

I don't think you can do much better than Uhaul for a trailer hitch price wise and availability of the correct hitch. However do not have them do the wiring.

[Dale M.]

Generally there is pre-made wiring harness available at most online trailer parts suppliers... The wiring harnesses for the TV are researched, proven and reliable and better than anything you can make up in your garage...

Get hitch on car and get trailer out of wrecking yard.. IF you don't have lights working on trailer have some one follow you home with it.... Once its in your drive way you have time and place to fix anything... I don't trust leaving anything I have purchased at salvage or wrecking yards, its not the employees so much but the doofus's that prowl theses places who think it may be funny to throw a piston through trailer window....

Dale

[Irmo Atomics]

Maybe you could get a friend, neighbor, family member with a tow hitch and a 2" ball on their vehicle to help you out. Beer works well as an bargaining tool - just wait until after you get the teardrop home to make payment. Then you could take your time getting the best set-up for your car. Good luck - takes some pictures, especially at the scrap yard.

[bobhenry]

I don't think you can do much better than Uhaul for a trailer hitch price wise and availability of the correct hitch. However do not have them do the wiring.

As an ex UHaul manager of several years I would like to add to Tom's recommendation.
You will have the proper hitch installed in 25 to 35 minutes at a very competative price. Their supplier, Drawtite, has come a long way in the electrics in that now almost all wireing is plug and play. The right wiring is simply plugged into a factory wired plug in. Less than 3 minutes to install , two of which is used to find where the port is tucked in.

There are U haul franchizes who may be gas stations or rental centers and then there are company centers.

GO TO A COMPANY STORE!

As a company center we installed as many as 10 hitches a day . You get real good and real quick while doing it right when you have done that many. These stores also offer a lifetime replacement warranty for $5.00 ( back then) and in the event of an accident ANY center will get you a replacement hitch installed no charge.