RV Trailer Hitch Standard on Every Travel Trailer

RV trailer hitch is standard on every travel trailer. When something goes wrong with one do you have to replace it or are parts available to swap it out. A standard part is great but when something goes wrong then you find out just how good that standard hitch is.

If it is a cheap one then more than likely there will be parts but it would be cheaper to replace the whole unit than just the parts. With this situation you have to make a decision on whether you want to replace the parts or the whole unit.

The better option would be to go for a more expensive RV trailer hitch. Why do this? It is a matter of safety. You have to remember that the tongue weight is on the tow ball and RV trailer hitch. You do not want a repeat of hitch failing again and causing major damage to your vehicle and travel trailer. 

Heavier Hitch

The standard RV trailer hitch is a heavier hitch than a normal trailer hitch because of the weight that is on the tongue. this makes the hitch more durable when towing your travel trailer. A heavier RV trailer hitch means that the life of the hitch will last the life of the RV.

This is not always so as defects are in some of the hitches due to manufacturer failure during the smelting and casting process.  Impurities or air bubbles in the cast metal in the mold there by making the hitch structurally inferior to a normally fine casting.

Sometimes quality control misses these and it goes out to be a accident waiting to happen. This hitch only has to be put under the pressure of being over weight for it to fail.

Serious flaws like this sometimes happen in an imperfect world. One thing you must realize is that I am talking about the female part of the trailer hitch that comes of your travel trailer and is hooked onto a male tow ball on your towing vehicle. 

 Types of Hitches

There are two types of hitches. One is for the towing vehicle and the other is for the travel trailer. There are other hitches for fifth wheel trailers which are a bit different from the RV trailer hitch for a caravan or travel trailer which is towed behind a car, SUV or a light pickup truck.

With this situation their is a male hitch for the tow vehicle and a female hitch for the caravan or travel trailer. You may already realize this but I mention it just in case you don't. Both of these if you are unaware can be fitted with a weight distribution hitch which helps to stabilize the travel trailer on the road when travelling.

These consist of weight stabilizing bars that fit under your towing vehicle and the same weight distribution bars under the front of your travel trailer front frame. This is an option you may want to employ but is not standard. You can just fit a standard RV trailer hitch without the stabilizers. 

RV Trailer Hitch Brands

• Curt 

• BW

• Blue Ox

• Drawtite

• Reece

• Rigid

• Plus Others

Fifth Wheel Hitch

There are also RV trailer hitches for fifth wheels.You may or may not realize that the hitches on 5th wheels have the opposite arrangement compared to travel trailers. You see with fifth wheel hitches the male part is on the trailer while the female part is on the towing vehicle.

This is  so that the towing vehicle slides onto the travel trail;er where the male part locks into the female part of the RV trailer hitch. This set up is spring loaded to lock the jaws in place around the pin there by holding on to the trailer so it safe.

Only after you have put the pin in the hole provided and clip on the end of the pin so the pin does not jump out. This makes for a safe grip that will not give you any grief. The last thing you want is for your 5th wheel trailer to fall off the table onto the bed of your truck. So making sure you follow the proper procedure keeps this from happening. 

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