What are Conical Washers in Hitches

Conical washers play a vital role in ensuring the safety of your towing equipment. When installed correctly, they can prevent wobbling and potential accidents that result from trailer sway. It’s essential to follow the hitch manufacturer’s instructions when installing the conical washer or consult with an expert to ensure your hitch system is correctly set up. Remember, neglecting this small but crucial component could lead to hazardous situations down the road.

What is a Conical Washer?

Conical washers, also known as Belleville washers, are a type of washer with a conical shape. They are designed this way in order to deform elastically, which allows them to maintain a constant force over a range of compression. In simple terms, this ensures that Belleville washers are particularly useful in applications where vibration might cause bolts to loosen.

Even under high pressure and constant vibration, concical washers are able to remain in place. Their circular shape ensures tension is applied across their diameter, which helps dampen vibrations greatly.

In the context of hitches, particularly in trailers or towing applications, maintaining a secure connection is paramount for safety. If components of a hitch assembly begin to loosen because of the stresses and vibrations encountered while towing, it can pose significant safety risks.

Why are Conical Washers Important to Hitches?

Although hitches may seem like extremely complex machinery, they’re actually composed of many parts that are easy to understand. In the context of Fastway’s e2 hitch system, conical washers apply exactly as explained above. The conical washer is paired with a bolt in order to ensure a secure connection that is resistant to vibrations.

In particular, the e2 hitch uses a specialized conical tooth washer, with ridges all around the edges. On page 10 of the e2 hitch manual, there’s a diagram explaining their purpose. Simply put, the shank bolt is paired with conical washers to attach the hitch head to the shank. This ensures the ball mount you chose is securely attached to the back of your vehicle.

For information about the hitch shank, check out the explanatory article on Equalizer Hitch Products.

Reasons to Replace Your Conical Washers

As stated above, conical washers are essential to your towing setup because their presence helps mitigate the danger of vibration causing a bolt to loosen. Because hitches are so low on the rear axle, they are constantly exposed to vibration from bumps out on the open road. Naturally, the physical strain of extended use can eventually cause conical washers to fail in a variety of ways.

They can become worn down, corrode due to weathering, or deform if over-tightened. If you only tow occasionally, replacement may not be necessary. But at a bare minimum, conical washers need to be replaced every few years to err on the side of caution.

For Expert Advice on Trailers & Towing, Follow Fastway Trailer Products!

Conical washers, also known as Belleville washers, spring washers, or disc springs, are used to maintain tension in bolted joints or assemblies. In the context of trailer hitches, conical washers are most often paired with shank bolts with fastening a hitch head and shank together. With such an important function, its vital to make sure you’re well informed on the task at hand. To learn more about the mechanics of hitching, check out the e2 hitch manual here. And for a weight distribution hitch that’s proven to succeed, purchase the e2 hitch today!