Trailer Accessories

Our Kawasaki Mule, often thought of as a convenience, is actually an essential item on the ranch. Trailer accessories add to this utility.

In addition to providing transport on unimproved roads and pastures, it has proved invaluable in the workday tasks on the ranch. Specifically, hauling and moving equipment.

I’ve written about the Polar HD Utility Trailer in another post. Incidentally, going on five years, this trailer has been indispensable.

The Mule has a 1.25″ receiver mounted to the axle for towing accessories. In the past, I swapped out a ball hitch and tow ring as necessary for the task at hand, stowing both of these items in the bed of the Mule. This is entirely serviceable but not that convenient. Ever lose a lock pin in the pasture? What a waste of time.

This year I purchased a Top Tow multi-function tow ball with an integral clevis hitch hole and what I call a “strap pin.” The Polar HD uses the clevis hitch, and the 2″ tow ball works nicely to move around the pipe trailer. The strap pin can be used to attach grubbing chains or tow straps for when you need to winch your equipment out of the mud, as I have had to do on multiple occasions (always pay the extra for a four-wheel drive!!).

A cautionary note: Using the ball on a trailer hitch for winching out equipment is very risky. Tow balls aren’t made for this purpose, and if they fail under load, they can make deadly projectiles. The strap pin may fail similarly, but unlike the tow ball, it is attached at two points. This makes it less likely to become a projectile during a failure.

For the Polar trailer, I purchased an EilXMag magnetic hitch pin. This handy trailer attachment has a large, rubber-coated, red handle (to stand out if it falls in the pasture) and a permanent magnet to hold it in place. So you really don’t need that retaining pin except for safety’s sake.

Both of these trailer accessories are a convenience buy, available from Amazon and other online retailers.