TURNOVER BALL HISTORY

The Concept - 1987

While working together at Humboldt Industries, Joe Works and Roger Baker were remarking on the problems created by putting a gooseneck hitch in a pickup bed. During break time they would brainstorm and draw in the dusty floor how they would design a hitch that wouldn’t always be in the way. They drew out their plans and worked on the prototype in Roger’s garage and from there, B&W Custom Truck Beds, Inc. was born.

The Patent

The first hitch, that we now call the 1200R universal, was installed by loosening the truck bed to attach it to the frame and securing it with bolts through the truck bed floor. B&W received a patent on this hitch in 1991. Many changes have since evolved, all centered around making the hitch easier for customers to install themselves, to make it sounder product, and to refine the manufacturing process. The concept, however, has stayed the same: a receiver hitch mounted under the truck bed floor that allows for the gooseneck ball to turn over and store in the same socket.

The Features

One of the first changes made was to use angle irons that fit between the frame and the bed without having to take the bed loose. These would bolt to the frame using existing holes in the bed frame. The center section bolted to those angle irons and one 4” hole was drilled in the pickup bed for the socket to protude. The main goal was to make this hitch possible for anyone across the country to install by themselves using the provided instruction sheet. It proved to be a very valuable improvement and soon other hitch companies were following suit.

B&W now offers 18 different models to accommodate nearly every truck on the market. Joe and Roger have always redesigned the Turnover Ball hitch each time the truck manufacturers (OEMs) come out with a change in construction. More employees are now getting involved in hitch redesign.

The Nelson

Nelson Borror’s ingenuity made it possible for our latest improvement: the model 1062 for the 2001-2002 Chevrolet one-ton trucks. Most of our hitches install using the existing holes in the bed frame, except for these new Chevy trucks. Holes need to be drilled in the frame for most of these models. However, the 1062 model is a no-drill application, thanks to Nelson's design:

It uses an oval factory-drilled hole in the frame. These oval holes cause problems if the bolt shifts back and forth. Nelson created a thingymajigger that we now call a “bushing block” that will locate a round hole inside this oval in three possible locations. This adjustment will allow for the 4” customer-drilled hole not being in exactly the same place as we figured. Plus each truck chassis has slightly different measurements. This hitch also gives the customer a more desirable location of the ball in the truck bed - it is closer to the back to permit more turning clearance for trailers.

The Future

Each year, the OEMs make changes to their truck lines. Often these changes are subtle; sometimes these changes are quite substantial. But no matter what, B&W and the Turnover Ball Gooseneck Hitch will always match those changes with a hitch design that is easy-to-install and easy-to-use. And we’ll always be a step ahead of the rest . . .