Hitch ball with locking bail

A hitch ball to which a trailer coupler may be secured, the hitch ball comprising:

• a hitch ball body with a hollow extending into a first end and a transverse bore extending substantially along a diameter of the hitch ball body and intersecting the hollow;
• a locking piston disposed in the hollow;
• a port extending through an exterior surface of the hitch ball body to the hollow;
• a locking element disposed in the port;
• an axle disposed in the transverse bore in the hitch ball body;
• a locking-lever coupled to the axle and pivotable about an axis extending through the axle to move the locking piston within the hollow between a locked orientation and an unlocked orientation, the axle being moveable in a first and a second axial direction through the transverse bore and being biased toward the first axial direction;
• and
• an assist-element coupled to the locking-lever and adapted to move the locking-lever in the second axial direction.

A hitch ball to which a trailer coupler may be secured, the hitch ball comprising:

• a hitch ball body with a transverse bore;
• a locking mechanism disposed in the hitch ball body;
• an axle disposed in the transverse bore, the axle being rotatable about an axis extending along a length of the axle and the axle being moveable axially within the transverse bore;
• a biasing member operatively coupled to the axle to bias the axle in a first axial direction;
• a locking-lever coupled to the axle and being pivotable about the axis to move the locking mechanism between a locked orientation and an unlocked orientation, and being moveable transverse to the hitch ball body through axial movement of the axle within the transverse bore in the first axial direction and in an opposite second axial direction;
• and
• an assist-lever pivotably coupled to the locking-lever and including a distal end configured to receive an application of a first force sufficient to pivot the assist-lever and a proximate end configured to apply a second force to the hitch ball body to move the locking-lever and the axle in the second axial direction.