Aluminum Drop Hitches.....

[Boschma]

I'm thinking about buying one of those Aluminum adjustable drop hitches...
They arn't cheap and I don't know anyone with one so I thought I'd ask you guys how you like them. Are they strong enough? Anyone ever had one break? I just got an '11 Powerstroke 4x4 and will probably need about a 6" drop to level out my trailer.

 

[RyanPartridge]

Buy the steel one. B&W or Quickdraw. They come from Utah I think.

 

[scottietwohoty]

I've had a aluminum one and pulled all kinds of shit but it always was in the back of my head "what if this thing was to break"? I'm now in the market for a new one for a friend and I'm also going to go with steel this time just for piece of mind.

 

[rivermobster]

i sure wouldnt wanna find out how strong the are...

:thumbsdown

 

[Mondorally]

Buy the steel one. B&W or Quickdraw. They come from Utah I think.

B&W = :thumbsup

http://www.turnoverball.com/products/receiver-hitch/tow-stow

 

[nordic454]

http://inventivehitches.com/store/pc/home.asp

I have heard some good things about this new hitch setup. I am planning on getting one this summer. They have alot of options. About the same price point.

 

[Riverbound]

I have the rapid hitch (alum) and have towed tons of things including my brothers 30' campiing trailer. Never shown any signs of weakness of stress. I have the 10" drop version. mine is about 6-7 years old (I think) and other than its not sihiny (unless i polish it up) it works just like new.

 

[RiverDave]

There is a new one that is bad ass.. I bought one for my brother not that long ago. When I get to work I'll look it up and post a link.

RD

 

[krazykelegian]

b & w.. and they make a nice step when your not towing

 

[myoung549]

I have a 6" drop Rapid Hitch with the 2" and 2 5/16" ball on it and it is the best investment Ive ever made. Ive towed tons of trailers with it and probably gone over the 10,000 pound capacity. Its nice knowing that you have both size balls on hand and dont need to worry about drops especially when towing some one elses trailer

 

[djunkie]

My brother just got a B&W for his new truck. Very nice piece but real heavy. If I didn't already have like 5 hitches of all different heights I'd probably get one.

 

[dread Pirate]

I have 2 aluminum rapid hitches and they are the shit! Been using them for almost 10 years. Dragged hauled and had trailers lock up behind them and never had an issue. Had a bobcat on a trailer when the rear axle locked up doing about 60mph. Hitch held tight and no signs of damage. Even backed into a steel pole with one. Bent the pole, hitch was fine. The rating on the aluminum hitches is higher than most steel and I've broke a few "custom" steel drop hitches. Just make sure there is a brand name and rating on the hitch. No name brands don't have the insurance or quality and if it breaks, you're insurance probably won't cover it..

 

[RitcheyRch]

Still waiting for the link.

There is a new one that is bad ass.. I bought one for my brother not that long ago. When I get to work I'll look it up and post a link.

RD

 

[Luvnlife]

I've had the Rapid Hitch for years. Works great and I guess anything can fail if you abuse it. I do inspect mine quite often for any bad signs. Back during the HotBoat days there was a thread about a guy in Parker who broke his just pulling from the river to his spot. The hitch could have been abused, you know overloading, or letting it drag on the ground.

 

[dread Pirate]

I've had the Rapid Hitch for years. Works great and I guess anything can fail if you abuse it. I do inspect mine quite often for any bad signs. Back during the HotBoat days there was a thread about a guy in Parker who broke his just pulling from the river to his spot. The hitch could have been abused, you know overloading, or letting it drag on the ground.

I've abused mine and have replaced the pins on my oldest one. I can't see how one would break like you described. There was something else going on I bet. They do have some play in them. When I tow our ski sanger to the lake with the van, I use a 2" raised steel hitch for that reason.

I always laugh when I see the guy with the big lifted truck and the polished out hitch with no trailer. It's a trailer hitch, not a pice of jewelry! LOL!

 

[Zaairman]

I've had an aluminum Rapid Hitch for probably 6 years now, and it continues to be great. It's very handy and I've had it overloaded a time or two.... :skull Had a trailer once with about 4000lbs of tongue weight once. It's getting a little rough around the edges just from wrapping chains around it and such, but it still performs great.

 

[alohajeff]

I have only heard of two Rapid Hitch failures and the circumstances weren't exactly clear. Here's a busted one:

http://www.performanceboats.com/user-how-section/11452-how-not-tow-boat.html

Aloha

 

[ultra26shadow]

I had the rapid hitch and never gave me a problem was a nice hitch. I have always wondered how good this one is http://www.adventurerv.net/imagemagic.php?img=images/Aluminum-DT-ball-mount.jpg&w=&h=&page=

 

[Luvnlife]

I have only heard of two Rapid Hitch failures and the circumstances weren't exactly clear. Here's a busted one:

http://www.performanceboats.com/user-how-section/11452-how-not-tow-boat.html

Aloha

This is the one I remember seeing.:thumbsup

 

[Havaduner]

I've got a rapid hitch, but read the old threads about them breaking, so when one of the B&Ws was available to me at a really good deal, I grabbed it. I've abused it a few times, no issues. I get paranoid with things like these from time to time, feel pretty secure this one isnt going to break.

 

[Yellowboat]

I'd bet that break in the PB link came from it being slamed on the ground not pulling a load.

 

[prosthogod]

I have a rapid hitch and tow 10k all the time. As a note your new truck has a larger reciever size if you already didn't know.

 

[Luvnlife]

I'd bet that break in the PB link came from it being slamed on the ground not pulling a load.

That is exactly what I was thinking.

 

[my dixie wrecked]

got one i kept off my h2 hummer with like a 10 inch drop i'd consider selling only used a few times and as good as new pm me

 

[WTMFA]

I have two alum rapid hitches. The big one (8" drop I believe) I used to have on my Duramax which had a 9" lift. I towed my 21' LOADED toy hauler with it and never had any problems (and with the Banks Kit I had a HEAVY foot)
The only down side to those hitches is they do have a little slop in them due to having 3 individual pieces.

 

[scottietwohoty]

I had the rapid hitch and never gave me a problem was a nice hitch. I have always wondered how good this one is http://www.adventurerv.net/imagemagic.php?img=images/Aluminum-DT-ball-mount.jpg&w=&h=&page=

This is the hitch that I used to have and it worked great, never had a problem but I don't think that I ever REALLY overloaded it as a few years gone by it got a little loose but not to bad. It has 2 little detent balls in the top of the hitch as to make it fit snug in your reciver on your truck, the only problem that I had with it was the detent balls and springs fell out and it ratteled a little bit. Overall a good hitch!! :thumbsup

 

[Boschma]

As a note your new truck has a larger reciever size if you already didn't know.

Ya,

I noticed that it will accept a 2 1/2" Hitch......not too many available though as for as these hitches go. It does come with a sleeve from the factory to use a 2" Hitch though.


Maybe we need the Mythbusters to test it out hahah

 

[c'mondriver]

I pull trailers daily I have bent and broke many steel hitch. I have a alum. for my personal stuff and never had a problem. again its all about what your towing knowing what that hitch is rated for. if you pull a 30k trailer with a hitch thats rated for 15k well then your going to get what you ask for at some point. B&W are very good as is Diversi-Tech Alum.