Today we are going to review part number AM3460 from Andersen Manufacturing. This is their Rapid hitch ball mount. This ball mount is constructed of aluminum alloy that is designed for two inch by two inch receivers. This ball mount has an adjustment between a 3- 1/ 2 inch and a 4-1/ 2 inch rise. The hitch balls themselves are constructed of chrome plated steel. This one does come with a pin to adjust the ball mount up and down but does not come with a locking pin. You do have to supply your own locking pin or hitch pin. Also, this product is made in the U.S.A. Lets cover some of the features more in detail. 00:33
First pull out the rapid hitch. You can see this whole piece right here is constructed of aluminum alloy and also you can see it has two hitch pin holes. That gives you a little bit of adjustment for different bumper and hitch combinations. Put that back in. Next, this is the pin that holds the hitch ball assembly in position. Just use a pin or standard clip, just pull off the clip and pull out the pin and you can adjust the ball mount up and down. You can also take this and turn it over if you need the other sized ball and just reinstall your pin into the desired location and then reinstall the clip. Also, the entire shank itself if it needs to be can be used in either position too. 01:33
This ball mount has an adjustment between a 3-1/ 2 inch and a 4-1/ 2 rise. Next we will talk about the hitch ball assembly itself. We will take this back apart. You can see here there is a little threaded fitting that uses 1/ 4 inch standard bolt. You use that bolt to pull the whole pin out and we can take out the ball assembly and change it to a different size or a different type if we need to. Here is a carriage bolt we found laying around, just thread it into place and then we can pull it out. Just reverse the procedure to reassemble. Just line up the holes and reinstall the pin. Take the bolt out and reinstall it onto the ball mount. This kit does come with a 2- 5/ 16 ball and also the 2 inch ball. The rapid hitch is rated at 1,500 pounds and the total trailer weight is rated at 10,000 pounds. However, the hitch balls do limit your towing capacity. For instance, 2- 5/ 16 ball is good for 10,000 pounds but the two inch ball is good for 8,000 pounds. That finishes the review for part number AM3460, the rapid hitch from Andersen Manufacturing.
Today we are going to talk about ball mounts: what they are for, and what they can do for you. As you can see here, we have a variety of different types. And we are going to start off with the most basic type and go all the way up to the most advanced ones with the most adjustability to them. First, we will start off with a typical ball mount. And this configuration here is for a 2-inch receiver and also is a drop version. Basically, it is going to be 4 inches. Also, some models will have a gusset on the bottom, here, to give them a little bit added strength. Some of the typical straight ones will not have this, of course. And, depending on the materials it is made of, some will have the gusset and some will not. One other thing about ball mounts is, we have to talk about rise and drop. Basically, how they measure that is from the top of the shank down to the bottom of the plate here, that is considered the drop. And the rise position is considered this way - from the top of the shank again - well, to the top of the hitch - to the top of this plate here. And that gives you your rise measurement. So, in this case, we actually have from here to here a 4-inch drop, and then from here to here we have approximately about a 2-3/4 inch rise. And those rules apply to any ball mount out there. 1:04
