Today we are going to review part number AM3473 from Andersen Manufacturing. This is their Rapid Hitch ball mount. This ball mount is constructed of aluminum alloy with the hitch ball assembly itself constructed of chrome plated steel. This comes with two locking hitch pins, one for the hitch itself and also one for the hitch ball assembly where you adjust it on the shank. Our last favorite feature is that this product is made entirely in the U.S.A. You can see here this is in position and it is intended to use in this position only. This is a great ball mount for vehicles that have been lifted a little bit or just natural one ton trucks that happen to sit high in the air. Lets cover the features with a little more detail now. 00:42
First thing we will concentrate on will be the locking hitch pin itself which is right here. What is interesting about it is that it uses a barrel type key. Take off the cap, put the key in, give it a quarter turn, and it comes right apart. Take the hitch pin out. Now we can take a look at the shank itself in a little bit more detail. The shank assembly itself is constructed of alloy aluminum and it has just one hitch pin hole. Put the hitch pin back in place. Move on to the next lock and pin. This pin locks the adjustable part into position and it works the same way as a hitch pin. Pull off the cap, the key, and a quarter turn opens it up. Take your pin out and then we can move the adjustable part up and down as needed. If we need to we can take it and flip it over and use the other hitch ball. This ball mount also has adjustment between four inches a down to ten inches a . Select the position you want and reinstall the pin and lock it. 02:03
The hitch ball assembly is the only part that has the chrome plated steel. The hitch ball assembly actually can be removed if you need to change out the type of ball or you need to go to a different size completely. Take it back apart. Look inside here. There is a little threaded fitting onto the rod that holds the hitch ball assembly in place. All we need is a regular standard 1/ 4 inch bolt, we are going to be using a carriage bolt in this case. Just thread it in until it stops. Then you can take it and pull the whole pin out that way you can take out the hitch ball assembly and replace it if you need a different size. Right now this one has a 2- 5/ 16 inch ball and a 2 inch ball. Go ahead and reassemble it. Line up the holes and reinstall the pin. Take the bolt out and we can reassemble. Reinstall the lock pin. A few other details that you do need to know is that the shank itself is rated for 1,500 pounds ton weight and a 10,000 pounds total trailer weight. However, in the case of the hitch balls themselves they do limit it. The 2- 5/ 16 ball is good for 10,000 pounds however the two inch ball is only good for a total of 8,000 pounds. With that, that finishes our review of part number AM3473 from Andersen Manufacturing, the Rapid hitch.
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
