Adjustable Height Trailer Hitch

[Bransher]

MASTER LOCK introduces the “World’s First” adjustable height ball mount.
Don’t waste your money on this worthless invention.
Master Lock says……”It’s infinitely adjustable from 7 ¾” drop to 6 ¼” rise.
It sounds good. Just hook up your trailer, and turn the adjusting nut to raise and lower the tongue height. What could be easier?
To go from the upper range adjusment to the lower range adjustment, you first flip the hitch 180 degrees, and then unscrew and flip the ball upside-down.

But, they fail to mention that there is a 5 inch gap in the middle of that range where the ball can never be. And that gap just happens to be where my trailer hitch should be.

This invention is the winner of the Popular Mechanics Magazine’s, Editor’s Choice Award! You would think that the magazine people would actually try and use this thing before heaping praise on it. Maybe Master Lock is a long time advertiser in their magazine. Well, that's another $55.00 down the ol' scupper hole.

[kziadie]

If you are looking for an adjustable hitch, I can wholeheartedly recommend this. It is expensive but you have almost 6" in each direction, It is aluminum so it does not corrode and it is rated at 8000 lbs. In addition it is available with a combination 1 7/8"+2" ball or 2"+2 5/16" ball. I have had mine for about 2 years and love it.

Kelly

[Captain Steve]

What do you tow with? I have used this product for over 4 years and used it to tow my Mac with an Explorer, Expedition and a Hummer H3. I have always found the spot to put the receiver at the generally accepted 17 inches.You might try balls with sholders on them...I had to use these with my old fixed hitch. I had a 1 inch and 2 inch rise on them.

[Bransher]

Hello Captain Steve,

I am towing with an old but reliable 1993 Ford F-150 pickup.

I am not familiar with tow balls with shoulders. The ones I have seen in the stores, and the ones in the WM catalog all look pretty much alike to me.

But regardless, I thought the purpose of the adjustable height hitch was to make it easy to raise or lower the ball height just by turning the adjustment nut?

[Bransher]

Hello kziadie,

I really like the looks of that one. Plus, being rated for 10000 lb. & 1500 lb. tongue weight indicates a heavy duty hitch. It has a full range of adjustment from top to bottom without any unusable gaps, and it appears that you can adjust it without any tools just by pulling the pin.

What holds the pin from coming out?

The price is a bit high, but it appears well designed and constructed and includes a double combo ball, so probably worth the money.

[kziadie]

Bransher,

There is a small hole in the pin that holds a spring clip to prevent it from coming out as shown in the picture below. The clip is very sturdy and has not shown any wear in 2 years of use.



Kelly

[Bill at BOATS 4 SAIL]

Bransher,

There is a small hole in the pin that holds a spring clip to prevent it from coming out as shown in the picture below. The clip is very sturdy and has not shown any wear in 2 years of use.



Kelly

If you push the hairpin clip down a little further, so the end of the horizontal pin is in the big loop at the top, there is less chance that it will come out, I think.

[albion]

kzdiazie, $189 thats a bit pricey. I have three trailers with different height hitches and balls I bought three hitches with different drops on them for a lot less than $189, thats including the balls. I cant remember exactly how much for each but it was less than $25 each. I just slide each one into my reciever for different trailers, its easier than screwing those expensive adjustable ones up and down and I always have the correct ball for each trailer.

[Catigale]

That spring pin is a sound design as is - there is force equal to the tongue weight on the solid pin that holds the collar in place (roughly 300-400# on our boats) but there is no lateral force on that spring clip. If you worry about something snagging it, you could secure it with my favourite thing - a zip tie.

[kziadie]

It is expensive... I fussed about for a while before I bought it, but I also tow a large 6500 lb trailer at times as well as a small jetski trailer with a 1 7/8" ball in addition to the Mac. I havent regretted it... it is solid as a rock, is no harder to adjust than changing the hitch... no screws, just a simple pin as shown in the photo. If I was just towing the Mac it would definitely be overkill, but if you need the flexibility it is great. I used to have separate hitches but I always seemed to have the wrong one on the truck for the job at hand!

Kelly

[Catigale]

One more thing on towing...I left my box receiver in the tow bar for a couple weeks after CHunk this year, and had to bash it out with a mallett.



Definitely will lightly regrease it as a seasonal maintenance item..

[Bill at BOATS 4 SAIL]

One more thing on towing...I left my box receiver in the tow bar for a couple weeks after CHunk this year, and had to bash it out with a mallett.

Another way to remove a stuck tow bar, that worked for me:
Do a search on Cadillac by Bill at BOATS 4 SAIL
TOWING W/ 96 CHEVY TAHOE
My post of 10 Jan 2004

I don't know how to quote it here, or I would

[Frank C]

WAIT ... don't tell me, I wanna guess.

You simply take a loop of rope & try to tow an oak tree, right??

[Bransher]

I decided to return the adjustable ball mount for a refund. I purchased it from Amazon. Com but their instructions say “Returns Are Easy” if the item is “in unopened or original condition.”
Since I no longer had the sculptured foam packing material, and there are a few paint scratches from installing the mount, I decided to first call the manufacturer.

Master Lock was completely unreceptive to helping me. In my most polite voice, I mentioned the fact that they were falsely advertising their product by not mentioning the 5 inch gap, but the person on the phone was not impressed. Apparently she is only paid to say “I’m sorry, but there is nothing we can do.”

I then went ahead and called Amazon, and after a few minutes on hold, my call was transferred to someone in India that I could barely understand. The missing packing material and my failure to mention anything about the paint scratches didn’t seem to create a problem. I have been instructed to send it back for a full refund provided that I pay the shipping charges. So that is what I shall do, and we shall see what happens. If and when the credit appears on my account, I will then order that slick looking little item that kziadie is using.

[albion]

It is expensive... I fussed about for a while before I bought it, but I also tow a large 6500 lb trailer at times as well as a small jetski trailer with a 1 7/8" ball in addition to the Mac. I havent regretted it... it is solid as a rock, is no harder to adjust than changing the hitch... no screws, just a simple pin as shown in the photo. If I was just towing the Mac it would definitely be overkill, but if you need the flexibility it is great. I used to have separate hitches but I always seemed to have the wrong one on the truck for the job at hand!

Kelly

Ah but I have three different size balls. NO PUN INTENDED. So do you have to unscrew your balls if you need another size?One reason I got three hitches is its often real difficult to undo the nut on the balls.