[AT] Trailer hitch ball mount

Dick Day ddss at telebeep.com
Sat Apr 4 21:04:09 PDT 2009


"Don't lick the damn thing either--it probably was painted with
lead based paint!"

NOW you tell me!

It really was not their fault, they ordered what I requested. I thought I 
had done my homework and arrived at, what I thought, was the best out there. 
As I said, no where on their website did they mention China.

I had, for a very brief moment, considered the aluminum Rapid Hitch 
adjustable height ball mount system. The did some research on aluminum 
stress studies, and then found some disturbing pictures of Rapid Hitch 
failures.





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Rotigel" <rotigel at me.com>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Saturday, April 04, 2009 10:04 PM
Subject: Re: [AT] Trailer hitch ball mount


Hi Dick,
Were I you I would find another "trailer shop" and have them order
something worthwhile. Not only should they not be dealing in this sort
of junk, but they have to be out of their minds to "modify" anything
in this way!
Dave
PS, Don't lick the damn thing either--it probably was painted with
lead based paint!

On Apr 4, 2009, at 9:17 PM, Dick Day wrote:

> I recently bought a new Navigator as my business vehicle that will
> also double as my tow vehicle. My older Navigator sat 2" lower than
> the new one.  So, the 6"drop ball mount that I was using would not
> work.
>
> I debated about having a local welding shop fabricate a ball mount
> with an 8" drop for me, but I opted to buy one that was an
> engineered and tested product.
>
> I had the local trailer shop order a Draw-Tite Class IV #4283 ball
> mount for me. When it arrived, the ball hole was too small by just a
> fraction of an inch, so they had to drill the opening to get the
> ball shaft to fit.  That concerned me, but then when I read the
> label and saw that it was made in China, I am now almost afraid to
> use it.
>
> Any idea if Draw-Tite, or any of these companies, do any type of
> quality testing before these products are shipped?  Since the
> opening for the ball shaft was under-sized, I am guessing not.
>
> If I use this, my life, and the lives of others driving near me will
> depend on the quality of the welds on that ball mount.
>
> Will the reaming of the hole do anything to weaken this ball mount?
>
> Am I being overly cautious?
>
> Tractor reference:  I want to be sure this new tow vehicle is safe
> to use before I make the Nebraska/Missouri run to get a 1946 Huber :)
>
> Dick Day
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