Hitch Help Request

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on August 10, 2010 at 9:40am

Pulling a boat and pulling a trailer with a car or two is an entirely different thing; you can use whatever you want and think whatever you want about the quality of one vs. the other but if I am going to hitch something like the set up pictured here to anything I am not using a U-haul hitch.

Have you ever looked at the two hitches side by side and checked out the difference in materials, quality of build and overall fit and finish?

I have and I can tell you right now U-haul does not measure up plus they also tend to use a lot of 'universal' style hitches that are not anywhere near as strong as a unit made to fit your vehicle.

Quality costs money.

Of course if you are just sticking a bike rack in it this is all a moot point but you never know what future uses you may come up with so I always feel it pays to get the best.

buddaa38 said:

Doug,
I agree with you on most of this, But when it comes to u-haul . I don't agree with you. I've had them all my life and pulled boats with them & never had a problem with them . I know of a lot of others that will swear by u-haul as well. Reese is fine I do think overly priced. I'm not for sure on this one , But somebody one time did tell me that u-haul & reese were made in the same plant. notoriousDUG said:

You don't know very much about cars but felt like answering the question anyway, didn't you?

While none of this is technically wrong it is not very good info. It is true that what your friend wants is technically a receiver it is marketed as a receiver style hitch because it is one where the hitch itself does not bolt onto the car but a receptacle for a hitch bolts onto the car; this was an important distinction years ago when non-receiver style hitches were not yet the extreamly uncommon exception to the norm.

The owners manual is not going to tell you hitch availability for your car; almost all hitches are aftermarket these days. What the manual will tell you is the capacity your vehicle has both in it's ability to pull and stop as well as the weight it can bear (tongue weight). When it comes to bike racks tongue weight is the only real number that matters and even a new Corvette has a tongue weight rating of a couple hundred pounds so pretty much anything you can purchase a hitch for is going to be fine rating wise.

I would stay the hell away from a U-haul brand hitch, they are pure junk; there is a reason they are cheaper then anyone else and they are often universal fit pieces that tend to fall apart or work for crap. Get a good hitch made for your vehicle; I recommend Resse.

Barry Niel Stuart said:

I think what this friend of yours wants is called a receiver. There are two different sizes of receiver. Your friend will have to find out what size receiver his/her rack is designed to fit. The receiver is a square box to which the hitch attaches. The hitch slides into the receiver and is held in by a pin and clip. Check the car's owner's manual to see if a receiver can be mounted.

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Permalink Reply by Will on August 10, 2010 at 3:29pm

I'm not disagreeing with anything you're saying, but let's face it, this hitch is going on (according to Julie) a "car." This person is hauling a bicycle or two, not an SCCA race car. A hitch made of anything other than Play Doh is going to be fine.

notoriousDUG said:

Of course if you are just sticking a bike rack in it this is all a moot point but you never know what future uses you may come up with so I always feel it pays to get the best.

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