Finally upgraded my tow vehicle . . . check out this aluminum "ball mount"u

[Expidia]

Well, after 7 seasons of towing my 1600 lb rig with my Saab 9-5 4 cyl which just hit 189,000 miles I threw in the towel and sprung for a 3 year old "certified used" 2012 Toyota Highlander with 33k on it from a local dealer for $27,750. Certified used means they do a 160 point check list and then give me a 12 month or 12k full warranty from Toyota plus a 100k warranty on the drive train. Can't get that from a private party!

I was able to install the OEM Toyota hitch myself on my back while on a creeper in my driveway (the wiring was already prepped in the included tow package). I got hitch for $381 using a friends shop discount. Dealer install would have been $800+..

Nice part of the OEM version rather than the after market hitches that I've always used in the past is this comes with a new bumper facia and the hitch sits way up high and does not protrude very far out of the middle the bumper. Won't rust as fast either. My uhaul htches on my other and former Saab tended to scrape the ground on steep driveways.

I had to upgrade to a 2 inch ball mount as my remaining Saab still takes the 1 1/2 mount.
Here are some pics, but check out the 4th pic of this Aluminum ball mount I bought for like $87 from etrailer, Ya, I know the price is crazy, but how many times will I buy another 2 inch mount.
I always hated fiddling around with various rattling locking pins.

Old tow vehicle:

New tow vehicle:




This ball mount is DA BOMB!


Check out this vid:

http://www.etrailer.com/tv-Demo-Dive...DTLBM8200.aspx

 

[MTboatguy]

I don't see a 3rd picture, on my browser, I only see 2 pictures. I see where the ball mount goes, but no ball mount.

 

[oldjeep]

Be curious to hear how well that locking mechanism survives. I've had to cut off so many corroded locks and pins over the years that a fully internal lock doesn't hold a lot of appeal.

 

[MTboatguy]

Make sure and keep that locking pin lubricated, I found out a long time ago, a little squirt of WD-40 makes a big difference, cause they are not easy to cut off, and they do rust internally. I finally went to the old fashion pin and found a padlock that would fit it.

 

[Expidia]

Be curious to hear how well that locking mechanism survives. I've had to cut off so many corroded locks and pins over the years that a fully internal lock doesn't hold a lot of appeal.

I only buy stainless locking pins and I keep the insides of the receiver siliconed. Don't leave ball mount on over the winters like many do and its actually illegal in NY (I've read) to leave your ball mount on when not towing even though most still do.

I used to leave it on all the time as protection from jerks backing up while parking and using your bumper to stop!

I learned my lesson one winter as the ball mount rusted in place inside the receiver and I had to go to my local body shop and banged away for an hour with this 4 foot long slide hammer and it would not budge. Had to soak it down in penetrating oil and came back the next day and many more whacks and it finally broke free. Now I grease the hell out of um!

I wondered how an aluminum mount would hold up to salt in an ocean environment? But my rig is aluminum so I'm only around fresh water.

 

[oldjeep]

I learned my lesson one winter as the ball mount rusted in place inside the receiver and I had to go to my local body shop and banged away for an hour with this 4 foot long slide hammer and it would not budge. Had to soak it down in penetrating oil and came back the next day and many more whacks and it finally broke free. Now I grease the hell out of um!

Air hammer works wonders too The biggest issue with the aluminum receivers like my Anderson setup is that the pins are not aluminum and you get a lot of non/rust corrosion because of that.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Personally I would send that ball mount back... If/when it corrodes you can't even access the problem parts.... Would be a nightmare...Prolly have to remove the entire receiver just to get started working on it.

That said, If you are diligent about always removing it when not in use and regularly lubing it you may never have a problem.

Hopefully you can post up here once a year for a decade or so to tell me how wrong I was. ;-)

 

[jkust]

Was that 9-5 a turbo? I concur on the frustration of the locking mechanisms. I've gotten lazy and left mine on but needed to remove it in the winter only to realize they like to rust and are a huge pain to get loose. It's so hard to stop rust in MN even when you are diligent.

 

[gm280]

The only issue I could see is the fact that you will have to either remove the trailer ball itself, or work around the ball to unlock the hitch to remove it, as I always do if it isn't being used. I think I will stick with the simple setup and typical lock system.. But nice if you like it and it works for you. That is what make the world go round...

 

[Expidia]

Was that 9-5 a turbo? I concur on the frustration of the locking mechanisms. I've gotten lazy and left mine on but needed to remove it in the winter only to realize they like to rust and are a huge pain to get loose. It's so hard to stop rust in MN even when you are diligent.

Yes, turbos. I think all saab 9-5's are turbos. They are not cheap to replace and they tend to go after 75-100k. They cost around $1500 to replace with the labor. Did my 9-5 4 cyl twice and the 6 cyl once . . . I got both my saabs 3 years old around the 65k mark. I sold the 2001 4 cyl few weeks ago and still have the 9-5 6 cyl which has 146k.

They were my "poor mans" BMW's for the past 10 years :lol:. Both tow my boat with no issues. I had uhaul put hitches on both saabs.

Great cars. Built amazing. Too bad they were sold to GM which was the kiss of death. Now I think a chinese company is turning out a few 9-3's in china.

Now that I have a 3500 - 5000 lbs towing capacity I can upgrade to a 3500 lbs 2007 to 2012 (or whatever year they stopped making them) starcraft islander which is my next purchase and what i've been hoping to get once I finally upgraded my tow vehicle.

Problem is with boating (and life) with every move up . . . the dollars and annual costs go up exponentially. First I have to pick up a 3 year old avalon for my wife and finally sell her saab (sigh). Then the starcraft will have a 150-200 outboard on it plus higher insurance on everything and more gas.

I was pretty happy with my 15 foot Lund but I miss a built in gas tank and a windshield for my wife's side. For safety, considering the lakes we go on like lake george and lake champlain we really need a minimum of at least an 18 foot rig. The starcraft will be 21 feet plus the bracket that holds the outboard. but being aluminum its only in the 3500 lbs range with outboard and trailer.

The Highlander is really just on a stretched camry "unibody" frame, so its not ideal for the weight of a heavier fiberglass rig. I don't want a truck so staying with aluminum is my trade off.

 

[Expidia]

Personally I would send that ball mount back... If/when it corrodes you can't even access the problem parts.... Would be a nightmare...Prolly have to remove the entire receiver just to get started working on it.

That said, If you are diligent about always removing it when not in use and regularly lubing it you may never have a problem.

Hopefully you can post up here once a year for a decade or so to tell me how wrong I was. ;-)

I'll give it a try for 30 days and make sure the mechanism stays lose inside. I can keep it lubed. I bought a case for it, so I plan to shoot some silcon spray into it and bag it.

 

[jkust]

I've still got a SAAB 9-7x. That is just an overbuilt Trailblazer with a European inspired/far more refined interior and came with stuff the other GM clones didn't come with. I've got about 93k on it and I'm only one wheel bearing into it after owning it for 4 or so years. Literally a car where nothing ever goes wrong that I bought off Ebay from only a few pictures and had delivered. I followed the whole GM thing when they wouldn't sell to China so as to not give china their proprietary technology and instead allowed them to get mothballed. I thought it was an European company that finally ended up with SAAB but I quit paying attention. It is my back up tow vehicle and my daily driver but it is rated for 6700lbs. Not quite a true SAAB like your 9-5 but SAABish.

 

[Expidia]

Whoaa, UPS just rang my bell and look who just arrived . . .





I also got this stainless steel covert-a- ball. Not cheap at $56, but nothing worse than "rust on my Balls" :laugh:
I use this on my Saab's hitch too. Push the pin and switch from the 2 inch ball to the 1 7/8th ball. The pin does not come off, only pulls out.








Here is another great $20 investment from Harbor freight. This 2 foot monkey wrench really comes in handy a few times a year. Easy to leveage the 180 lb of torque to the balls nut.



Finished product . . . sticks out about 8-9 inches so I just saved another $40 for a couple mate hitch aligner that I use on my other car. First time hitching it up I realized the back up camera is perfect so as not to whack into the bumper with the trailer tongue (ask me how I know that).




This hitch aligner I've found to be the best and the angle iron that is removed after its hitched comes in handy as a wheel chock too.

http://www.amazon.com/Couple-Mate-Al...aligner​

 

[MTboatguy]

On that convert a ball, make sure and take that thing off regularly and lube it, or it will freeze up on you, I know from experience, I have had 2 of their 3 ball kits and forgot and they have both ended up in the scrape heap.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Yeah I guess that wrench WOULD do a number on nuts.

 

[Expidia]

On that convert a ball, make sure and take that thing off regularly and lube it, or it will freeze up on you, I know from experience, I have had 2 of their 3 ball kits and forgot and they have both ended up in the scrape heap.

I've used them past few years on my saabs. When I take them off I spray them and bag it in a ball mount accessory bag. I find these "stainless" ones hold up pretty well from freezing up.

 

[Expidia]

On that convert a ball, make sure and take that thing off regularly and lube it, or it will freeze up on you, I know from experience, I have had 2 of their 3 ball kits and forgot and they have both ended up in the scrape heap.

The ball mounts directions say that the mechanism inside is sealed. Says to never use WD 40 in the lock cylinder. Only to use a light lubricant like "air tool oil" that makes sense as WD40 can gum things up. I'll pick up some air tool oil off amazon and keep it handy. My other combo ball unit that I use on my Saab I just took out of its hitch bag to lube it. It was very free. Could push the pin out with my finger. They also make other metals like nickel which are the cheaper ones and probably corrode pretty quick. I think the stainless balls are pretty good.

If the pins on the aluminum mount are not moving freely instructions say its usually due to rust or a drill burr the directions say. That makes sense as my two other cheapo uhaul hitches rust inside the tube like crazy no matter how much grease I use. I can see inside rust easily interfering with the pins operation.

Even the hitch pins on the aluminum mount are stainless.

Here is a link to the stainless convert-a-ball and their other models:
http://www.etrailer.com/p-903b.html

 

[Expidia]

Here is a great suggestion when torquing down a hitch ball that I just picked up off my toyota forum. When I use that long wrench and pulling hard on it I know my lower back is going to hurt for the next two days :mad-new:

The suggestion was to slide the ball mount into the hitch so the ball is sideways (nut is now vertical). Now you can just stand on the wrench. I'm 165 lbs so a little bouncing and that nut is torqued to 180 lb with no back pain. He said using a long (two foot) closed end wrench is better than my 2 foot crescent wrench, because its less likely to pop off.

The crescent wrench can work (since I have several different sized ball nuts on various mounts), Just be careful the wrench does not slip off when you are bouncing on the end of the wrench!

This is where a fat girlfriend or wife can really come in handy for this type of torquing down of a ball nut :lol:

Just balance her on the end of the wrench and then go buy her some flowers for a job well done

 

[oldjeep]

A socket and breaker bar would be the normal tool if you don't have an impact wrench. An adjustable wrench is for pounding on things when you can't find a hammer

 

[gm280]

Here is a great suggestion when torquing down a hitch ball that I just picked up off my toyota forum. When I use that long wrench and pulling hard on it I know my lower back is going to hurt for the next two days :mad-new:

The suggestion was to slide the ball mount into the hitch so the ball is sideways (nut is now vertical). Now you can just stand on the wrench. I'm 165 lbs so a little bouncing and that nut is torqued to 180 lb with no back pain. He said using a long (two foot) closed end wrench is better than my 2 foot crescent wrench, because its less likely to pop off.

The crescent wrench can work (since I have several different sized ball nuts on various mounts), Just be careful the wrench does not slip off when you are bouncing on the end of the wrench!

This is where a fat girlfriend or wife can really come in handy for this type of torquing down of a ball nut :lol:

Just balance her on the end of the wrench and then go buy her some flowers for a job well done

I do like you idea for torqueing the ball nut, but fear you have opened up a huge can of worms with the fat girl suggestion. I hope you have some good life insurance... :facepalm: Thanks for the idea and it was nice knowing you... :behindsofa: