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Hitch Ball Mount: Forged vs. hollow tube welded . Curt vs. Northern Tool house brand

Spud

Diamond
Joined
Jan 12, 2006
Location
Brookfield, Wisconsin
2.5" receiver tube / ball mount bar . Class V
Any reason to go with a forged over a welded hollow tube?


Curt sells one for $55 ish which is forged. Northern Tool sells a hollow welded tube for $37. I was going to get the Curt but I see that it is made in China just like the Northern Tool one. Price difference is negligible, so should I go with Curt? Forged is generally going to better than hollow welded tube ball mount??


This is from "ultra tow" , Northern Tool's house brand
Ultra-Tow-pic-1.jpg


Ultra-Tow-pic-2.jpg





Curt drop forged
curt.jpg
 
I have been towing trailers for a long time. From log splitters to 32' long goose necks. From what I have found is it doesn't matter hollow or solid, as long as the have the same rating. What I have found that matters the most is finding 1 that fits the receiver the best. Remember, your hitch is bolted on with say 6 - 1/2" or 5/8" bolts. So which would fail first, a hollow ball mount or the 2 rear bolts taking 70% of the beating. That's why it's best to not have slop in the receiver.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 
Years ago, I was involved with the local antique tractor pull club. We had bought a small pulling sled, made for garden tractors, and I was charged with picking it up. The sled folded and had a tongue that attached to the front with a 2 5/16 ball. I went to the guy’s house, hooked to the sled, and pulled it out of the barn it was sitting in. When I got it out of the barn and stopped, the weight box rolled all the way to the front and slammed into the stops. What the guy failed to tell me is there were bolts that secured the weight box for transport. Anyway, when the weight box slammed into the front, it sheared all the bolts off the class IV hitch. There was no damage to anything, other than all the bolts broke that held the hitch to the frame of the truck. That leads me to believe the attachment of the hitch to the frame is the weakest link in these hitches.
 
No More forged hitches for me.
Broken Hitch.jpg
2 1/2" class V hitch, 12K on a 14k trailer. Luckily there was a forklift on the trailer. We unloaded, picked up the trailer and moved it off the road. I ran to a local trailer shop to grab a replacement and showed them this picture. Salesman says "That's not supposed to happen." Duh, here's your sign. Bob
 

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My hitch ball mount is a Class 5 . So it is 2.5" square.

Only Farm and Fleet and Northern Tool had 2.5" Ball mount draw bars . I bought the forged Curt ball mount, but it would not go into the receiver hitch tube as the steel bumper step on my truck got in the way.

The ball mount has a 4" drop or 2.5" rise. Problem is that I can only insert it into the receiver when it is in the drop position because my aftermarket bumper juts out, such that the ball mount's shank is not long enough to reach the receiver when in the rise position. I need a Ball mount that is atleast 16" long but all I see are 10" and less . Ball mount has to be in the Rise position so that trailer tongue will sit on ball level.

So I will have to take my bumper off.

Bumper-hitch-issue.png


bumper-hitch-issue-pic-2.png
 
No More forged hitches for me.
View attachment 278102
2 1/2" class V hitch, 12K on a 14k trailer. Luckily there was a forklift on the trailer. We unloaded, picked up the trailer and moved it off the road. I ran to a local trailer shop to grab a replacement and showed them this picture. Salesman says "That's not supposed to happen." Duh, here's your sign. Bob

Now I am having second thoughts on getting a forged ball mount.

What brand was yours?
 
that doesn't look forged to me.. looks like cast steel with the flash line ground off.

Seconded.

"Back in the day..." Dad and I used 3". Still Class V, just stouter for our equilizing hitches.

Reese. Always.

Solid, but I dunno if "forged" or just hot-rolled square solid bar stock.

Haven't had the appropriate tow vehicle in years, so I gave the last one away to a neighbour who still did have. GMC dually, Diesel. Or so GMC THINKS it is. Allison trans, and with a gooseneck rig used "mostly".

Spud? No need of a longer, weaker bar.

All you have to do to that "step" is torch it so there is a ledge all the way around. Cut you a ration of diamond-plate you can drop-in when NOT towing, lift out when you are.

Might even be able to hinge it as a lift-up and pin-up?
 
I have that exact Curt forged hitch. It has been used dozens of times if not 100+ times since I purchased it in 2014. Truck is a Duramax HD2500 and I have towed up to 14,000 lbs without issue. Mostly my equipment trailer with machines and from time to time a forklift or my Kubota with an implement. It was used daily this last summer when we moved my business.

When I first bought it I thought the fit was a little sloppy but it hasn’t been a problem and doesn’t move around when loaded. I would recommend it.
 
Seconded.

"Back in the day..." Dad and I used 3". Still Class V, just stouter for our equilizing hitches.

Reese. Always.

Solid, but I dunno if "forged" or just hot-rolled square solid bar stock.

Haven't had the appropriate tow vehicle in years, so I gave the last one away to a neighbour who still did have. GMC dually, Diesel. Or so GMC THINKS it is. Allison trans, and with a gooseneck rig used "mostly".

Spud? No need of a longer, weaker bar.

All you have to do to that "step" is torch it so there is a ledge all the way around. Cut you a ration of diamond-plate you can drop-in when NOT towing, lift out when you are.

Might even be able to hinge it as a lift-up and pin-up?

Don't have access to a torch that I can move to parking area or move truck to it. Only solution I can see now is to just remove the bumper for towing, and put it back when done.

Wonder if driving without a bumper is legal, if only when towing? I will move lisense plate to tailgate.
 
I have that exact Curt forged hitch. It has been used dozens of times if not 100+ times since I purchased it in 2014. Truck is a Duramax HD2500 and I have towed up to 14,000 lbs without issue. Mostly my equipment trailer with machines and from time to time a forklift or my Kubota with an implement. It was used daily this last summer when we moved my business.

When I first bought it I thought the fit was a little sloppy but it hasn’t been a problem and doesn’t move around when loaded. I would recommend it.


I have a 2013 2500HD duramax . I bought the pictured Curt today, but returned it when it didn't fit. It says made in China. Is yours also Chinese?

What brand and size of Ball do you have? The JLG triple L drop deck trailer I am going to rent requires a 2-5/16 .

Do you have this model, the Curt Model # 45458, with the rough sides that look like parting lines?

Curt-45458.png



Or

This one with the smooth sides? Both are Forged. Below is Curt model #45459

Curt-45459.png




I'll just get what you are using since you have the same truck and haven't had any issues .
 
I have a 2013 2500HD duramax . I bought the pictured Curt today, but returned it when it didn't fit. It says made in China. Is yours also Chinese?

What brand and size of Ball do you have? The JLG triple L drop deck trailer I am going to rent requires a 2-5/16 .

Wouldn't want to tow the old 31-foot Airstream "International land yacht" through the Alleghenies with anything BUT a Reese, but even so...

I keep a Harbour-Freight 3-baller "universal" around to clamp to the edge of a Toro Dingo or John Deere skid-steer crawler BUCKET... just so I can move my helper's various debris "dump" trailers about for positioning.

You could have one of those in-hand in right quickly, but the height could be wrong? Or maybe not?

Balls you should have a set of in any case, wrenches with the vehicle as well. If only to insure you can rent "whatever".

Main thing, your case, is to clear that interfering center-bumper "step" so you can hook-up AT ALL.

Last similar rig I had was the stock 4-banger short-bed 1991 S-15 bumper.

The depressed center step was drilled-for and meant to mount a ball, directly. Just nowhere near Class V's worth!

:)


You do NOT want no 16", 18", or so stick-out. Gives the rig - and tongue weight - too much mechanical advantage over the hitch attachments. Complicates life if using equalizers.
 
Wouldn't want to tow the old 31-foot Airstream "International land yacht" through the Alleghenies with anything BUT a Reese, but even so...

I keep a Harbour-Freight 3-baller "universal" around to clamp to the edge of a Toro Dingo or John Deere skid-steer crawler BUCKET... just so I can move my helper's various debris "dump" trailers about for positioning.

You could have one of those in-hand in right quickly, but the height could be wrong? Or maybe not?

Balls you should have a set of in any case, wrenches with the vehicle as well. If only to insure you can rent "whatever".

Main thing, your case, is to clear that interfering center-bumper "step" so you can hook-up AT ALL.

Last similar rig I had was the stock 4-banger short-bed 1991 S-15 bumper.

The depressed center step was drilled-for and meant to mount a ball, directly. Just nowhere near Class V's worth!

:)


You do NOT want no 16", 18", or so stick-out. Gives the rig - and tongue weight - too much mechanical advantage over the hitch attachments. Complicates life if using equalizers.

I was thinking of this Reese I-Beam style ball mount but it has less material than the solid style and seeing the above poster show the cracked I-Beam style mount he used and Motion saying he has the Curt makes me go with the solid style from Curt

reese.png
 
I was thinking of this Reese I-Beam style ball mount but it has less material than the solid style and seeing the above poster show the cracked I-Beam style mount he used and Motion saying he has the Curt makes me go with the solid style from Curt

reese.png

All of our Reese goods were SOLID. Heavy buggers, to lift. OTOH?

The period was around 1963 to 1980!

LOTS of stuff has gone light or "offshore" in the years since.

Whatcha need is "Old Steel" for your "Old iron" hauling.

"Classical" trailer hitches. Before some bean-counter set an "Ingineer" to figuring with 'puters and CAD/CAM how much weight and metal could be saved to reduce their transport costs - even if it put YOUR ones into a higher-risk zone.

:(
 
It was a Reese and it was a forged unit. If you look closely you can see rust in the area of the break so a crack was a while in the making. I went to a solid steel welded hitch and I do clean off the hitch to inspect the welds and give it a fresh paint job every so often now.
 
It was a Reese and it was a forged unit. If you look closely you can see rust in the area of the break so a crack was a while in the making. I went to a solid steel welded hitch and I do clean off the hitch to inspect the welds and give it a fresh paint job every so often now.

Awfully deep and complex for a "forging", ain't it, though?

Easily 95% of "today's world" can't tell a casting from a forging to begin with, and adver-hooring copy-writers won't care nor even try to do.

My bet the f****r was CAST.

Solid? Yes, really. No-brainer, actually.

Solid steel bar stock in eminently "weldable" alloys is as close as your phone or email, nor is there any shortage of competent welders to fab WHATEVER suits yah.

It's the receiver and mount to the vehicle where yah need the wider, longer - hopefully wiser, "experience" workin' for yah. Along with yer own Mark One Eyball and no-longer-common good SENSE, of course.

Spud's "problem" is really more about that step-center bumper.
 
Some of those adjustable shank hitches are limited in orientation as in 2" rise but 7" drop. I do not understand the geometry I think it has more to do with attaching the hitch to the shank.
Bil lD
 








 
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