Signs You've Found the Right Hitch

Buying a hitch for a vehicle sounds like it should be simple, but when you add the need to tow agricultural trailers or attach the hitch to a tractor, choosing one becomes very complicated. You have to figure out how much weight you'll be pulling, what items you might have to tow, whether you'll be towing behind a truck or a tractor, and what conditions you'll be towing in. And even then, you'll still have more to consider about the choices you're left with. Once you determine which hitches meet the really critical requirements, how do you know you've found a good hitch that you should buy?

It's Adjustable

Hitches should be adjustable for hitch balls and vehicle height. The more you can adjust the hitch — hydraulic hitches make this really easy — the more versatile it will be and the more work you can potentially do without having to rent additional equipment or vehicles. But, range aside, the very fact that it is adjustable is good. If you find a hitch that isn't adjustable, keep looking.

It's Stronger Than You Need It to Be

Hitches need to be strong enough to connect the towing vehicle to the towed vehicle or trailer and anything that towed vehicle or trailer might carry. For agricultural uses, that can be a lot of weight, comparatively speaking, pulling on the hitch and the bumpers of the two vehicles/trailers that the hitch connects. Try to get a hitch that can tow more weight than you think you need. This helps you in two ways. One, if you miscalculate and find you have to tow more than you thought, the hitch will be up to the job (and hopefully the vehicles/trailers involved will be, too). The other is that the extra strength is like the ability to adjust; it lets you complete more jobs without needing extra equipment.

There Are No Chips or Scratches in the Coating

Hitches are usually powder-coated to protect the base metal. The hitch you buy should have no scratches, chips, or other damage to the coating. That damage would allow water to get in and contact the base metal, leading to corrosion that can weaken the hitch. Finding a hitch with intact coating means that the hitch will last a long time and remain strong enough to pull what you need it to pull without bending or snapping, which would require finding another hitch and putting you right back where you started.

For more information, contact a company like Norm Engineering.


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