What's a good solid hitch ?

I want something that really gets in good on the frame

Curiousnapper wrote:

I want something that really gets in good on the frame

try searching this forum,. lots of good info,


Nick
is it just me??

Hitches come in different flavours depending on capacity. A Class I is a light duty hitch -- so light I doubt any were ever sold for these cars. Often referred to as a "bumper hitch", the 2,000lb rating limits them to hauling small like a single garden tractor or snowmobile. These are usually little more than a heavy piece of steel flatbar bolted to the underside of the bumper with a small diameter ball -- no more than 1-7/8" diameter.

A Class II hitch is still pretty light, rated 3,500lbs, suitable for a utility trailer or runabout boat -- generally most single-axle trailers. These are often still supported by the bumper, but have some connection to the frame to take the tugging. They can be a fixed tongue or they may be a receiver with removable ball platform. Older removable designs were often heavy (3/4" x 2") flatbar similar to a Class I, newer ones are usually 1-1/4" x 1-1/4" square but a few are 2" x 2", mimicking a Class III/IV. However, 2" x 2" Class II receivers are shorter and will not accept the longer ball platforms of the III/IV weight class.

A Class III gets you into double axle trailers and up to the max weight you would want to haul with a non-tow pack car -- 5,000lbs. These are frame mounted hitches -- any connection to the bumper is coincidental. This is what I consider to be the minimum acceptable hitch for these cars. Unfortunately, they are no longer made. A few people have lucked into NOS units left over from the heyday. A few other people have modified a sedan hitch to fit the wagon. Mostly people search the boneyards for a good used one. I do know that the same hitch for a 1983 Buick Electra Estate Wagon will fit a 92 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon perfectly with no modifications. Do a search on this forum for "class III hitch" and see all the posts about this issue.

A Class IV is a serious hitch that can handle more than the rated capacity of a tow pack car with weight distributing hitch. According to the manual, a tow pack car with weight distributing hitch can haul 7,500 lbs. A Class IV hitch is rated up to 10,000 lbs, and to achieve that is almost always weight-distributing. They use the same 2" x 2" receiver as the Class III and are often labelled "Class III/IV" -- up to 5,000lbs when coupled with a weight-carrying ball platform and up to 10,000lbs when used with a weight distributing platform and bars. Which is not to say you can haul 10,000 lbs with a Class III just by using a weight distributing platform and bars -- the receiver and attachment to the car must be able to handle that load too! Again, sadly: no longer made. Unless you make your own, like I did. (Have a look at the second page in the "What can I tow?" thread.)

buickwagon wrote:

Again, sadly: no longer made. Unless you make your own, like I did. (Have a look at the second page in the "What can I tow?" thread.)

Dang I knew there's be a catch. Thanks for the lengthy reply, you helped a lot.

Curiousnapper wrote:

buickwagon wrote:

Again, sadly: no longer made. Unless you make your own, like I did. (Have a look at the second page in the "What can I tow?" thread.)

Dang I knew there's be a catch. Thanks for the lengthy reply, you helped a lot.

 Lengthy replies are all he knows!
 Peanut Gallery

Putting the word "HITCH" in the search box came up with about twenty hits that might have some info for you

More than once , I've heard the chassis on our beasts is the same, unchanged from the "Boxie" era. So I'd wonder (without proof) that if you can find a Boxie in a bone yard with a good hitch, would it likely fit the 91-96 era wagons as well?


NOTE ALL THE WEASEL WORDS I'M USING, because I am replying in question only on hearsay with question, not with anything I can backup with established fact or personally  known by me with certainty. Hopefully someone here has already made that swap and can reply with confidence.

lakeffect wrote:

Hopefully someone here has already made that swap and can reply with confidence.

Paragraph 3, sentence 8 in the "lengthy post".  

I bought a Class IV Algonquin Hidden Hitch 1n 1984 and installed it on my 1983 Electra Estate Wagon. Nine years later, I transferred it to my 92 Roadmaster Estate Wagon. I also transferred the 3rd row seats. (I got a great deal on the 92 because it was ordered with the 3rd row delete and nobody else wanted it). Both were direct bolt-ins with no modifications whatsoever.

There ya go. I caught that, but was also thinking it wouldn't likely matter if you find a boxie Caprice with one, as it's still the same chassis for all the GM lineup. Sorry I wasn't clear on that.

Dave

The problem with searches is so many of the items are no longer made.

I tried googling all the the parts numbers for the hitches and no-go.

But thanks to some help I am on the right path now.