Andersen Rapid Hitch: An Honest Review

Andersen invented this category, and the claim survives scrutiny: the Rapid Hitch is the original aluminum adjustable drop hitch, and the reason it keeps selling is dull and physical. A steel adjustable channel mount with a couple of balls on it is genuinely heavy. Heavy enough that owners stop taking it out of the receiver, which is how mounts get stolen, rust solid, and bark shins. An aluminum mount at the same drop is a different object to handle, and that changes behavior rather than just the spec sheet.

So this review is mostly about two questions. Is the weight saving worth the premium? And is the capacity enough for what you actually tow? The second one is where most of the bad purchases happen, because Andersen publishes capacity as a range, not a number.

Height, ball size and handling, in that order. The drop and rise come from an adjustment rack that the ball housing slides along, and a single pin locks it. There is no bolt to torque, no second pin to find, no tool to fetch. Pull the pin, slide, drop the pin back in. Inverted in the receiver, the drop becomes rise, which is how one mount covers a lifted truck pulling a low utility trailer and the same truck pulling a tall camper.

Ball sizes come as combo balls - two sizes on one stem - so you swap sizes by changing the ball assembly rather than unbolting a ball from a hole. Andersen publishes two combos: 2 in with 2-5/16 in, and 1-7/8 in with 2 in. Which combo you fit matters for capacity, which is the part of the spec sheet people skim.

And it is light. That is not a feature you appreciate in a product listing; it is a feature you appreciate at the end of a long weekend when the mount has to come out before you park in the garage. If the only thing you dislike about your current setup is picking it up, aluminum versus steel is the whole decision and this is the answer to it.

Andersen publishes one maximum and then a range underneath it, and the range is the useful part.

Construction is aluminum alloy, published in polished and black anodized finishes, with a plated steel combo ball for heavier loads or a greaseless AlumiBall option. It is made in the USA, carries a lifetime warranty, and ships with the California Proposition 65 warning that appears on most towing hardware. Andersen also notes slotted adjustment grooves rather than drilled holes, which leaves more solid material in the shank at any given height - a sensible design choice, and one that is hard to independently verify from a published page, so treat it as the maker's rationale rather than a measured result.

The AlumiBall option exists to solve a small but real annoyance: hitch ball grease ends up on hands, clothes, coupler, bumper and anything in the bed. The greaseless cap is designed to run without it. Two honest notes on that.

• It is not a grease-optional ball, it is a greaseless one. Running the greaseless cap and then greasing it anyway defeats the design. If you buy it, follow Andersen's instruction, not the habit from your last hitch ball.
• Andersen itself steers heavy loads to the plated steel combo ball. Their own published guidance offers the steel combo ball for heavier tow loads and the greaseless AlumiBall for a grease-free connection. Read that as the maker telling you which is which - if you are near the top of the capacity range, take the steel.
• It does not change the mount's rating. The ball and rack combination sets the assembly's capacity; the finish on the ball cap does not add any.

12,500 lb gross and 1,500 lb tongue is plenty for most of what gets towed behind a half-ton or a three-quarter-ton: boats, utility trailers, small dump trailers, car haulers, most travel trailers. It is not plenty for everything. Competing steel adjustable mounts on a 2-1/2 in or 3 in shank are published in the 18,000 to 21,000 lb range, so if you tow heavy equipment or a large bumper-pull toy hauler, this mount runs out before those do.

The second ceiling is the one every ball mount shares: it is a ball mount. There is no provision for spring bars, so if your trailer needs weight distribution, this is not the product you are shopping for - settle whether you need weight distribution first, because the answer changes which aisle you are in rather than which mount you buy.

Cosmetically, aluminum behaves like aluminum. It does not rust and it will not streak orange down a painted bumper, which is a genuine advantage in a salted-road winter. It does scuff, gall and pick up marks from the coupler and the receiver faster than powder-coated steel, and the polished finish shows it most. That is wear, not damage, and the black anodized version hides it better.

• Your loaded trailer is over 12,500 lb, or your tongue weight is over 1,500 lb. Buy a steel adjustable mount on a bigger shank - the published ratings go far higher.
• You need weight distribution or sway control hardware. No ball mount accepts spring bars. You need a weight distribution head.
• The mount never leaves the receiver. The weight saving is the product. If you never lift it, buy steel and spend the difference elsewhere.
• You want the mount out of your shins. A folding design that stows behind the bumper solves that directly; the Rapid Hitch stays proud of the receiver. The Tow & Stow review covers the mount that does fold.
• You want to know your tongue weight. The Weigh Safe Drop Hitch is the aluminum adjustable mount with the gauge in it.
• You tow one trailer at one height. A fixed loaded ball mount at the right drop is cheaper, lighter still, and has nothing to adjust.

1. The subject

Andersen Rapid Hitch Aluminum Adjustable Ball Mount

Andersen Hitches · Best for anyone tired of lifting steel mounts

An aluminum adjustable mount, which is the point: a steel channel mount is genuinely heavy to carry, and this one is not. Balls thread into the stainless pin rather than bolting through a hole, so swapping sizes takes seconds.

Published specifications

Maximum gross trailer weight

12,500 lb source

Capacity by ball fitted

2 in with 2-5/16 in combo ball 10,000 to 12,500 lb; 1-7/8 in with 2 in combo ball 5,000 to 12,500 lb source

Tongue weight rating

1,500 lb source

Drop/rise racks

4, 6, 8 and 10 in source

Shank sizes

2 in and 2-1/2 in source

Certification

V5 and SAE J684 source

What works

• +Dramatically lighter than a steel adjustable mount of similar capacity
• +Ball changes are a thread-on operation, not a torque-and-nut job
• +Aluminum does not rust streak down a painted bumper

What does not

• −Aluminum marks more easily than powder-coated steel
• −Capacity depends on which ball and pin combination you fit, so read the chart

Skip it if

Not the one if you leave the mount permanently in the receiver through salted winters - the convenience you are paying for is weight, and you would never be lifting it.

Check price on Amazon→

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Raw specifications: Andersen Hitches’s own page. We earn nothing on that link.

2. The heavier-duty alternative

B&W Tow & Stow Adjustable Ball Mount

B&W Trailer Hitches · Best for daily drivers that tow occasionally

Two balls on a pivoting head that tucks up under the bumper when nothing is attached, which is the part owners actually rave about - no more shin-height steel bar in a parking lot. Height adjusts in pin increments rather than continuously.

Published specifications

Gross trailer weight by shank

2 in shank 10,000 lb; 2-1/2 in shank 18,000 lb; 3 in shank 21,000 lb source

Vertical tongue weight by shank

2 in shank 1,000 lb; 2-1/2 in shank 1,800 lb; 3 in shank 2,100 lb source

Published drop options

2-1/2, 3, 5, 7 and 9 in on the 2 in shank; 5, 7 and 8-1/2 in on the 2-1/2 in shank; 4-1/2 and 7-1/2 in on the 3 in shank source

Ball configurations

2 in with 2-5/16 in; 1-7/8 in with 2 in; or all three on the tri-ball head source

Certification

Tested to SAE J684 source

Weight distribution compatibility

None - the maker states sway bar and weight distribution systems do not fit it source

What works

• +Stows up out of the way instead of projecting behind the bumper
• +Two ball sizes on one head, flipped rather than swapped
• +Solid, heavily built, and quiet when pinned correctly

What does not

• −Heavy to handle and to store
• −Height steps are fixed by the pin holes, so an exact level may not be available

Skip it if

Not the right buy if you need a precise level height - a continuously adjustable channel mount will get closer than pin increments will.

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Raw specifications: B&W Trailer Hitches’s own page. We earn nothing on that link.

3. The measuring alternative

Weigh Safe Adjustable Drop Hitch with Built-in Tongue Weight Scale

Weigh Safe · Best for owners who will never visit a scale

An adjustable drop hitch with a hydraulic gauge in the shank, so the tongue weight reads out as you lower the trailer onto the ball. It turns the single most-skipped step in towing into something that happens automatically, which is worth more than the hardware itself.

Published specifications

Gross trailer weight by shank

2 in shank 12,500 lb; 2-1/2 in shank 18,500 lb; 3 in shank 21,000 lb source

Tongue weight rating by shank

2 in shank 1,500 lb; 2-1/2 in and 3 in shanks 2,200 lb source

Published drop sizes

4, 6, 8 and 10 in, adjustable in 1 in increments; rise is 1 in more than the drop source

Unit weight

16 lb at 4 in drop, 18 lb at 6 in, 19 lb at 8 in, 20 lb at 10 in source

Balls supplied

Stainless steel 2 in and 2-5/16 in; 1-7/8 in is a separate option source

Material and certification

Aircraft-grade aluminum body with stainless balls; V5 and SAE J684 certified source

What works

• +Reads tongue weight every time you hitch, with no extra step
• +Adjustable height and reversible for rise as well as drop
• +Makes the 10-15 percent rule checkable instead of theoretical

What does not

• −The gauge reads at the ball, so it is sensitive to being parked on a slope
• −Heavier and considerably more expensive than a plain mount

Skip it if

Not needed if you already weigh at a public scale - the gauge is convenience, and a certified scale is still the more accurate number.

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Raw specifications: Weigh Safe’s own page. We earn nothing on that link.

4. The budget alternative

CURT Adjustable Channel Mount with Dual Ball (2 in shank, 6 in drop)

CURT · Best for garages with several trailers

One mount that covers two ball sizes and a range of heights, which is the answer when the garage contains a boat trailer, a utility trailer and a camper that all sit at different heights. Capacity drops to the lower-rated ball you are actually using.

Published specifications

Gross trailer weight

14,000 lb source

Ball capacities

2 in ball to 10,000 lb; 2-5/16 in ball to 14,000 lb source

Adjustment range

6 in maximum drop, 5-1/4 in maximum rise source

Receiver size

2 in source

What works

• +Two ball sizes and a height range in a single mount
• +Flipping it gives rise as well as drop
• +Rated to 14,000 lb on the larger ball

What does not

• −Heavy, and more joints means more places for rattle to start
• −The pins and bolts need checking for torque, unlike a one-piece mount

Skip it if

Pointless if you own one trailer and tow it with one truck - a fixed mount at the right height is lighter, quieter and cheaper.

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Raw specifications: CURT’s own page. We earn nothing on that link.

5. If you only tow one trailer

CURT Loaded Ball Mount with 2 in Ball (2 in drop, 7,500 lb)

CURT · Best for one trailer at a known height

A one-piece mount with the ball already fitted and torqued, rated to 7,500 lb gross and 750 lb tongue with a 2 in drop. Nothing adjusts, which is exactly why nothing rattles or works loose.

Published specifications

Gross trailer weight

7,500 lb source

Tongue weight

750 lb source

Drop

2 in source

Ball diameter

2 in source

What works

• +Arrives with the ball fitted, so there is no torque step to get wrong
• +One piece means nothing to loosen or rattle
• +Light enough to leave in the receiver or throw in a toolbox

What does not

• −The 2 in drop is the only drop - measure before you buy
• −7,500 lb ceiling rules out heavier trailers

Skip it if

Useless on a lifted truck, where a 2 in drop will still leave the trailer nose-high and the weight on the rear axle of the trailer.

Check price on Amazon→

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Raw specifications: CURT’s own page. We earn nothing on that link.

The Rapid Hitch is the right answer to a narrow and very common problem: you tow several different trailers, you take the mount out between trips, and you are tired of the steel one. One pin and no tools is a real improvement over a bolt-and-torque channel mount, aluminum does not rust, and the published certifications and lifetime warranty put it in serious company. For boats, utility trailers and mid-size campers, it is an easy mount to recommend.

Where it needs care is the capacity. The headline 12,500 lb is the ceiling of a range, and the ball you fit decides where in that range you actually sit - which is the one thing a buyer skimming a listing will miss. Work from the lowest rating in your assembly, take the steel combo ball if you are anywhere near the top of it, and if your trailer is heavier than that ceiling, buy steel on a bigger shank instead. The broader case for adjustable mounts covers which design suits which driveway.