Anyone ever see a hitch like this?

And would you tow the boat with it? My buddy just bought a van and it has this hitch on it. We can't find any information on it. It does look very heavy duty though. Any information would greatly appreciated! He thinks he should swap it out before towing his boat, but I think it is find, just a little different than normal. Does anyone see any downside to using this? I don't it will jack knife or anything like that.

Weird. So the receiver swivels from one side to the other?

So what does the previous owner say about it?

Yes, it rotates from side to side. I think it is marked for 10,000 lbs but it is hard to mark out. It is bolted on with 16 bolts to the frame of the van. I has ball bearings an zirk fittings too.

He bought it site unseen at an auction.

Only downside I see is that the turning radius will suffer.

And backing might be extremely difficult.

And what if you have to slam on breaks? Won't the boat or trailer fishtail like a mother?

I have seen that before. It is supposed to be for hooking up. Once you drive straight after hooking up to the trailer it should lock into position.

Originally Posted by SkySki

I have seen that before. It is supposed to be for hooking up.

If that's the case it seems like extreme overkill just to avoid having to learn how to back the ball up to the tongue the normal way.

You still need to be the right distance and why would you need to swivel so much. I think it's for pulling clown carts in a parade.

I have never seen one of these but I would guess it locks in place when straight. I could see someone having a garage setup or something strange where they had to hook up to their trailer at a weird angle and it would help. Or maybe help jack knife the trailer quickly to get it into a tight spot and this would help. not sure, but I could see someone having a specific need for it. Not most though....

If it doesn't look like it has a lock in the center, i think its something differnet than to help hook up.

There was a system out there a while ago that imitated the attachement point of a gooseneck/5th wheel on vans and SUV's.

Thats what it looks like to me.

For the $150 a quality, standard hitch costs.....i'd rip that junk off of there.

Might be kind of cool for a grill, table, portable bar?? Be able to swivel it into position. Now I am curious and want to know what it is all about........ let the googling begin.....

Found it http://www.pullrite.com/pullrite.htm

Wow, interesting! Thanks! We were all ready to start cutting it off. I guess we will call the company and maybe try it.

For a boat, i see no benefit. That's what i was talking about though.

Rip it off.

Why do you say that? Doesn't a boat trailer have a tendency to sway back and forth like any other trailer? I know that I have made a quick lane change on the freeway when another truck swerved into my lane. The trailer swayed back and forth like crazy for probably a 1/4 mile. I was in traffic and couldn't just slam on the brakes or pull over, before it was done I was sweating bullets.

I just wonder what the van has been towing where someone would pay in excess of $1,000 for a hitch...

Boat trailer sway is normally from abnormal loading. The boat, w/o gear, should be properly weighted on the trailer. You need approximately 10%+ of tongue weight to tow safely.

If the boat/trailer is properly loaded, with the right hitch, tow vehicle, etc., i see NO need for this type of hitch setup.

I've done some CRAZY emergency maneuvers with trailers, and never had bad sway problems. With a van like that, put a regular hitch one it. You will be happier.

Doesn't it make you wonder..... Always fun buying second hand vehicles.

I'm still not following how it works while braking. Don't you still have a hitch and ball that you attach at the end of it? Couldn't it swivel off to the side on the brakes?

Originally Posted by guido

Doesn't it make you wonder..... Always fun buying second hand vehicles.

I'm still not following how it works while braking. Don't you still have a hitch and ball that you attach at the end of it? Couldn't it swivel off to the side on the brakes?

I have no idea.... on the Airstream travel trailer forums everyone swears by them and another hitch by Hensley or something like that. I still have no idea how it works. I do understand how a 5th wheel hitch works though and that this thing somehow tries to emulate that.

i think there's a way to lock the ball mount so it's rigid with the pullrite doohicky. that way your only pivot point is the fulcrum of the device right behind your rear axle. at least that what i gathered from their cheesy product video. i'd give them a call and make sure you have all your parts. then you can start jackknifing the boat into the launch and unhhok the boat strap from your drivers seat

Carl is correct. The equalizing bars that are part of this system eliminate the ability to pivot at the ball. I suspect that you are missing those, and I certainly would not want to tow with this system without this. For towing a boat, it seems like it's more trouble than its worth. These sorts of things are really worth their weight in gold when towing a travel trailer (I've used a Hensley Arrow, but I assume this gives similar results).

Page two of the owners manual should show you how it all goes together as well as which parts you are missing. I am guessing you only have the parts that are attached to the van, which makes this pretty useless.
http://www.pullrite.com/pdfs/PullRiteOwnerManual.pdf