On Sun, 17 Apr 2005 09:49:33 -0500, Ed Bailen wrote:

My Ford Aerostar has a Class II Reese receiver that sits quite low.
The top of the receiver box is only 10.5" off the ground. My new
Aliner trailer has the top of the ball socket 24" off the ground when
the trailer is level. OK, there's no way I'm going to get the trailer
level while towing, but I can get it quite a bit closer than it is
now.

The problem is that the Reese hitch is an oddball, orphan unit. The
receiver box is 1-5/8" square, and the hitch pin is 9/16" in diameter.
One option would be to cut my existing ball mount and extend it up for
a 10" rise by welding on sections of heavy angle iron. This would
make for a pretty heavy ball mount.

A second option might be an Alumistinger solid aluminum ball mount.
http://www.e-ampi.com/details.php?ProductID=331. This unit is sized
for a 2" receiver, but I was thinking I could mill 3/16" off each face
to reduce it to 1-5/8" over a length sufficient to fit in the receiver
tube. A ball end mill would radius the transition from 1-5/8 to 2" to
prevent stress concentration. I would also turn an bar for a light
press fit in the 5/8" hitch pin hole and then dirll it out for the
9/16" hitch pin.

In it's unmofified shape, the Alumistinger ball mount is rated for
14,000 GVWR and 1,400 tongue weight. My trailer is rated at 1840 GVW.

Questions:

Don't make life difficult. Reese make****ch bars with the offset all
built in.at least in 2" and 4" offsets - and I think a few others. I
had the same hitch on my Aerostar, and I had a factory supplied offset
hitch that allowed my Bonair 1690 to tow level.

1. Is the modification of the Alumistinger likely to be safe in this
application?

2. I have a small selection of anonymous metals laying about to make
the sleeve for the hitch pin. What would be the best (generic) metal
to use (aluminum, steel, or brass)?

Regards,
Ed Bailen