So as mentioned in a prior post on towing and hitch pins for the GX 550:
The towing hitch ideally requires a 4 inch span hitch pin at minimum.. (STANDARD HITCH PINS do NOT work).
I ordered two locking hitch pins from Amazon - 4 inch and 4.5 inch and here is the comparison.
Both were $15 on Amazon.
First the “extra long one” that I’m keeping.
Amazon.com
The 4.5 inch workable (hitch transition width) with a total length of 8+ inches SEEMED WAY too long (at first).
In fact, I almost didn’t take it out of the bag thinking there’s no way this is going to fit.
But…. I went ahead and removed the diaper cover and the outer diaper molding - and lo and behold… it fit, the lock was accessible with the key, and as I will point out below it’s the better product, and the one I’m KEEPING! …
4.5 inch pin without outer molding or cover.
Outer diaper trim applied .., Be aware when putting the outer diaper trim back into place the 4.5 inch one with its rubber cover in place, just barely fits into the outer diaper molding (once that molding is reapplied)
Outer trim and diaper cover back in place.
The other one I ordered was
also $15 with a 4 inch working length:
Amazon.com
The 4 inch workable space pin seemed at first to be the preferable option. And it fit just fine… But then on closer examination it did not have the same features or quality as the 4.5 inch pin that I tested.
****Again my preference is the longer one.
Why?? - The 4.5 knch comes with a robust rubber lock cover, a back up “Cotter” pin, in case the lock fails, and rubber O-rings that prevent clanking of the pin. Also unlike the 4 inch one (which I’m returning), the lock doesn’t require the key to lock it (only to unlock)
As far as my rig wearing a diaper frankly I’m getting used to it. It comes off fairly easily and now I just keep a small moving blanket in the vehicle because I know I will need to get on the ground to remove the covers and manipulate the pin.
The towing hitch ideally requires a 4 inch span hitch pin at minimum.. (STANDARD HITCH PINS do NOT work).
I ordered two locking hitch pins from Amazon - 4 inch and 4.5 inch and here is the comparison.
Both were $15 on Amazon.
First the “extra long one” that I’m keeping.
Amazon.com
The 4.5 inch workable (hitch transition width) with a total length of 8+ inches SEEMED WAY too long (at first).
In fact, I almost didn’t take it out of the bag thinking there’s no way this is going to fit.
But…. I went ahead and removed the diaper cover and the outer diaper molding - and lo and behold… it fit, the lock was accessible with the key, and as I will point out below it’s the better product, and the one I’m KEEPING! …
4.5 inch pin without outer molding or cover.
Outer diaper trim applied .., Be aware when putting the outer diaper trim back into place the 4.5 inch one with its rubber cover in place, just barely fits into the outer diaper molding (once that molding is reapplied)
Outer trim and diaper cover back in place.
The other one I ordered was
also $15 with a 4 inch working length:
Amazon.com
The 4 inch workable space pin seemed at first to be the preferable option. And it fit just fine… But then on closer examination it did not have the same features or quality as the 4.5 inch pin that I tested.
****Again my preference is the longer one.
Why?? - The 4.5 knch comes with a robust rubber lock cover, a back up “Cotter” pin, in case the lock fails, and rubber O-rings that prevent clanking of the pin. Also unlike the 4 inch one (which I’m returning), the lock doesn’t require the key to lock it (only to unlock)
As far as my rig wearing a diaper frankly I’m getting used to it. It comes off fairly easily and now I just keep a small moving blanket in the vehicle because I know I will need to get on the ground to remove the covers and manipulate the pin.
