Camco 48275 Ball Mount Kit, 2" Receiver, 3500 lb Tow

The Camco 48275 is a ready-to-tow ball mount kit built around a 2-inch receiver, and it ships with everything you need to hook up a small trailer right out of the box. You get the drawbar, a 1-7/8 inch hitch ball, a zinc-plated washer and nut, and a 5/8 inch hitch pin with clip. Bolt the ball on, slide the shank into your receiver, drop the pin, and you're ready to back down to the ramp.

This is a 3500 pound gross trailer weight setup, which puts it right in the wheelhouse for small single-axle boat trailers, personal watercraft trailers, and light utility trailers. The 1-7/8 inch ball is the key detail here. Your trailer's coupler has to match that ball size, so check the stamp on your coupler before you order. A 1-7/8 inch coupler won't seat correctly on a 2 inch ball, and the reverse is just as true. Get the ball size right and the rest is straightforward.

The shank gives you a 4 inch drop as it comes out of the box. Flip the whole mount over and you get a 2-3/4 inch rise instead. That flexibility matters more than people expect. A loaded trailer tows best when the frame sits level, and the gap between your hitched receiver height and your trailer coupler height decides whether you need drop or rise. Measure both with the trailer loaded the way you actually tow it. If your tow vehicle sits tall, the 4 inch drop brings the coupler down to level. If you're towing behind a lower car or crossover, flip it for the rise.

The 9 inch length is a real working dimension, not a throwaway spec. That extra reach helps clear a rear bumper, a spare tire carrier, or a deep receiver well so the ball sits where your coupler can actually reach it. On some trucks with a factory step bumper, a short drawbar puts the ball too far forward. The 9 inch shank gives you room to work.

It's a non-swivel, non-extendable design, which keeps it simple and strong. There are no moving joints to wear out or rattle loose. The whole thing is stamped and welded steel, then finished in black powder coat to fight rust. If you launch in salt water, give the ball and pin a wipe of marine grease before the first trip and rinse the mount after each launch. That habit adds years to any towing hardware, and this one is no different.

Install is about as simple as towing gear gets. Torque the ball nut to spec with the supplied washer underneath, seat the shank fully in your 2 inch receiver, and lock it in with the 5/8 inch pin and clip. Give the ball a good tug before you pull away, and check the pin clip every time you hitch up. We always tell folks to keep a spare pin and clip in the tow vehicle, because the clip is the one small part that likes to walk off in a busy parking lot. A quick look at the coupler latch and safety chains at the same time takes five seconds and saves a lot of grief down the road.

Maintenance is minimal. Wipe the ball clean and add a light coat of grease so your coupler seats smoothly and doesn't chew up the finish. Keep an eye on the powder coat for chips, and touch up any bare steel before it can start to rust. Treated right, a steel ball mount like this one will outlast most of the trailers it pulls.

Who's this for? Anyone hauling a trailer up to 3500 pounds behind a vehicle with a 2 inch Class III receiver. Think aluminum fishing boat trailers, jet ski trailers, and small landscape or utility trailers. It's not the kit for a heavy tandem-axle trailer or anything over that 3500 pound line. Match the ball to your coupler, match the drop or rise to your ride height, and this Camco ball mount will do exactly what a ball mount should do, which is disappear into the job and never give you a reason to think about it.