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Ideal for the rigors of off-road towing, this fully articulating coupler inserts into your trailer's 2" receiver and attaches to the included 2" ball, which mounts on your vehicle.
Features:
Specs:
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hello, everybody, this is Jeff at etrailer.com. Today, we're gonna take a look at this Ark Trailer Side Articulating Off-Road Coupler for two inch hitch receivers. Now, this part here is ideal for off-road towing, it's a fully articulating coupler, which will insert into your trailer's two-inch receiver and attaches to the included two inch ball here, which is mounted onto your tow vehicle's ball mount. Now, most of the off-road trailers use a two inch hitch receiver on the tongue of the trailer, and this articulating coupler's what would install into that two inch hitch receiver opening. Now, for our demonstration, I happen pull an example of a two inch hitch receiver opening, you can see right here. So what I'm gonna do is go ahead and take the pin and clip out, and then I'm gonna insert this into there, so we can demonstrate how this articulating coupler works.
Now, this does have some weight to it, it's about 28 pounds, so if we lift this up, insert it into the two inch opening, slide it back until we can get our hole lined up, slide our pin and clip through. Now, the pin and clip is not included, you would have to supply that or we do sell does separately on our website. But once you have it installed, this is how it would look into your front of your tongue of your trailer. And you can see that it will articulate this way, and then the ball inserts into here, and you can see that it'll articulate this way. Now, they do use a nice quick-hitch locking system, which will save you time during hookup.
If you noticed, right now, you can see there's red, and on it, it says unlock, which means you can put it onto the two inch ball. So just to demonstrate that, you can see if I put the two inch ball under there, so basically, when you go to hook up, you'll just line this up over your ball and then lower it down onto there. And once that's in there, what you'll do is this lever right here, you just push this, and if you heard that snap, that releases it, and if you look over here, it'll show green, which tells you that's locked, that means the ball's locked onto there and it's not gonna disconnect, and now, it gives you full articulation this way and full articulation this way. So pretty much articulate in any direction you need, so it is great for off-road trailering. Also, if you noticed, the two grease zerk fittings here for lubrication, you hook your grease gun up there to lubricate there, and then we have one right over here, another grease zerk fitting that you can lubricate for articulation of this.
This is a nice steel construction, it is tough enough to handle any environment, it is J684 compliant. Now, to release it, what you'll do, again, you'll see that this is showing up here, this means it's locked, to release it, you'll just pull up on this lever, and then you'll move this lever all the way over until it'll say unlocked, the red showing, and then you release the tab and it holds it in the unlocked position. And now, if you noticed, it'll unhook from the ball, simple as that, and it's ready to be hooked up again just like that. Now, it does have a max towing capacity of 5,000 pounds, which is also what's stamped on the top of your two inch included ball. You can see the ball has a nice silver chrome plated finish to it.
One last thing I do wanna give you is the measurement from the center of the hitch pin hole to the center of where the ball would be. So if we take our tape measure and if we go from the center of the hitch pin hole to the center of where the ball hole would be is 13 3/4 inches. But again, just to show you one more time, again, you can see it's in the unlocked position, which means you're ready to connect. So you go up over the ball, once the ball gets in the place there, then just push your lever and let it back down, and it'll hold it and it'll show locked position right here, the green, and you can see that it's locked onto the ball. So then as you're off-roading, any direction you go, you're gonna stay connected, you won't disconnect. And then when you're ready to detach, you just lift up on this safety lever again, pull this one all the way across until it clicks into place, then you can remove the ball, simple as that. But that's gonna do it for the review on this Ark Trailer Side Articulating Off-Road Coupler for two inch receiver.
Average Customer Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars (46 Customer Reviews)
Ideal for the rigors of off-road towing, this fully articulating coupler inserts into your trailer's 2" receiver and attaches to the included 2" ball, which mounts on your vehicle.So paint comes of the lock/unlock mechanism pretty much immediately. The connecting of the hitch to the ball is pretty simple but must take into consideration some of the slope differentiated by the pivot of the hitch when disconnecting. I would say overall its a pretty good product but for those things and that is just connecting and disconnecting to get used to it. Not sure what is what until I actually use it.
Well........it broke, turns out the locking ring is made out of pot metal the 5th time I unhooked from the tow vehicle the locking ring broke apart. definitely not going to buy this again. If it had broke while driving it would have come off the hitch.
This Hitch is a remarkable design, I like that it can be removed from the trailer receiver for added security when leaving trailer at camp ground while off 4 wheeling. Or will trailer in line regardless of terrain!
E trailers service has also been impeccable, I had some broken parts in transit that I had a replacement for an under a week. Gwen and Robert were able to address any and all concerns that I had and get me a more than satisfactory resolution.
The Ark Articulated Off-Road Receiver was the perfect solution. I like the fact that it hitches to a standard ball. My Jeep Wrangler has a 4” lift and 35” tires, and my dirt bike trailer is relatively low, so I welded a 2” receiver tube on the upper side of the trailer draw bar, and use the Ark in the drop configuration with a 4” drop ball on the Jeep, which gives me a good level on the trailer with maximum clearance. Because the receiver tube is on top of the draw bar, if I reverse the Ark to the lift orientation, it works well on a vehicle with lower regular tow ball height. I like the way the Ark locks onto the ball, it’s a very positive connection and easy to determine that it’s fully engaged and locked. On the road, it tows well, with no misbehavior. I haven’t had it in any extreme off-road environments because the bike trailer is a little lower and longer than ideal, but I feel confident that I have significantly extended the range of places I can actually go with this configuration compared to the regular ball receiver (that was worn and needed to be replaced anyhow).
While I was at it, I welded a second receiver tube onto the back side, and made a 2” mount for the jockey wheel, so it can be removed and rotated 90 degrees so there is maximum clearance under the draw bar. Totally happy with the entire project!
For functionality this hitch is exceptional! I do however have a couple of observation that I have experienced using mine. First off it is a well engineered piece of serious equipment with just a couple of weak points. I had no issues myself but when my son-in-law returned my trailer the internal spring had come loose inside and was actually causing resistance in the lock feature’s rotation. It was easy enough to disassemble and reinsert the spring but after looking at it, I’m surprised if it’s not something that happens quite often. My second issue is that the plastic rest that holds the hitch flat while connecting did not hold up. It’s cracked in half.. not sure if it had a weak point or if the sun got to it. If you are working alone.. it’s kind of important.
I’ve gotten a ton of comments and I’m sure that I have sold a few along the way. Zero rattled when on the road!
Jenny N.
11/23/2021
I will have our customer service team reach out you.
This thing is awesome, goes anywhere my jeep does. Gives great clearance over deep ruts and over good size boulders. Tracks on the freeway better than I expected but not surprised.Heavy duty. Easy install on new build trailer. Definitely recommend it to anyone for off road applications.
Nick
6/28/2023
Still working great, one of the best purchases I’ve made for this project, super pleased!!
Nick J.
7/3/2023
Worke great on and off road, very pleased with this product, Tracks perfect on the freeway at speed and I could not be happier with the performance off road,
Great heavy duty hitch. We will be purchasing these for our campers going forward.
It will work. But can packaged in a single cardboard box, evidence of paint chipping and rust on the Coupler. I would expect buying a new product that there would be no rust and better paint protection.
I like the design but unfortunately the finish (paint) came off on the upper part of the switch when it jammed and then got unjammed - thus I fear it may be a manufacturing issue and will soon get rusty. Other than that I would give it 5 star. I thought about giving it 2 or 3 because of the issue but I can't argue with the design.
Katrina B.
1/13/2023
We recommend anywhere that there are scuffs in the paint, be covered by a rust-o-leum type of paint to protect the coupler from rust.
Helpful Links
etrailer's website and service is great.
The Ark coupler is a great concept, but poorly executed. I received mine with the "fork" visually misaligned to the main pivot block, which means that when you are towing, the force from the pull will try to pull the swivel straight - not good for any simple bearing/bushing. It seems like they secured the fork at an angle to the bushing inside the pivot block. Another lesser issue but worth mentioning is that they have a plastic cap on the back of the main pivot block. The cap is loose, held in place with 2 small countersunk screws. Other than holes drilled for the shank of the screw, there is no provision for countersunk screws on the pivot block. The sharp edges of the screws sit proud of the pivot block. Not good for something that will need heavy handling with bare hands. I am returning the Ark coupler and will not buy another of their products for now. I gave Ark a second star for innovation, but it ends there.
Jenny N.
6/3/2022
I will have our Customer Service team reach out to you.
I buy to use on Baja California Sur México trails, so far so good, 1250 miles round trip dirt, paved road with pot holes, hills, sand, rocks, no signs of wear, the only thing it's I can't put a lock. 4.75stars
Just what i needed. I hope they designed it so its lockable.
Jenny N.
6/3/2022
The best way to secure it is to remove the coupler from your trailer when it is not being used and lock it in your vehicle, so your trailer would not be able to be towed away.
Exactly as advertised. Very heavy duty. Certainly does what it states. Fast delivery and excellent tech support. Thank you.
I was looking for an off-road coupler. I read the pro's and con's of the two better known brands. I had concerns over getting my trailer to tow level behind my rig as those other brands didn't seem very adjustable. When I saw the Ark coupler, I was pleased. It has all the range of motion for full articulation, yet it uses a standard ball which means I can use any drop/rise hitch I want to get my trailer leveled right. Since I don't have to purchase a specialty hitch for the vehicle side, the overall cost of this is less than its competitors. The Ark coupler is heavy duty. It is not light weight at all. It seems to be very well made. I have only done some very basic testing, but it hasn't had any issue with binding. I like it.
Very important to note you will need space in front of coupler for it to work properly. If you hook Get up to a drop hitch it looks like it will break the plastic pieces on the coupler
Showed up quick. Installing this weeken d!
I haven’t used it yet still building my trailer but I like the looks of it
Just installed the tested it around the ranch seem to work well. Only issue is that there is no way to lock the receiver.
Great, high quality product and excellent customer service
Shawnee E. Provided excellent customer service!
Not what I was looking for and was not able to return it ????
Took a long time to arrive, (out of stock), haven't had a chance to use yet. Seems well made and should work well.
Great service and quick shipping
Jack V.
2/7/2023
I have almost abused the ARK articulating hitch on my overland trailer. It is beyond my expectations. It works perfect. Ive been on peak where my vehicles is painting near straight down and the trailer straight up. Easily would have bent or snapped a ball hitch. Not mention the side to side movement over rocky terrain. I keep it well greased and its served me very well. My trailer is approximately 1500 lbs.
As usual the customer service was excellent with George going out of his way to see that my order shipped promptly as it was time sensitive to say the least.. Tfank you
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Serene N.
11/22/2023
After a Year Cross Country its been good. The bad is paint chipped and hitch rusted almost immediately and on first use.