BX bolt-on drawbar / receiver hitch replacement

milkman636 · Oct 31, 2014

Since the BX replaced my lawn tractor, I wanted to use it to tow the same small 4x6 tilt trailer around that my lawn mower did. After putting a ball in the factory hole and trying it, I found that the lock for the trailer coupler would hit the stabilizer plate in the unlocked position and make uncoupling the trailer a two handed job. To simplify things I decided to try a bolt-on replacement.

After surfing around I decided to try one from Omni. Here it is:

The welds are not textbook quality, but hey the price is right, the paint matches, and its all done for me.

Installation reuses the factory bolts. It was simple, except only three of the four bolts dropped right in. The fourth hole, the one on the back left, looked to be about 1/8" off to the left. leaving everything loose, I got the tape measure out and determined that the gap from the edge of the hitch plate to the inside of the bends in the frame was about 1/8" smaller on the left too. So I stuck a bar into the hitch tube and put some right lean into it until the bolt dropped through. After snugging things up, I rechecked the gap and both sides were now measuring the same at right about 2". So I proceeded to torque everything down good.

After trying it out I will say it is a nice, easy, and inexpesive improvement to the BX. With the inverted drawbar the trailer rides close to level now, and there is a place to hook the safety chains now instead of just leaving them wrapped around the tongue.

Happy Gilmore · Oct 31, 2014

Looks good, Omni makes a nice product, I have their 3 pt hitch receiver.

s219 · Oct 31, 2014

Shoot, just get a drawbar receiver for the 3-pt hitch (or snap it into your quick hitch). It's real nice and convenient to back the ball under the trailer, lift the ball up with the three point hitch, lock the coupler, and off you go. In cases where I know there is enough tongue weight, I don't even get off the tractor to lock the coupler.

milkman636 · Oct 31, 2014

The three point mounted trailer movers are not ideal for this application. Often when I am towing the little trailer around there are kids involved hopping on and off the back of the trailer. A solid mounted drawbar keeps the tongue from hopping up and down as the weight distribution in the trailer shifts. Plus it also offers the benefit of always being mounted and available, and the flexibility of utilizing other receiver mounted stuff like a clevis or tow hook. I thinks it's a nice improvement over the original hitch plate that comes from the factory.

Xfaxman · Oct 31, 2014

Happy Gilmore said:
Looks good, Omni makes a nice product, I have their 3 pt hitch receiver.

+ 1 for Omni, I also am a happy Omni Transformer owner. :thumbsup:

And the Carry All dual mount.

TRANSFORMER Quick Hitch Compatible Platform - OMNI Mfg LLC

milkman636 · Nov 1, 2014

I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again. They shipped it out on the next business day after I placed the order, and they even answered my email on a Saturday.