Note: Using this adapter will reduce the tongue weight capacity of your hitch by 50-percent.
California residents: click here
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Randy: Hey guys, it's Randy here at etrailer.com. Today we're going to take a look at the Malone Dual Hitch.Now this is designed to fit into a standard 2 inch by 2 inch receiver tube opening. It then comes back from there and it's going to give us a dual receiver tube opening. The lower one is rated for accessories and towing, the upper one's going to be rated just for accessories. As you can see, we've got our Malone Micro Sport there on the bottom. We're also able to take our bike rack right along with us, we don't have to decide one or the other.Now also as kind of a side effect of getting the dual receiver tube, we also get a hitch extender here.
This is going to be 12 3/8ths of an inch from our original pinhole to our new pinhole location. That helps with clearing items like this, like the spare tire on the back of our Jeep or maybe an overhanging bumper. Now it offers really nice solid construction, which we'll show you a little bit more later but the weight ratings are important to take into effect.The ton weight rating on the dual receiver's going to be 400 pounds, that's the downward force we can put on it and it gives us a 4,000 pound gross trailer weight rating, but it's important to note that it also reduces your hitch capacity by 50 percent. You want to use whatever sets of numbers are lower. Now overall this dual receiver is really well constructed.
Just looking at all the welds that they have here, they're really nicely done and of course all of that's going to be wrapped up with that heavy duty black powder coat finish, so it should really look good for a very long time.Now a couple measurements that are going to be helpful in ensuring this is going to work for your application. We're going to start with the pinholes. From the center of our original pinhole to the center of the pinhole on the lower receiver it's 12 3/8ths of an inch. Now that matches what the rearward hole on the top receiver and then this hole's going to be 2 inches back from that, so this is at 10 3/8ths. Now another measurement I think is going to be key is the distance from the pinhole to the back of our upper receiver here.You can see with the spare tire if this we're larger we might run into interference, so just to ensure that you've got 9 inches from the center of your pinhole to the outer edge of anything that might interfere and then this will work in there for you.
It's going to be a 9 inch total from that pinhole to the back here. Then this offers a rise from the center of our lower pinhole, which should match that of your hitch, it's going to be 7 1/2 inches to the upper pinholes. Now all of our pinholes are going to be 5/8ths of an inch in diameter so you want to choose a pin and clip that's going to work with that.It's generally a Class 3 and each of the receiver tubes are going to be 2 inches by 2 inches. That's going to work with many of the Class 3 accessories out there for the upper and Class 3 ball mounts for the lower. Each of the receiver tubes are going to have the set screw we can tighten down and it really helps to eliminate the need for anti-rattle devices.Now when we install the dual receiver we want to ensure that the extra receiver is upward.
The lower receiver is rated for towing, the upper is just rated for accessories, so just keep that in mind. We're going to slide it in like any Class 3 accessory. We can take the provided pin, we're going to get that to slide through and then we'll use the provided clip to secure that. Once we have that pinned in place we get our anti-rattle device ready to go here. We'll first take our U bolt, that's going to slide up and around the shank of our dual receiver.Then we're going to bring our plate down. Now we're going to add a flat washer, a lock washer and a nut to each side of the U bolt. These are all provided. Now we want that U bolt to be sitting about 1/2 of an inch behind the end of our receiver tube. We'll bring that up just a little bit, right about there looks to be about 1/2 an inch in this gap right here. Get those snugged down and we're going to use a 3/4 inch wrench or socket. We want to get those tightened down. Now you can see, once we have that installed any of that movement or play is going to be eliminated.This can be installed in either direction so we can either have it with our U bolt legs facing up or down, we just have to move the plate to the bottom side if we rotate it the other way. To ensure it's generating the proper pressure, you can see the flat portion here it's going to be towards our factory hitch and the part with the angle is going to be towards our dual receiver. Now at this point we'll just place our ball mount in. This is going to install just like any other ball mount we're used to, line up the pinholes, secure it with a pin and clip.Now the pin and clip to hold the dual receiver to the hitch is included but for your ball mount or accessory you'll have to provide your own. Once we've got our pin in there we need to tighten down our screw right here or our bolt. We need a 12 millimeter socket. This is going to act as an anti-rattle device. See once we have that tightened down really no movement or play to speak of whatsoever. Now at this point we're ready to connect our trailer to our ball mount, latch and of course we'll want to pin it closed.Now one thing to keep in mind, we do have an extension that's just kind of a side effect of using our dual receiver. In most situations your safety chains aren't going to connect and your wiring is probably going to be a little bit short to make your connection once this is in place. Keep in mind extending these to make sure they connect is very important safety-wise. At this point our bike rack will go into place, cargo carrier, whatever you might be using it for and we're going to install this per the rack's instructions.If you're using a cargo carrier throw a pin and clip in there of course and we also recommend tightening down the screw that we have on top there, the bolt that we have on top there. Even though this does have an anti-rattle device included, tightening that down is just going to give it that extra little bit of security there. That's going to complete our look at the Malone Dual Receiver.
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (111 Customer Reviews)
So far this hitch looks like a winner. I was able to put my bike rack on the top and then my car will tow from the bottom. I will see how it works next week.
Lawrie D - 05/06/2022Again the perfect solution to my need to carry a bike and tow my trailer at the same time and still be able to open my FJ Cruiser’s swing out rear door. When not towing, I leave it in the hitch and install a third brake light and bump stop to protect my protruding spare tire on the back door. Etrailer is the best online retailer I’ve ever done business with. Great product knowledge, great videos, in use photos, and super nice customer service personnel. These guys are winners. I’d pay twice as much to get this level of service.
Stephen - 04/19/2020Semms well made and fits properly into my receiver. I have not tried towing with it yet but look forward to it.
John L - 04/30/2022Have Curt hitch installed on 2020 Hyundai Palisade and needed extension unit to mount my cargo carrier. In addition, I wanted to make sure the carrier was elevated above the exhaust to prevent burning of the carrier bag. First I tried the Curt Multipurpose Ball Mount, however the 2" receiver rubbed up against the rear bumper and the carrier was close to the exhaust. After reviewing the dimensions I chose the Malone 2" Dual Purpose Hitch Receiver which move the carrier out and up. I was able to open the hatch of the Hyundai fully clearing the loaded cargo carrier. Using the hitch receiver reduces the tongue weight 50%, which dropped by hitch from 750 to 375 lbs, which is sufficient for my application.
I use use it to carry s bike rack in the top and tow my Honda Accord from the bottom. Love the way it fits and tightens.
This hitch was exactly what I needed. Most dual racks would not work because when our bike rack was mounted on top it interfered with mounting / moving the Roadmaster tow bars. We were able to use the back mounting hole on the top rack to give us the clearance needed. The included anti rattle device would have been a required addition. Would have had to buy it separately if it wasn't included. The extra towing length was a concern but after a few miles the concern disappeared. Of course we are towing a Miata so if your towing something like a Suburban you might want to do the math.
works great to use Yakima 4 timer bike rack and 8ft trailer for Kayaks. I had to take a spare tire off from a trailer to provide clearance with bike rack. No issue during 2hrs high driving.
My bike rack was too high behind my Chevy Traverse for easy loading/unloading. I felt the Morgan reliever would remedy the situation if it could be inverted. I contacted you for verification that this could be safely done. A prompt review told me this could be done safely. I ordered the receiver and it arrived quickly (in a badly damaged box) complete. I installed the receiver, my bike rack and it works perfectly! Thanks for your attention and advice
Very happy with the dual purpose hitch extender. I was able to attached my bike rack and still be safe in pulling my trailer. Well built. Fast shipping.
We’ve been using this hitch adapter for a year now on our Motorhome. We tow a car off the lower straight-out one and have our bike rack on the upper one. We love it! Keeps our bikes between the vehicles. Before we had our bikes stolen from the hitch on the back of the tow car, too exposed and inviting. Thanks!
Bought this to extend and raise the hitch on the back of my travel trailer so I could mount a bike rack. Worked perfectly. Study and well made.
Works great, used it to lower front bike hitch on f350
product was just as advertised, very good quality and works great, was just what I was looking for, etrailer was good to work with, hitch arrived in a very timely manner
Subtle things make all the difference in the world. I had purchased a cheaper, but similar product. But this has the little bolts to stabilize and eliminate rattle. It included the clamp to stabilize the extension out of the receiver. It has 1 1/2" of extra separation between the receivers, and the top receiver has two holes that allow me too mount my back rack 2" farther forward. Bottom line. The cheap one didn't works and this one does and is more stable doing it. I'm very pleased with the quality and thought behind the design.
Love double hitch. Used it for a year now and am happy. The 2 large electric bikes and bike rack really test the hitch, the u bolt and set screws keep the bikes from moving, I don’t need to tie or strap the bikes down. Since I am pulling the car there is little weight on the hitch and works great.
Mike L - 03/05/2019Looks very well built. Box was beat to H3LL but fortunately all (3) items were placed in one secondary etrailer box.
Great product. Needed this for two reasons. 1. I needed to be able to load both bikes and a cargo carrier on the back of a Jeep Cherokee. 2. I also needed more room between the bike rack and the rear cargo door to load and unload with out having to tilt the bike rack.
Edward - 11/06/2019Perfect for my specific application for using a Lolo Bike rack. The Lolo rack weighs 70 lbs. so I needed top tube security. There was a small burr I had to grind down where the receiver pin is inserted.
product came as advertised it was missing the two tightening bolts but they promptly sent them to me a few days after with no issues have everything I need now and product works exactly as I need it
The 2019 Chevrolet Equinox trailer hitch is below the bumper, close to the ground, and was designed poorly. We purchased the Malone Dual Purpose Hitch Receiver to raise our bicycle rack higher off the ground. The anti rattle/sway plate and bolts work great. I've owned another Malone product and they are well designed. The receiver is made out of thick metal and has some weight to it. We have never used it to tow a trailer. Would highly recommend.
This is a very well made product, it all that I expected and more. I was extremely impressed by the expertise of the staff at customer service they were very friendly and helpful.
Very sturdy and all around well built. This is a good piece of gear. It comes with that U-bracket and plate shown in the photo. After you get the dual-hitch installed, you mount that bracket and plate over the joint so the joint does not move in the hitch. I purchased this with the Swagman XTC-2 bike rack. I installed it on my Class A RV so I could carry the bikes on the top receiver and tow my vehicle with the bottom. This system works very well. Nothing moves and everything goes down the road very smoothly. Purchase with confidence.
I use this with a bike rack and a small sailboat trailer. I particularly like the bracing hardware on this hitch. There is NO wobble and it's just super locked down. Great product!
Bought this to raise bike rack on RV bumper above taillights and license. Although cheaper available, this one is better in many respects--rise is full 7.5 inches rather than 5 or 6, comes with anti-rattle plate and anti-rattle bolts on both upper and lower receivers, superior fit and finish, outer rim reinforcement on both upper and lower receivers, draw bar is solid steel, has full 5/8 pin and 3/8 anti-rattle hardware. Well worth the money. I believe we should support companies willing to give us better products.
Do you have a question about this Hitch Adapter?
Info for this part was:
At etrailer.com we provide the best information available about the products we sell. We take the quality of our information seriously so that you can get the right part the first time. Let us know if anything is missing or if you have any questions.
Thank you! Your comment has been submitted successfully. You should be able to view your question/comment here within a few days.
Error submitting comment. Please try again momentarily.