allroad European and North American hitch comparison.... (Bandwidth Warning)

[allroadCole]

The EU hitch looks to be a great alternative to the extinct NA hitch. The size, shape and important mounting points are identical. Here is a picture of the two, a four-year-old NA hitch on the bottom and a new EU hitch on top



The bars that slide in are the same shape and size and have the same size and positioned holes.

The only mounting difference is that the EU version has nuts welded on here:


and the NA version just has holes. The nuts could be popped off easily.

Also the EU hitch has a bolt protruding here:



that bolt is no where to be seen on the NA hitch and could easily be sawed off.

The differences stated above are because the EU allroad has a different internal bumper. For more discussion about this click here.



Besides that they look the same. Same width, length, size, everything, even the ball ends up in the same spot....

However the EU hitch has more rounded corners and is 9 lbs heavier. 41 lbs vs 50 lbs (not including ball assembly) I'm still not sure where the extra weight comes from.

The most notable difference between the two is the ball assembly that slides in to the main hitch receiver. I'm not sure what this ball assembly part is called, so from now on I will refer to this whole part as the "ball". Here is a picture of the two balls:



The EU ball looks heavier but looses the heavy weight battle, steel vs. aluminum, NA ball nets 11 lbs and the EU ball = 7 lbs.

The EU ball is pretty slick, it came with two funky keys that when inserted and turned allow you to pull-out and turn the huge knob.

When the knob is turned the ball falls out. When it falls out it clicks a little. It stays in this 'open' position (with the rubber knobbed key locked in it) until the ball is slid back in to the hitch receiver. When you slide it back in there is a very solid click (almost a slam) followed by the whole thing ringing like a tuning fork to assure you it is closed solid. But justincase, green on green means good to go ...



The EU ball is way easier to attach/detach than the NA ball, and it locks.

Here is a pic of everything that is included with euro part # 4Z7 092 156, notice the lack of anything wiring related, (cool gloves FTW!)



One more added benefit of the EU style ball is that the receiver is shorter:

so it should be completely invisible when the ball is removed. Although the EU hitch does lack a place to hook safety chains (are safety chains a legal requirement in the US?)...

The actual ball can be removed from the ball assembly on the EU hitch


But I'm not sure if compatible different size balls are readily available here.

Also, there are several adapters (such as bike carriers) available in Europe that plug right into the main receiver.

So we got hitches! Anyone can still buy a super high quality hitch for his or her allroad. it just cost more...

The two best places I have seen to purchase the EU hitch are :

PGPerformance.com

and

OEMpl.us

Both will ship to your door, but shipping is spendy and the hitch can take about 3-5 weeks to get here from Germany. But since shipping is so much, you might be better off talking to local importers, just search for local auto part importers in your area, give them the EU Audi part number and ask if they can get it.



Unfortunately I will be in Wichita KS (the last place on earth you would see an allroad) for the next two weeks so it will be a while before I get to the install...

I will leave you with the words of my girl friend, after she saw the two hitches :

"Why did they make the American one so poor?"

[Steve_Ag Arrow]

[The S]

[finiki]

[cbons]

higher load rating?

Just to confirm, this was the Bosal, correct?

[allroadCole]

[magilla70]

[allroadCole]

u-hook under the bumper?

[Golf18t]

for those with an EU hitch looking for a safety chain solution, I'll point you again to passatworld and someone there has done a fab part there.

• euro hitch chain bracket

[bjwhite]