In the world of towing and trailer hitches, innovation and versatility are paramount. Enter the Gen-Y PHANTOM-X 16K Drop Hitch, a game-changer in the towing industry gaining popularity among enthusiasts and professionals alike. With its exceptional build quality, advanced features, and impressive load capacity, the PHANTOM-X 16K promises to make towing safer and more convenient than ever before. We were able to put the PHANTOM-X 16K to use and see how this hitch worked.
“The PHANTOM-X 16K drop hitch is a heavy-duty steel drop hitch that is rated for up to 16,000 pounds of towing capacity,” Donna Schmucker of Gen-Y said. “It is offered with either a dual-ball mount or a tri-ball mount, and can be purchased with a pintle lock as well. The pintle lock allows the user to tow with a lunette ring trailer. This hitch is multi-purposeful and fully adjustable, allowing the user to use one hitch for all their towing needs”
Straight out of the box, we were able to tell that the PHANTOM-X 16K was a solid hitch. It is very heavy and that is all because of its construction.
“This hitch is built with a solid 2.5-inch shank, allowing users to have a direct fit into their trucks receiver,” Schumucker said. “It can also be flipped upside down in the truck receiver and be used in the rise position. This makes the PHANTOM-X hitch a perfect fit for multiple trailer heights.”
Our 2022 GMC Sierra 3500HD came from the factory with a 2.5-inch receiver, but we did not like the idea of using a sleeve and the same hitch our half-ton pickup used. The solid 2.5-inch shank on the PHANTOM-X 16K really caught our attention.
“We wanted to create a version of our PHANTOM line of hitches that would fit directly into user’s 2.5-inch truck receivers,” Schumucker said. “Many customers reached out to us regarding this request, so we took that idea to the drawing board and created the PHANTOM 16K.”
We opted to go with the PHANTOM-X 16K with the tri-ball mount. This would allow us to be ready for whatever trailer we needed, even though we would mainly be using the 2-5/16-inch ball. Instead of getting the wrench and a different ball out all we had to do was pull the pin and rotate the mount to the correct ball.
Installing the hitch for the first time, we could see the quality over big box store hitches. The hitch felt strong and secure, giving us no doubts about it holding up to the job. Hooking the trailer up, we were off to see how everything felt towing.
The hitch felt secure the entire time we towed, and we have used the hitch on short trips out to the desert to long cross-country trips. We had peace of mind while we towed that everything was secure and not going to fail us on our journey.
Overall, this is going to be a hitch that we recommend to everyone who has a 2.5-inch receiver. Gen-Y also makes a smaller version for 2-inch receivers with the same great features of the PHANTOM lineup.
“We are proud to say that all our products are manufactured in the USA,” Schumucker said. “We also offer a limited lifetime warranty on our products.”
For more information on all of Gen-Y’s products, be sure to visit their website.
