MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Oldandslow on September 17, 2014, 08:28:13 AM
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I have read a few threads on here discussing the legalities of the trailer hitch's that are supplied on many of the Chinese campers being imported into the country.
I have just bought a Chinese import and the hitch is similar to the ones in question, a 2 tonne pollyblock type hitch. When I picked the trailer up from a Brisbane store I questioned the manager about the legality of the hitch and was assured it was legal and conformed to all Australian standards.
Yesterday I took it for a Blue Slip in NSW and it was failed because of the hitch. The examiner said he could not pass it because it did not have the manufacturers name embossed on the hitch.
He also stated that they get a lot of trailers which have a sticker of the manufacturers name on the hitch and these were not legal either.
I fitted a Mc Hitch to the trailer and it is now passed but it is an expense I could have done without.
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Return the hitch to the dealer with a copy of the invoice for the new hitch and the failed blue slip.
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x2
I am pretty sure there are laws to say that everything sold by a retailer must be "fit for purpose" and if it doesn't pass muster then you have rights to return said item
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The imported hitches aren't the only one's that are applying stickers. Last time I visited Treg here in Underdale they had stickers on their hitches as well. A lot of manufacturers are playing catch up because the imported hitches have brought this issue to the attention of the authorities who didn't give a crap while the imports weren't an issue. Now the imports are an issue the local manufacturers are being made accountable too.
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Just checked my DO35 hitch, it has a sticker as well as the plastic cover having Vehicle Components molded into it.
The cover is easily removable and it isn't unforeseen that it could come off with a bit of hard use.
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The McHitch on mine has their name cast into the hitch, as well as "ADR 62/02", along with the load rating.
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Return the hitch to the dealer with a copy of the invoice for the new hitch and the failed blue slip.
I'd say deliver it through their front window for inconvenience tax..
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I'd say deliver it through their front window for inconvenience tax..
PMSL
Seriously though, despite what the CT seller said to you OldandSlow, the best mod you completed on your CT was to remove the hitch and replace it with a reputable brand. At least in the back of your mind you won't be worried about it failing. It was a piece of garbage no matter what sticker, stamp or any claims made by the CT sellers.
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totally agree there muzza 110%
:cup:
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x2
I am pretty sure there are laws to say that everything sold by a retailer must be "fit for purpose" and if it doesn't pass muster then you have rights to return said item
Yep sect 55
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Yep, I emailed the manufacturer of ours with an email from RMS stating it was more than likely a fake.
They offered to install a Tregg if I drove to Sydney (I think more than $400) so I asked if they would post out a McHitch and I would install it myself (about $200 delivered) which they did.
Everyone's a winner...
Best thing I did for my C/T, my family and other road users... I just hope like nothing else that it doesn't take a death to finally put this issue to bed...
Robbo
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Best thing I did for my C/T, my family and other road users... I just hope like nothing else that it doesn't take a death to finally put this issue to bed...
Robbo
This is the whole issue, put perfectly into words.
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PMSL
Seriously though, despite what the CT seller said to you OldandSlow, the best mod you completed on your CT was to remove the hitch and replace it with a reputable brand. At least in the back of your mind you won't be worried about it failing. It was a piece of garbage no matter what sticker, stamp or any claims made by the CT sellers.
I agree, though I would be very surprised if the Chinese hitch failed. I checked all the pictures I could find of hitch failures and the one I had did appear to be a little better. The Mc Hitch was always going to be the hitch I would have gone to.
I have emailed the seller in Brisbane, about 7 hours away, but don't really expect any joy from them.
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Interesting read, will be checking mine when I get it
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I agree, though I would be very surprised if the Chinese hitch failed. I checked all the pictures I could find of hitch failures and the one I had did appear to be a little better. The Mc Hitch was always going to be the hitch I would have gone to.
I have emailed the seller in Brisbane, about 7 hours away, but don't really expect any joy from them.
I wouldn't be surprised if it failed at all. I was shown quite a few broken poly block hitches (none were genuine Treg or Trigg hitches) by a guy from Taylor's Trailers in Cairns. He said at the time they had thrown a few other examples in the bin a few weeks before I was in the shop.
This happened around May or June last year. I can't remember the fellows name but I can find out if you want some advice on these POS hitches. I have included their website and phone number below.
http://www.taylorstrailers.com.au/ (http://www.taylorstrailers.com.au/)
If it sounds like I am a bit passionate about this subject, I am... It sh1ts me that copies of Treg hitches can be brought in to the county with fake standards stamped on them. It is an integral component that keeps your 1500kg CT connected to your tug while driving 100kms an hour.
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The email I received from RMS can be found here with some other reading.
http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=34919.msg585311;topicseen#msg585311 (http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=34919.msg585311;topicseen#msg585311)
It's not much money but if we all start asking for retrofits, they may get the hint.
Robbo
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Just a thought, what would your insurance company say in the event of a fake hitch failure in the event of an accident?
I couldn't imagine it would be very favourable
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Just a thought, what would your insurance company say in the event of a fake hitch failure in the event of an accident?
I couldn't imagine it would be very favourable
I am sure the issue would have come up if there are as many failures as reported. A clever insurance company would target the seller/manufacturer for compensation. An end user would not be expected to understand all the technical regs but the manufacturer and seller should.
I would be interested to hear if anyone has been knocked back for rego with a name brand hitch that wasn't correctly marked. I suspect they are only targeting Chinese hitch's.
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Gidday LD
Just a thought, what would your insurance company say in the event of a fake hitch failure in the event of an accident?
I couldn't imagine it would be very favourable
Where a purchaser relies on the expert advice of the vendor (which would be a presumption at Law in the case of an engineered object or part of an object), the vendor would be held liable, not the purchaser. Where the immediate vendor could not reasonably be expected to conduct any kind of intermediate inspection of the object, then the liability would shift from the immediate vendor to the manufacturer.
If the immediate vendor had specifically required or selected the object for incorporation (as in the case of a trailer hitch), then they would need to be able to mount a flaming good argument in court as to why they considered that particular object to be "fit for purpose", "reasonably fit for the purpose for which it was sold", and "of merchantable quality" under the various legislative instruments that apply - mainly the under the various Sale of Goods Acts in the various States and Territories, but also various consumer protection laws.
If they could not mount such an argument, they may well be found liable, rather than the manufacturer. This gets very difficult, very quickly. If the manufacturer had not made the object properly, then they would be liable, not the immediate vendor. "Sale by description" and "Sale by sample" are further wrinkles in all this.
At the end of the day, the purchaser could not have an insurance claim of any description rejected on this basis. There is an exception (of course ... ). If the purchaser has modified the object in question, or caused it to be modified, then liability shifts to the purchaser absolutely, and the insurer could possibly void the policy and claim on this basis. It would all come down to the facts of the particular matter.
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I am sure the issue would have come up if there are as many failures as reported. A clever insurance company would target the seller/manufacturer for compensation. An end user would not be expected to understand all the technical regs but the manufacturer and seller should.
I would be interested to hear if anyone has been knocked back for rego with a name brand hitch that wasn't correctly marked. I suspect they are only targeting Chinese hitch's.
It doesn't matter if they are made in China, India, Bolivia, wherever, its the fact that they are not ADR approved and are crap.
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^ Short, sweet and to the point, Grafy.
I totally agree.
Unfortunately these days, manufacturers are getting very, very good at making stuff that looks terrific, and falls apart at a touch ... :(.
As always, the old legal maxim of caveat emptor, "let the buyer beware", applies so often nowadays that it's not even a bad joke any more. I reckon that it's getting to the stage where I have to return about every 3-5 items I buy, and they are not necessarily cheap either ...
Must say, I am very pleased with the McHitch I bought to replace my 33+ y.o. 50 mm ball hitch. Every part of it appears to reek of quality, and easy to connect/disconnect, and tows like a dream; backs like it the trailer was on rails ;D .
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It doesn't matter if they are made in China, India, Bolivia, wherever, its the fact that they are not ADR approved and are crap.
The point is it may make a difference where they are made. I have never heard of a Treg hitch failing rego yet they don't have the manufacturers name embossed on them, which is the reason mine failed.
The examiner also stated that they get a few MDC campers through and he fails them as well because they only have a manufacturers sticker and are not embossed as required by regs. They are also Chinese.
As I said I would be interested to hear from anyone that has been refused rego with a name brand (non Chinese) hitch.
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The examiner also stated that they get a few MDC campers through and he fails them as well because they only have a manufacturers sticker and are not embossed as required by regs. They are also Chinese.
No, that is wrong. MDC's hitches are approved, I've seen the paperwork ;D
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No, that is wrong. MDC's hitches are approved, I've seen the paperwork ;D
Apparently it makes no difference whether they are approved or not, mine was not failed because it wasn't approved it was failed because the manufacturers name was not embossed on it.
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Must say, I am very pleased with the McHitch I bought to replace my 33+ y.o. 50 mm ball hitch. Every part of it appears to reek of quality, and easy to connect/disconnect, and tows like a dream; backs like it the trailer was on rails ;D .
If it is 30 + yo, them it it is 1&7/8 inch, not 50 mm. Two very different sizes.
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If it is 30 + yo, them it it is 1&7/8 inch, not 50 mm. Two very different sizes.
I removed the original 50mm override coupling (and drawbar) from our 1976 Millard caravan. Even had 50mm cast into it. Mates folks have a 73 Millard van with the same coupling. I'd say in the 70's there would have been quite a mixture of weird and wonderful couplings, given the imperial to metric changeover.
The same mate has a genuine 50's 10ft bondwood caravan with a 2 1/4' (ish) coupling. Has the old 2 piece ball.
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The point is it may make a difference where they are made. I have never heard of a Treg hitch failing rego yet they don't have the manufacturers name embossed on them, which is the reason mine failed.
Um. My genuine treg has "treg sa" and ADR # both embossed and stamped on the poly block. It has also being stamped on the fork. The receiver is stamped and has a sticker I think.
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The point is it may make a difference where they are made. I have never heard of a Treg hitch failing rego yet they don't have the manufacturers name embossed on them, which is the reason mine failed.
I don't know but is it possible your hitch was not a genuine treg? They do make the cheap copies look very similar.
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I don't know but is it possible your hitch was not a genuine treg? They do make the cheap copies look very similar.
I work 2 minutes walk from Treg, they don't have their name embossed on the the hitch, stickers only.
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Just saying!
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Just saying!
The rubber block means nothing, it has to be embossed into the metal casting. There is nothing on the casting other than a sticker and the hitch is stamped, i.e not compliant.
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The rubber block means nothing, it has to be embossed into the metal casting. There is nothing on the casting other than a sticker and the hitch is stamped, i.e not compliant.
Right, so WTF is this argument all over then, it obviously means that no treg, Chinese, Aussie,Indian,even a friken Egyptian one isn't compliant ??
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Hence they are putting bandaids on their hitches (i.e. stickers). Look at Mchitch and Ozhitch, embossed on the casting.
(http://ozhitch.com/wp-content/uploads/3.5t.4.300x300.jpg)
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So the op got knocked back cause his treg was not embossed with man name in nsw? How do all the other trailer man in nsw putting a genuine treg hitch on get all their trailers rego'd in nsw if even a genuine treg is not complaint??
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Well, I just checked my Tregg hitch & coupling.
The hitch - is a mechanical override style and was installed when the trailer was new (2003). The rubber is embossed and there is a sticker stating manufacturer & rating but it does not appear to be stamped or embossed into the steel. (see first pic)
The coupling - I replaced in 2012 after the original got damaged. This has both a sticker and the manufacturer stamped into the steel. (see second pic)
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I reckon you'll find it's actually the knockoff Chinese receiver that is probably failing.
At least Treg has something on their receiver, the knockoff's have nothing.
Here is my Ozhitch receiver, embossed.
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I reckon you'll find it's actually the knockoff Chinese receiver that is probably failing.
At least Treg has something on their receiver, the knockoff's have nothing.
Here is my Ozhitch receiver, embossed.
No doubt it is the Chinese knock offs, but what has been suggested is that no treg style, whether genuine or not, and d035's are not compliant, and therefore not legal?? Because they are not embossed on the metal casing?
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No doubt it is the Chinese knock offs, but what has been suggested is that no treg style, whether genuine or not, and d035's are not compliant, and therefore not legal?? Because they are not embossed on the metal casing?
That is, according to the ADR, correct.
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So the op got knocked back cause his treg was not embossed with man name in nsw? How do all the other trailer man in nsw putting a genuine treg hitch on get all their trailers rego'd in nsw if even a genuine treg is not complaint??
I would say they are discriminating when they can, but this is forcing the hand of Australian manufacturers to be 100% compliant. Hence the new players on the block, namely the Ozhitch and McHitch tick all the correct boxes.
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I'm not trying to argue with you ok, just trying to make sense of it all
12.4. Marking
12.4.1. Up to 3.5 tonnes ‘ATM’
Both parts of a ‘Coupling’ specifically designed for use between LA, LB, LC, LD category and sub category LEM towing vehicles and trailers up to 750kg ‘ATM’, or specifically designed for use between towing vehicles and trailers up to 3.5 tonnes ‘ATM’ must be marked with the following information:
12.4.1.1. The ‘Coupling’ manufacturer’s name or trademark; and
12.4.1.2. the maximum allowable trailer ‘ATM’ and its units of measurement, kg for an ‘ATM’ up to 750 kg and tonnes otherwise), at which the ‘Coupling’ is rated; and
12.4.1.3. the words “use with model (identified model)”.
Taken from here
http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2010C00153 (http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2010C00153)
Not sure if I am looking in the right place??? But this just says marked with trademark or name?
I don't know if this is current or old???
I would say they are discriminating when they can, but this is forcing the hand of Australian manufacturers to be 100% compliant. Hence the new players on the block, namely the Ozhitch and McHitch tick all the correct boxes.
Yep that's fair enough too
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I'll concede there, the ADR states
12.4.3. All markings must be stamped, moulded or printed with letters not less than 2.5mm high and must be visible when the ‘Coupling’ is installed and connected. The markings may be on a metal plate that is permanently affixed to the ‘Coupling’ or to the vehicle adjacent to the ‘Coupling’.
Printed?????? The markings may be on a metal plate that is permanently affixed to the ‘Coupling’ or to the vehicle adjacent to the ‘Coupling’. which is where the 'sticker' fails.
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I don't like crap stuff but how many of these have failed? Question not statement.
We seem obsessed with this issue but don't bat an eyelid at the crap wheel bearings that are used, crap tyres, crap welds etc.
?
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Gidday Muzza
If it is 30 + yo, them it it is 1&7/8 inch, not 50 mm. Two very different sizes.
Nah, mate. It is a 50 mm ball. Stamped as such, like several others I have lying around. The coupling has the size and weight cast into it, along with "Do Not Weld", but not the manufacturer's name. I have one 2" ball (50.8 mm) too. My old '68 LC and horse float had 2" ball and couplings. Interestingly, some 50 mm couplings would fit that 2" ball, and some would not (I'm talking about a long time ago now, 35-40 or more years).
I've never had any ball or coupling smaller than 50 mm (or 2" back in the old days) on any of my personal vehicles/trailers.
The McHitch pin has all the details etched into the SS. The coupling has them cast into it, as well as a plastic sticker that advertises what it is.
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I don't like crap stuff but how many of these have failed? Question not statement.
We seem obsessed with this issue but don't bat an eyelid at the crap wheel bearings that are used, crap tyres, crap welds etc.
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Yep totally agree with ya dazzler. How many people go over there imported box trailer the same way?
Marschy agreed
Yes the sticker fails, as it is removable, but treg is stamped in the casing on hitch and receiver
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Can't see a problem with marking moulded on the rubber block as it is part of the coupling and can't be removed. Is a metallic sticker "metal". Yes it can be removed, just like a metal plate held on by rivets.
Wait until the start checking lights and tyre compliance.....
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I don't like crap stuff but how many of these have failed? Question not statement.
We seem obsessed with this issue but don't bat an eyelid at the crap wheel bearings that are used, crap tyres, crap welds etc.
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Very true in regards to crap welds, there's some scary ones out there.
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Hey, fellas
Let's do a reality check!
We all see trailers of all descriptions every day that shouldn't be on the road at all. Either through age, or lack of maintenance, or both.
Mine might be 33+ y.o., but it had a fairly major rebuild in the 1990s, and a very major re-build over the last couple of years. Many were garbage to start with, and have had no maintenance at all over that sort of time period.
How often is one involved in a serious accident? Just asking ...
My insurer (RACV for trailer) charges me about one third more to insure my (now) camper trailer for around 16x as much as when it was an un-restored box trailer. According to them, box trailers are far more likely to be involved in accidents than camper trailers. Even after just the restoration, the agreed sum insurance jumped by some $3,000 (six fold), and the premium went up by about $25 p.a (about 20%). Changing to a camper trailer policy essentially doubled the agreed sum for the same level of cover, at much the same policy cost. I elected to pay an extra $30 odd p.a. to insure contents, towing and rating one/excess protection in the event of a claim.
To be quite clear, I do not support the knock-off of designs by anyone, and I certainly don't support fraudulent labelling of anything either.
My point being, that the crappiest, most poorly built trailer of any kind today (last ten years or so) is almost certainly going to be far safer than most trailers built around the time mine was (1981), when there was all but zero regulation or design standards.
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I don't like crap stuff but how many of these have failed? Question not statement.
We seem obsessed with this issue but don't bat an eyelid at the crap wheel bearings that are used, crap tyres, crap welds etc.
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I do. I have addressed all of these issues on my CT but your right, some people just don't want to listen or be told and just bury their heads in the sand.
Junked the Chinese Treg copy hitch and replaced with an OZHitch.
I am not sure how bad my Chinese wheel bearings were or would have been. I think they would have been OK if they had grease in them. It was just as easy to replace with Jap ones.
I had all of my welds inspected by a boilermaker and he gave me the thumbs up AOK.
I had I Chinese wheels and tyres when I bought the CT but replaced those with ROH wheels and BFG tyres.
I also replaced the drums and shock absorbers. As far as I am concerned all of the unsafe or unsatisfactory items are gone.
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Try this from another post, interesting pics also
http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=28350.0 (http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=28350.0)