Offroad Hitches

[GeeTee]

Love to see one in the flesh, it looks pretty good.  The ONLY thing I don't like about the Hyland is that the locking pin sometimes is pretty hard to pull out, but a good dose of WD40 soon fixes it.

Do you reckon that would survive the mud in my pic above?

[Pipeliner]

Other factors to bear in mind.

Any trailer will tow better if the towbar is as close to horizontal as possible: this may mean getting an adjustable towbar or turning the hitch bar (the square section that fits into the receiver) upside down.  With the hitch at the right height, check that the model you select is then low enough to allow the tailgate to open.  Most ball hitches sit high above the hitch plate.

With my Jeep, I have the hitch bar upside down (Hitch on top) and the DO35 has a low enough profile to allow the tailgate to open.  When I borrow my neighbour's trailer I have the ball hitch the right way up (hitch on bottom) and even with the hitch sitting 60mm-70mm lower the handle on the ball latch stops the tailgate from opening.

So check to see that you have the height to operate the hitch you select - or more importantly select a hitch that doesn't interfere with the tailgate opening.

[Symon]

Do you reckon that would survive the mud in my pic above?

Yup.  Mine got buried in mud like that when I crossed Palm Creek, I had no problems uncoupling the trailer later that day.

[Dominator Campers]

OzHitch for me......Nice low profile, and tuff as nails

[DannyG]

I've had a hyland hitch and obviously standard ball hitches and now a mchitch.

Hyland was more than adequate and used a standard 50mm ball, albeit had to be a higher ball but mchitch is my favorite for the conditions I tow our soft floor camper.

[Hews]

I have an AT35 and find it can be difficult to line up and am thinking about replacing with a Hyland if I ever get around to it.

[Marschy]

The main consideration with any hitch for off road use is 360° articulation. How it is achieved is possibly irrelevant.

Most people only consider the articulation for towing over extremely undulating ground, but my understanding from driving Mk I and II Landrovers towing army trailers is that they were developed for safety. If the trailer rolled over the articulating coupling would help prevent the tug from rolling over as well.

A good mate of mine was killed in a Landrover rollover because the army trailer coupling had a pin in it that was used to stop the coupling rotating fully. The trailer rolled and so did the Land rover. He was sitting on the toolbox behind the front seat with his back to the direction of travel and broke his neck. There were no roll bars or structural member above the bottom of the window level.

[muzza01]

I have the OzHitch but I think it would be fair to say all of these off road  hitches mentioned should be adequate to do the job. I replaced the TREG copy that I had on the CT purely because it was a copy and I did not trust it. I was thinking of replacing it with a real TREG but a mate has the OzHitch and recommended it, so that is what I got. So far, so good. I have only hitched and unhitched about 7 or 8 times so far without a problem. The 3or 4 times I used the poly lock had no problems either.
My bro in law has the DO35, it sure looks like a quality item as well.

[Ynot]

Another one for the ozhitch, worked pretty well compared to the standard Greg on my mates truck, his wasn't too bad in 95% of cases, but some of the 5% was a real pain.

[albany_nomads]

A hyland hitch also.  The benefits have been outlay in previous post and the biggest plus is that you can use the ball  with a standard trailer hitch

[GeeTee]

Yup.  Mine got buried in mud like that when I crossed Palm Creek, I had no problems uncoupling the trailer later that day.

My bad, Symon, due to an odd 'quote' - I have NO doubt a Hyland will survive anything (that's what is in my pic - they are bombproof) I meant would pretty plastic bits last in mud etc...

I reckon not!   

[BUNDYMARK]

Thanks everybody for your recommendations.I think I am leaning towards the hyland types basically because of the towball setup.What I am finding with manufacturers that have say a poly block hitch on their trailers they want to charge full retail  for the new hitch and not a "changeover" price and when the minister for finance picked that up she said the new hitch could wait.

[StrvnMrvn]

Mate,

I went with a McHitch. I have electric brakes on the CT and a controller in the tug.

I have a hand brake on the trailer as well and didn't want to have to change to much.

The McHitch allows me to have both the electric and mechanical brakes working. But I zipped tied the mechanical brakes off and use only the electric brakes. If something goes wrong with the electric, I can use the mechanical to get me home. I got this idea off another swagger!!

I just like to have a back up, especially when it comes to brakes and my trailer being 1000kg. If it's over 750kg, you have to have a brake system on the CT.

[Swannie]

Mate,

I went with a McHitch. I have electric brakes on the CT and a controller in the tug.

I have a hand brake on the trailer as well and didn't want to have to change to much.

The McHitch allows me to have both the electric and mechanical brakes working. But I zipped tied the mechanical brakes off and use only the electric brakes. If something goes wrong with the electric, I can use the mechanical to get me home. I got this idea off another swagger!!

How have you found the hitch? Is it easy to connect and disconnect?
Swannie

I just like to have a back up, especially when it comes to brakes and my trailer being 1000kg. If it's over 750kg, you have to have a brake system on the CT.

[StrvnMrvn]

I like it swannie, very easy to use!

Even if you don't line up straight to the hitch, you can still turn the locking mechanism to put it on! I think personally that the ball joint helps a lot!

The CT even fells better behind the tug! Don't really notice the pulling or pushing as much as the old one!

[Swannie]

Cheers mate, deciding between this and the DO35, but leaning towards Mchitch as it comes with the WDH adapter as standard which I use on the swan
Swannie

[KingBilly]

Another reason I bought the McHitch was you can lock the trailer hitch - either whilst on the tow pin (locking it to the vehicle) or off (locking it so it can't be used).  Add another locking hitch pin through the hitch receiver and you have some anti-theft security.

And yes I realise they will take it if they really want it.

KB

[GanG]

yup the mc hitch is great gear......my  camper was meant to be fitted with one, and the replacement IS is going to be fitted with one, poly block hitches are functional, but too much of a pain to hook up IMO.

[Jeepers Creepers]

Its funny..... everyone seems to thing the poly blocks are hard to hook up.

I've done two hook ups in the sand, plus a handful of times on normal services with no issues or drama's.

Maybe i'm smarter than the average bear. Hmmmm, on reflection, no, that can't be it.

[Symon]

Another reason I bought the McHitch was you can lock the trailer hitch - either whilst on the tow pin (locking it to the vehicle) or off (locking it so it can't be used).  Add another locking hitch pin through the hitch receiver and you have some anti-theft security.

Not disagreeing with you, but you can do that with just about every hitch.

[KingBilly]

Not disagreeing with you, but you can do that with just about every hitch.

For me, it was a decision between buying the DO35 and the McHitch and I didn't think the DO35 could be locked on the tow hitch.  Maybe I am wrong.  I know I could lock the standard ball hitch I currently have with a small padlock but that is a lot easier to cut than the locking hitch pin I was referring to on the McHitch.  Didn't look at the Ozhitch so can't comment.

KB

[happylife]

They all have pros and cons. Make sure it's genuine. Not a Chinese rip off.

arent u selling chinese manufactured Leisure matters trailers and tents .. seems a funny thing to bag your own product   ???Good on you for being honest big Nat, plenty arent so respec!!

[Coolblue80]

Hyland for me. We have 2 4wd's, box trailer, boat & camper trailer. Doesn't matter what truck I'm in or what trailer I'm hitching up, they all fit & no need to swap/change anything. You do need the 3.5t ball with the taller shank but other than that it's all good. Works for me.
Cheers, Mike.

[GGV8Cruza]

arent u selling chinese manufactured Leisure matters trailers and tents .. seems a funny thing to bag your own product   ???Good on you for being honest big Nat, plenty arent so respec!!

The topic is about hitches and I believe Nath would be referencing the imported copied hitch which have proved to fail numerous times

GG

[GeoffA]

........I didn't think the DO35 could be locked on the tow hitch.........

It can't, but there are ways around that......eg a pad lock on one of the safety chains.

I think there's now a bung available, that can be fitted to the hitch when not hooked on.

I don't have either.....