MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Garry on February 05, 2012, 10:30:30 PM
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All my own fault of course, I forgot to push the little latch across on the DO35
I was off road and only doing 20Kmh but still wrecked the mechanism and bent a few of the bolts holing it to the CC. A scissor jack a wheel brace and a hammer had it all back on my car. I took it real easy after that
Funny thing is I always double check every door, stabilizer, lights and of course the hitch lock. Not sure why I missed it this time
Its a possibility that as it never just glides over the pin and I end up kicking it to get it to go over before stowing the jockey wheel away
Has anyone painted a danger color around the latch for easy unlocked or locked positions?
Anyway
Is there any other hitch's of good quality out there that is idiot proof?
And on a side note I literally blew up my water tank before we left on that trip much to the disgust of my lovely wife
Garry
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Is there any other hitch's of good quality out there that is idiot proof?
Garry
I would stick with the DO35, it's the best!!
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Sounds like you had an eventful trip there Garry...my old man gave me this tip...I'm not sure if you have one or two safety chains, but if you cross the chains over when hitching up, this acts as a cradle in the event the hitch ever pops off...in theory this keeps it off the ground...haven't had the misfortune of testing this theory out yet and hopefully I never will.
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Hi RWS
I only have one chain at the moment but as I have "loaded" that one skull dragging my camper along a very bumpy road I will be welding on a new pair just in case
The wife got more of a fright than I did, for me it was an instant Oh S... I forgot the latch
Garry
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Idiot proof hasn't been invented yet.
And when it is invented, someone will invent a better idiot!
ps, I cross my chains but it didn't stop my camper (DO35) hitch from destroying itself on the ground. :'(
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Has anyone painted a danger color around the latch for easy unlocked or locked positions?
Garry
The D035 that I fitted up last year came with two dots of green paint which aligned when it was in the locked position. Maybe you could get out the paint pen.
GG
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Oops.......... :o
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The wife & I always do a "360 degrees" visual of the 4by & CT after hitching up...check lights etc plus that all connections are Ok.
p.s. don't have your chain too long otherwise the result could be the same.
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Luv my Treg.................
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It is so easy to get complacent when travelling. We also practise the double check, but still occasionally forget something. ( I am sure my wife would like to accidently leave me behind sometimes. >:D)
I now place a pin in my hitch (I think ours is the AT35) after a fellow traveller said there should always be one. I suppose it is a safety issue in case the hitch does not lock. Kevin
(http://images1.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp%3B4%3B%3Enu%3D3492%3E%3A47%3E2%3B%3B%3E2583%3A473%3A%3C24%3Aot1lsi)
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I have done the same thing, though I was lucky that the camper didn't axtually come off the pin. I felt a giggle and had the sense (better late than never) to strop and check.
Some red paint is a good idea. I wrote to VC a while back and suggested a different change, that they change the "TOP" sticker and put something like "TURNOVER" on the lower side of the hitch, as once it's flipped you can't see the "TOP" sticker.
Twin chains, crossed and hitched a length that allowd unrestricted turning but not allowing the hitch to hit the road is a good idea.
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i am paranoid about this happening.. I check everything on the camper trailer and the car and then the wife follows me around double checking... about the only time I will listen to the wife....... ;D
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Twin chains, crossed and hitched a length that allowd unrestricted turning but not allowing the hitch to hit the road is a good idea.
Some states have banned the crossing of safety chains (please do not shoot the messenger here), based on side loading of the links causing a weak point ???
Having had a caravan hitch break the coupling plate weld, the crossed chains and shortened length did nothing to craddle the drawbar and the end of the draw bar face dived into the bitumen. Using hindsight, that is exactly where I would want the drawbar if thise ever happened again, as I knew where it was as I brought the rig to a stop. With it being on the ground and not suspended, I knew that it would not appear through the tailgate.
Sorry to hijack your thread, I will start a new one with some photos when I can find where they are.
:cheers: Cracka
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Some states have banned the crossing of safety chains (please do not shoot the messenger here), based on side loading of the links causing a weak point ???
How so? No hijack, I think you've added to the debate.
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Have removed the post as it contained incorrect information
:cheers: Cracka
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To cross the chains or not I will still be replacing the one I have and adding a second.
I too am worried about it cradling as my Aux tank would be in the firing line and if it ruptured and a spark off the rubbing bolts from the road if it made it there could ruin the rest of the day
Anyway, it seems to have happened a few times which is a concern. I wonder if VC plan an automatic lock in the future?
I might just stick with the DO35 again but add a visual element somehow to draw attention to it and maybe a big warning sticker on the draw bar might help me too - Anyone vendors on here make such a thing?
Garry
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To cross the chains or not I will still be replacing the one I have and adding a second.
I too am worried about it cradling as my Aux tank would be in the firing line and if it ruptured and a spark off the rubbing bolts from the road if it made it there could ruin the rest of the day
Anyway, it seems to have happened a few times which is a concern. I wonder if VC plan an automatic lock in the future?
I might just stick with the DO35 again but add a visual element somehow to draw attention to it and maybe a big warning sticker on the draw bar might help me too - Anyone vendors on here make such a thing?
Garry
The DO35 has those green dots now as mentioned by GG. i am also thinking of getting a split pin just to put through the hole where you could normally padlock the hitch also as my secondary trigger that i have secured the hitch properly.
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The DO35 has those green dots now as mentioned by GG. i am also thinking of getting a split pin just to put through the hole where you could normally padlock the hitch also as my secondary trigger that i have secured the hitch properly.
Ours (end-2010 issue) has the green dots too. Golden rule before driving off, both driver and passenger must cite the aligned "Green, good to go!" dots on the hitch.
One trip where it was just me and the 2 year old, I took her out of the car to show her to confirm. She wasn't very impressed, but at least we still double-checked.. ;)
The secondary split pin or similar is a good idea through the locking hole. At least it could be pulled off quickly in an incident, as opposed to a padlock.
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I put a pin in the front
GG
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I put a pin in the front
GG
I'm thinking one of these Lynch pins:
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_gDQC1TYaNU0/S2mBJImEjcI/AAAAAAAADxw/vDX_F5nAjRY/s320/linchpin.jpg)
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Hi Garry,
I've got one of Norm's OzHitches, and love it : http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=5631.0 (http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=5631.0) . Not sure if it would be much more idiot proof than the DO though. You need to insert the main pin and lock it, then secure the pin with a lynch-pin. If you left the lynch-pin off, then there's a chance that the main pin could work it's way loose, much the same way that yours came loose.
It's a real beggar of a thing that you've had to go through - it'll certainly make me double-check the hitch is secure every time from now on.
Good luck.
Matto :)
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Just a bit further to this as well.
I know it's now going a bit off topic (sorry) but when you set up for a bit of a stay take your hitch off your car and put it inside (or in the trailer) so you don't lose it or damage it.
At Muloorina station I know of a Jeep that lost his hitch on the trek out to Lake Eyre. Luckily someone else heading up that way later just managed to spot it , picked it up then came in to the campground to ask if anyone had lost it. How would you tow your camper without the car side of the hitch?
And remember to bring a spare hitch receiver pin too.
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Just a bit further to this as well.
I know it's now going a bit off topic (sorry) but when you set up for a bit of a stay take your hitch off your car and put it inside (or in the trailer) so you don't lose it or damage it.
At Muloorina station I know of a Jeep that lost his hitch on the trek out to Lake Eyre. Luckily someone else heading up that way later just managed to spot it , picked it up then came in to the campground to ask if anyone had lost it. How would you tow your camper without the car side of the hitch?
And remember to bring a spare hitch receiver pin too.
Very sound advice there. I take it out and put it in the roller drawers and fit the the solid recovery thingy in the towbar.
Jetcrew :D :D
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I'm thinking one of these Lynch pins:
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_gDQC1TYaNU0/S2mBJImEjcI/AAAAAAAADxw/vDX_F5nAjRY/s320/linchpin.jpg)
I'd go with a "r" pin, the linchpin we had holding the trigg hitch pin in came off driving up through the hills on the Oxley highway, I did the normal walk around when we stopped for a nature call and the main pin only had about an inch to go before it was out, bent over stainless peg did the job till we got home.
Mark
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Garry, I have almost done the same thing as you but something made me get out of the car & have another look. Now, I've got a routine as the first thing I do as soon as I lower the trailer onto the car is to lock the mechanism. I also do a 2nd check as the last thing I do before getting into the car to head off.
Mind you, after the ideas about the extra pin, think I might do that as well
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I will have to remember not to cross my chains on my tandem tag trailer ( 5 tonne ) when I load my 12 tonne excavator on to it ... also best remember to let DOT know that they have things wrong .
Some states have banned the crossing of safety chains (please do not shoot the messenger here), based on side loading of the links causing a weak point ???
Having had a caravan hitch break the coupling plate weld, the crossed chains and shortened length did nothing to craddle the drawbar and the end of the draw bar face dived into the bitumen. Using hindsight, that is exactly where I would want the drawbar if thise ever happened again, as I knew where it was as I brought the rig to a stop. With it being on the ground and not suspended, I knew that it would not appear through the tailgate.
Sorry to hijack your thread, I will start a new one with some photos when I can find where they are.
:cheers: Cracka
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Pay to check with your local authorities, Silvo found that some of the Info I gained from a private accident investigation company was not correct. In NSW the regulations actually state that they must be crossed, where 2 or more chains are fitted.
:cheers: Cracka
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Well if nothing else I have raised some awareness on the dangers of not double checking the latch and with any luck prevented this happening again to a few of the readers, but I know it will happen again, we only human!
I will definitely get one of those pins as if its in my hand I will have to do something with it and the most logical place to put it would be..................
And the wife has agreed to do the check with me, another good suggestion that is only common sense yet seemed to evade me
On my other mishap I managed to get hold of Complete campsite and will soon be the proud owner of a new water tank which I will take extra care of this time around :angel:
Garry
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To answer your question Garry..
Quote..
“Is there any other hitch's of good quality out there that is idiot proof?”
Yes there is - but it isn’t cheap..
It’s the ‘Hitch-Ezy’..
http://www.hitch-ezy.com
As someone else said..
“Idiot proof hasn't been invented yet”
So true - one should never underestimate the ingenuity of idiots, but this hitch comes about as close as you’ll get to beating the fools - and forgetfulness..
The Hitch-Ezy has a strong self-aligning action when you’re hooking up..
A huge 55 mm post..
Two automatic locking systems (No forgetting to flick a lever)..
No possible finger traps..
No pins or clips to lose.
Fully sealed and water proof when hooked up.
And a quite large price tag..
Jim
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Pay to check with your local authorities, Silvo found that some of the Info I gained from a private accident investigation company was not correct. In NSW the regulations actually state that they must be crossed, where 2 or more chains are fitted.
:cheers: Cracka
Just to clarify for WA the law was changed a few years back to not require crossed chains. Can cross if you wish but don't have to and only have to have one chain not two anyway (at least for smaller trailers etc not sure about things over 2T).
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Just to let you all know that we have solved this problem, the new DO35 v2 has a special safety cap which only fits on when the coupling is properly locked. It doubles as a an extra dust seal. You only have to look at the coupling and if the cover is in place you are good to go. See some videos here.
http://vehiclecomponents.com.au/products/hitchmaster/hitchmaster-do35 (http://vehiclecomponents.com.au/products/hitchmaster/hitchmaster-do35)
Cheers
Chris
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Idiot proof hasn't been invented yet.
Yes it has - As above - they beat me to it.
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Garry, We did the same thing, headingout of Cooktown, towards Lake Field National Park (Cape York) last year with with SteveandViv. Travelling along a dirt road, hit a wallow and the hitch came off. I was looking in the side mirrow at the time, yelling to the wife, ahhh $h1te, we've lost the camper. One of the chains held, the D shakle broke on the other chain. My daughter found the D shakle about 100 metres back up the road. A jack and a bit of muscle had us back on the track.
On reflection, I recalled, being pulled away from the trailer, when I was hitching it, not closing the lock. The wife was suppose to do a 360o check, but didnt. I was suppose to do another check, but failed. I believe it all happened in the excitement. It wont happen again.
A photograph of the CT on the ground.
(http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae128/Frost26799/CairnstoLakefield115.jpg)
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Just to let you all know that we have solved this problem, the new DO35 v2 has a special safety cap which only fits on when the coupling is properly locked. It doubles as a an extra dust seal. You only have to look at the coupling and if the cover is in place you are good to go. See some videos here.
http://vehiclecomponents.com.au/products/hitchmaster/hitchmaster-do35 (http://vehiclecomponents.com.au/products/hitchmaster/hitchmaster-do35)
Cheers
Chris
Hopefully you have sent one to Tambo for the new trailer, V1 was good, the new one should be even better
GG
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We lost ours on the dirt road out of Kunderang - same as everyone else, hadn't checked it properly before leaving. Seems a pity that the unit is unrepairable - damage the latching mechanism and you are up for a complete replacement.
Told my wife that in future it would be her job to check it was latched properly - she has since interpreted that as asking me if I've done it, usually just when I've done up my seat belt ready to drive off!
The DO35 is still the best hitch I've seen.
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I'd go with a "r" pin, the linchpin we had holding the trigg hitch pin in came off driving up through the hills on the Oxley highway, I did the normal walk around when we stopped for a nature call and the main pin only had about an inch to go before it was out, bent over stainless peg did the job till we got home.
Mark
I agree with Mark - avoid the lynch pin. I had one on the tregg coupling on a Cub camper. It fell off somewhere between Tibooburra and Innaminka. Fortunately I had a spare R clip and was able to drill the hole out to suit.
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Pins? Paint? Safety stickers? Sliding couplings? Bells and whistles?
None of you are talking about a nice simple and tough Hyland hitch, huh...
Uses standard tow ball and there's nothing to break, drop into mud, get jammed, wear out or fail :cup:
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The McHitch is getting a good rep.
From here
http://mchitch.com.au/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11&products_id=35 (http://mchitch.com.au/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11&products_id=35)
Baz.
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Seems a lot of people have lost these hitches usually through not checking all the bells and whistles. I would be interested to know how many have lost the simple tregg hitch through the same and given there are a lot more tregg style hitches around that should make the numbers higher. Less bells and whistles less to forget/go wrong in my opinion.
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Hey you guys are scaring me, I have had a DO35 on our CC for the last 4 years and have never had a problem, I think it is a great hitch. I will be triple checking it from now on.
:cheers: Paul & Jo.
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Hey you guys are scaring me, I have had a DO35 on our CC for the last 4 years and have never had a problem, I think it is a great hitch. I will be triple checking it from now on.
:cheers: Paul & Jo.
It is a great hitch - but unfortunately some of us have discovered to our cost that if you forget to slide the latch across it will bounce the trailer off the tow vehicle on rough terrain. It is not automatic and foolproof - but then, nothing is except possibly a standard ball hitch, and we all know why we don't use those off-road.
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The Hyland - my favourite, for a bunch of reasons and what I use - self-latches. You can reverse your tow car into it! In that regard, it is easier and safer than even a standard box-trailer hitch. Well worth a look for a new trailer or replacement when you've dropped too many pins or grown up to the fact that dust and mud stuffs things up
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Have a look at the 'Hitch-Ezy' coupling..
It self locks when it slides on.
http://www.hitch-ezy.com
Jim
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I did this two weeks ago with my tractor transporter. F$@K!
I had hooked the trailer up, secured the chains, plugs in the lights and the breakaway switch, attached the charging lead for the breakaway battery, but not snapped the 50mm ball coupling down properly. When I was reversing a tractor up onto it I drove the hitch into the rear bar and then up to the tailgate. Thankfully the chains stopped it from traveling higher and further but the lower tailgate is stuffed and will have to be replaced.
I am a serial offender :police:
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The Hyland - my favourite, for a bunch of reasons and what I use - self-latches. You can reverse your tow car into it! In that regard, it is easier and safer than even a standard box-trailer hitch. Well worth a look for a new trailer or replacement when you've dropped too many pins or grown up to the fact that dust and mud stuffs things up
I agree the Hyland is easy but the one on my Goldstream is noisy, as if my 50mm ball is only 45mm. Also, the Hyland stills suffers from dust ingress. The only hitch I've seen that seems to avoid any dust issues is the McHitch (with a fully enclosed uni joint).
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Outbackogre, suggestion, try changing your towball; it seems there are some different 'shoulder' heights on different brands' 50mm balls that affect the way the Hyland fits on the tongue/flat area of the towbar. That could be your "5mm"
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We have a Tregg and are a simple solid set-up, basically unbreakable.... We did forget to put the lynch pin in once and travelled about 600kms trailer was still on when we stopped.... I carry extra Lynch pins just for that reason however as long as gravity is around that pin isn't going to pop out in a hurry anyway...
Coupling them up isn't that much harder than anything else as you just back your tow point to next to the Tregg and push the trailer across into it then pin it...
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Seems a lot of people have lost these hitches usually through not checking all the bells and whistles. I would be interested to know how many have lost the simple tregg hitch through the same and given there are a lot more tregg style hitches around that should make the numbers higher. Less bells and whistles less to forget/go wrong in my opinion.
Agree, I hear a lot of stories about the Tregg being a PITA to hook up etc. But I have not herd to many issues with them otherwise. Simple and pretty fool proof in my opinion. I have never had an issue hooking it up either. Get the height correct and just push the trailer sideways or use the pin to leaver into position.
The others look too complex with too many steps for my liking.
Regards
Jas
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I had a Tregg on my first camper which was relatively light and easy to move sideways, but the AT35 on the Odyssey was always a struggle as moving the heavy trailer sideways on an uneven grass surface was very hard work, so the DO35 was a huge inprovement.
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I had a Tregg on my first camper which was relatively light and easy to move sideways, but the AT35 on the Odyssey was always a struggle as moving the heavy trailer sideways on an uneven grass surface was very hard work, so the DO35 was a huge inprovement.
I don't doubt what you are saying but you never forgot to put the pin in the tregg did you? You nearly lost your trailer using the DO35. My KK is no light weight (especially draw bar weight) and I have never had much trouble hooking it up, its pretty easy if the missus guides me on.
I do believe in the KISS principle.
Regards
Jas
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Well its been a few months and I have since had the DO35 serviced at vehicle components and is now back on the camper trailer looking almost new, I now use a small carabiner as my double check as I push it up over the knuckle so I dont miss it again
And the water tank went in without too much fuss and in the process I swapped the fill pipe over to the smaller of the tubes so it now has the large bore as a vent, something worth considering if there are any CC owners out there that are worried
Garry
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Good to see that you are back on the road again,
Regards