Advice On Hitch Setups

[paulie484]

G'day All

Just wondering if it matters which way the hitch tongue plate is setup ?

see pics - ie. is one way more 'stronger' than the other ??

trying to suss out best way to setup

we have a 2012 Pathfinder with a Hayman Reese hitch setup, which is cut thru the bumper not 'underslung' as per the genuine Nissan ones - this in turn makes it difficult to use a std tongue as the tregg coupling sits too high and van rides with A frame kicking up

so we bought a Mr Hitch (?) adjustable setup - rated to 2.7T. This has fixed the A frame kicking up but dependent on which way I position the tregg coupling I get minor varying setups - will post pics on van and tow rig

might be splitting hairs ??

 

[paulie484]

both setups

I'm leaning towards img4126 ?

 

[paulie484]

Hi AJC

Yep, got airbags which were at 5 psi in the fotos, so a little room to move ad well
Think I'm hearing ya on the tongue orientation

Cheers for comments

 

[brookes2622]

not sure I like the look up of the whole set up for some reason - i think its the length...a Trigg pivots laterally around the tow pin, horizontally around the poly block pin and 360 degrees around the hitch. The Trigg receiver sets all that back approx 100mm behing where a ball normally is on a tongue (the receiver bolt being where the ball usually is). That's oK with a standard tongue.

The McHitch you have seems to send the tongue / ball position back another 150 - 200 mm. With all that 300mm between the car and van (a heavy, dble axle van thjat sist high with the simplicity suspension, and no WD, all behind a medium 4wd) I'd be concerend about pitching and cantilever forces doing something....could stress the tow bar mounts to the chassis, tire out your rear springs and tyres quickly, make the van less stable or more prone to sway etc.

I see you have an OB and are in WA, so there is a fair chance you'll be doing high speed dirt roads. I'd suggest a re-think for your and your familes safety! Check the Hayman Reece website, they have a number of tongues available which could assist you getting the hitch point and van height nice and level, and ypou could loose that 15o to 200 mm that the McHitch subjects you to.

BTW - Just noticed you have carabiners on the d-shackles given the length of the hitch set up to make them fit...that also suggest to me the hitch set up is too long. I know you only had the carabiners there for the sake of the photo and that you'd never actually use them, no need to tell me you were heading off to the shop to get a set of rated shackles to extend the chains!:suspicious:

Also, have a look at Stone Stomper's photo in this thread http://www.expandasdownunder.com/sh...-conscious-re-OR-coupling-WDH-Paj-tow-vehicle - it shows how you can get a Trigg receiver for a Trigg hitch and be able to use a WDH. Something you might wish to think about.

I agree with the above. I would be interested to see your normal tongue upside down with perhaps a 50mm spacer on the hitch as suggested earlier by AJC. I have no engineering to back it up but the two photo's on post #1 make me nervous that the weight and towing forces are all in the wrong places. I also think that image 4123 would put less stress on the towbar and receiver then the other which makes me think it'll all bend and the van will dive under the back of the car. Like I said I have no real knowledge or experience. I hope you find your solution. Perhaps others here with Pathfinders and 17 footers can post pictures of their hitches ...

 

[Capt. Gadget]

The Receiver for the Trigg seems to add length to an already long hitch set up, Ive just swapped mine for a mcHitch I'll nip up the Shed and take a photo
Here ya go

 

[straydingo]

In regards to the original question, I don't think it matters which way they go. The point is they are adjustable in configuration so that you find the best setting so the van is level. If it is going to bend one way, it will bend the other also.

As per those above, I don't like the length of the hitch. Having had a pathy, there is no reason a standard tounge is unsuitable. If you find a standard 50mm drop is making the van sit too high, get one with a longer drop (which is what I did before WDH)
http://www.haymanreese.com.au/products/Trailerballmounts.htm

 

[Moto Mech]

Some tounge's are rated differantly depending which way they are fitted too. One way is rated quite a bit lower than the other. Not sure if its all tounges though.

 

[brookes2622]

I dunno I reckon in the 2nd shot of the hitch all the "push/pull" forces of the van would be directed around the joint of the towbar and tongue and as it's not inline with the towbar it would have a mechanical advantage. I'm not sure I'm explaining what I mean very well. In the choice of the two and nothing else I would go with what's behind door (pic) number 1.

 

[paulie484]

Cheers for comments guys....reason why this forum is so good you get others opinions

Have a couple if options left, the 50 packer..which Jayco Perth want nothing to do with which is fair enough...

or I try a deeper drop ball mount...

Those hayman ones look like they are only rated to 2T...this mister hitch is 2.7T which one reason I went for it..

plus can see the issue of the length but noticed most of the adjustable ones on the net have a longer sleeve insert..

Will have a play next time van is back out and get the father in law round, poor wife wasn't impressed when I kept getting her back to hitch up every time I adjusted something !!

 

[straydingo]

You can get the packer from Canberra Jayco - just buy it over the phone and they'll post it out.

Some tounge's are rated differantly depending which way they are fitted too. One way is rated quite a bit lower than the other. Not sure if its all tounges though.

True - I think more commonly on single piece bars/tongue . But this one get advertised as "16 Positions of either rise or drop" so should be ok.

 

[Peter D]

I've got a 3 ton HR towbar and it came with an extended drop tongue, which I assume is rated at 3t too. It drops 90mm from centre of shaft to top of tongue.

 

[Matty4]

Personally, as you won't be using a full WDH I'd ditch the adjustable one and replace it with a standard HR one.
They are available in different drop sizes and this will also bring your hitch closer to the tug.

It currently looks to be sitting too far away for my liking.