Ranger Mods

It looks like McHitch is up and running again. Just did a search and found their Web site is active again but they have moved from Lithgow to Caboolture. Their Facebook page hasn't been amended but there has been no action on that since late last year. So anyone interested in a McHitch can purchase directly from them again. I love mine and have been using it for about 9 years firstly on our camper trailer and now on our caravan.

I will stay with the D035, very popular

DO35 for the win. DO45 for the heavy stuff. Not sure why anyone would use anything else. Especially offroad.

Lincolnland wrote: ↑Sat Sep 16, 2023 9:07 pm DO35 for the win. DO45 for the heavy stuff. Not sure why anyone would use anything else. Especially offroad.

"DO35 for the win" Lincolnland, thats like saying your penis is better than mine, its an infantile comment, it's not deserved or warranted and it's not a competition.
I've done well over 60,000kms with my McHitch on my Wildtrak since 2020 and with our off-road camper-trailer and I've also had the advantage of using my neighbours trailer on a regular basis which has a DO35 and I can tell you that there is no real advantage of one over the other, if anything the "trumpet" female coupling on the McHitch steers the trailer tongue into it even if its 50mm up, down or side to side so thats a plus. The negative, you only get 145 degrees up, down or side to side before the trailer tongue binds on the outer edge of the trumpet. In all my travels I've never had to turn the trailer to that acute degree.
The McHitch is really a mini lightweight version of the RINGIT coupling used on road trains, I dont see a 100 tonne version of the DO design coupling ever coming onto the market.
On the down side the McHitch female coupling on the tow vehicle is seriously heavy, and I mean seriously heavy, thats the only reason why I am considering changing to a DO35.
As for off-road use, neither is better than the other, both have great 360 degree articulation and for security the McHitch does come with a lockable pin to discourage people from hooking up and driving off with your trailer, if of course they have a McHitch to hook up to.
So, there you have it, before you throw your hat in the ring for one or the other coupling try towing with each for at least 1000 kms - on highways and off-road - then you can make a serious and sensible comparison.

Lol hilarious

Has to be a reason dealers fit hundreds of D035 hitches

RossPat wrote: ↑Sun Sep 17, 2023 9:28 pm Has to be a reason dealers fit hundreds of D035 hitches

A 3.5 tonne McHitch is arround $650, (unless the price has dropped with the new ownership), a DO35 by comparison is $450 on eBay. I think that would explain the reason why they are more abundant than the McHitch given the multiplisity of trailer and caravan manufacturers in Australia and the very tight profit margins that they work with, that and in my opinion, the McHitch's excessive reciever weight. There is also the fact that the McHitch coupling is basicly hand made and in very small production numbers. When they were in Lithgow the entire production company comprised of just three people and a lady in the office.
Signature Campers, who made our off-road camper-trailer used the McHitch coupling exclusivly on ALL their range of trailers and caravans and have gone back to them now that they are back in production.
As I said, I've used both - the McHitch on our off-road camper-trailer and well over 1000 kms with the DO35 towing my neighbours caravan, there is absolutly no towing difference on the highway or off-road dirt tracks or with the ease of the coupling connect or disconnect, not with the use of a reversing camera anyway. Both have the same degree of articulation.
Engineering design wise the McHitch is a far stronger design assembly with the spring loaded hinged locking arm dropping into the tongue groove and then the insertion of the "standard" 16mm dia lockable pin which passes through the hinged arm as well as the trailer tongue, if anything its over-engineered.
So it all comes down to your personal preferance, what you are used to, what coupling design appeals to you, the total assembly weight on your towbar and the initial and possible future replacement cost.

RossPat wrote: ↑Sat Sep 16, 2023 4:59 pm I will stay with the D035, very popular

Why not retain it, the DO35 is a good proven coupling and its far lighter then the McHitch with the same degrees of articulation and its just as easy to couple and uncouple and it's replacement, should you have to replace it, is around $200 cheaper than a new McHitch so I agee, why change.

Money doesn't come into it
What's 2 or 400 when thousands are invested

As I said, the DO35 is $200 cheaper, and far easier to obtain, - currently there is a 3-4 week waiting period for the McHitch unit and the new owners claim to have a full order book - and the DO35 is a great deal lighter, these are enough reasons why the DO35 would be more popular.
The unit weight is the only reason I'm considering switching to a DO35. Connection and disconnection and towing articulation there is no advantage one has over the other, the DO35 perhaps looks a lot nicer and neater.