FAQs

Hitch-Ezy’s D-value and V-value make it suitable for towing a trailer weighing up to 5 tonne behind a vehicle weighing up to 8 tonne.

The resting draw bar weight (S-value) was 500Kg during the two million cycle dynamic testing of Hitch-Ezy. The peak down force applied 2 million times was 1.5 tonne!

You can tow a trailer weighing up to 3.5 tonne. The advised maximum draw bar weight is 350Kg.

Yes. Hitch-Ezy has been fully tested and complies with ADR 62/02.

We are happy to speak with any trailer manufacturer who is unfamiliar with Hitch-Ezy.

Yes. The mounting bolt patterns for both 3.5 tonne and 5 tonne models are on this website. These patterns will align to the 4 and 6 bolt patterns used by most other coupling manufacturers.

Yes, for a 5 tonne rating all six bolts must be used. If only 4 bolts (front and rear pairs) are used the 5 tonne coupling is de-rated to being suitable for towing up to a maximum of 3.5 tonnes.

The maximum width of the 5 tonne Hitch-Ezy’s body is 105mm. The maximum width of the 3.5 tonne Hitch-Ezy’s body is 83mm. You can download technical drawings of both versions from this website.

Yes. When the body of the coupling is mounted upside down one simply rotates the longitudinal shaft through 180 degrees so that the mouth of the main sleeve is again facing down and able to engage the tow-pillar. There is a stainless steel pin blocking rotation of the main sleeve through 180 degrees within its yoke. This block ensures the asymmetrical yoke is always oriented correctly with the “notch” in each arm of the yoke facing down and with the secondary locking button located on the trailer side of the main sleeve.

Order the shank diameter that matches the diameter of ball-mount hole in your tow-bar tongue or weight distribution head (WDH). A standard 50mm tow ball has a 7/8” (22mm) diameter shank. A 70mm tow ball has a 1.25” (32mm) diameter shank. Also refer to weight distribution hitch questions.

There has to be sufficient clearance around the ball mount hole for the coupling to rotate fully left or right to a jack-knife position without the yoke impinging on anything. There must be no obstruction within a 75mm radius of the centre of the ball-mount hole.

The critical dimension occurs at the level of the grease nipples on our coupling. This level is 32mm above the surface on which our tow-pillar is mounted. If the silver spacer that comes with every tow-pillar is used, the critical height can become 50mm above the surface on which our tow-pillar is mounted. At other levels, a lesser clearance is required.

Yes. Our handbrake is made from stainless steel and slots under the rear of the coupling’s body. The handbrake folds down below the height of the coupling’s rotating lid.

They will be at the exact same level when the supplied 20mm thick spacer is not used.

All kits contain high tensile mounting bolts, appropriate washers and nyloc nuts.

The maximum height of the fully engaged coupling is 122mm above the surface on which the tow-pillar is mounted. When the 20mm thick WDH spacer is used, the distance is 140mm but mounting a WDH head one hole down on its drop shank can offset this 20mm rise.

Yes. In both the 3.5 and 5 tonne models there is a hole for a padlock below the stainless steel secondary locking button. Just lock the supplied dummy pillar inside the coupling to deny hitching up. The dummy tow-pillar stores inside the aluminium tow-pillar cover when travelling. It is not legal to travel with a coupling padlocked to the tow-pillar.

Yes Hitch-Ezy is fully compatible with the Mitchell Hitch www.mitchhitch.com.au which is specifically designed for Land Rovers and Range Rovers.

Yes. Hitch-Ezy does not move the point of articulation back from the WDH’s ball mount hole and therefore does not disturb the geometry that the WDH manufacturer intended.

The "wings" of the WDH hold the torsion bars and they present an obstruction to down angulation of any coupling at a jack-knife position. Hitch-Ezy pivots at only 32 mm above the surface on which the tow-pillar is mounted while a 50mm tow-ball coupling pivots at 50mm above the surface on which the tow-ball is mounted. To preserve the range of down angulation deemed necessary by the WDH manufacturer we have included a 20mm thick spacer to raise our pivot level to 52mm when it is used on a WDH

We are not in a position to pass judgment on the quality of WDHs produced by an increasing number of manufacturers. Some are cast and some are fabricated. Some have a 7/8” ball-mount hole, some a 1.25” ball-mount hole and others a 1.25” ball-mount hole with a readily removable flanged reduction sleeve down to 7/8” diameter. If your trailer weighs above 3.5 tonne you would be best to use a WDH’s with a higher rated towing capacity and these usually have a 1.25” diameter ball-mount hole.

The maxim that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link applies. You need to take account of your towing vehicle’s rated braked towing capacity (BTC) and the strength of the tow-bar and any WDH.

Yes we produce a special tow-pillar that has an integral tapered lower shaft to suit the Anderson Hitch. There were two versions of the Andersen with different taper angles. We manufacture the current model, and a diagram showing the critical taper dimensions is shown on our shop page when viewing the Andersen pillar, or any of the kits including the Andersen pillar. The current model has a base diameter of 45.8mm. Please be sure to confirm those dimensions prior to purchasing.

This plate is bolted into position with the tow-pillar and thereby establishes that there is sufficient clearance around the ball-mount hole for the coupling to come to a jack-knife position without hitting other parts of the tow-bar or WDH.

The spacer is mandatory if you are using a WDH. It is optional if you are using a straight tow-bar tongue.

It fills in the slot at the rear of the coupling if the supplied handbrake is not used or is located remotely.

A downloadable copy of our fitting instructions is available on the tech specs page of this website.

The coupling cannot descend fully to properly engage and lock on if it is already shut. This dangerous situation has a number of potential causes e.g someone in your absence triggered the locking mechanism by poking something up inside the coupling.

Thus you should always check that the coupling has fully descended to engulf the O-ring on the base of the tow-pillar.

Yes. The lid will rotate back to establish primary locking and then the secondary locking button pops up and engages the notch in the rotating lid.

Yes

Yes. The geometry of the coupling and the tow-pillar guarantees that as the jockey wheel is wound up the coupling will always rise and roll-off in the direction of any residual towing force. The sleeve will never hook under the head of the tow-pillar as occurs with couplings based on a tow-ball. High residual loads will of course cause more friction between the pillar and the inside of the coupling which in turn means you will need for a greater lifting force to achieve disengagement.

No. Some people prefer coupling by simply positioning the mouth of a vertically oriented main sleeve directly above the tow-pillar and then allow it to self align on descent.

It provides a lever to help a user with a serious hand disability rotate the lid to the release position.

Manually rotating the lid to the release position aligns notches on the front of the lid and the main sleeve. The locking mechanism is held in the unlocked position whenever the pin is engaged in the aligned notches. This frees both hands to operate a stiff jockey wheel.

No. Either use the stainless steel hold-open pin or release your hold on the lid once the O-ring on the base of the tow-pillar becomes fully exposed.

If you wind the jockey wheel up before you rotate the lid the locking mechanism comes under load and this will make it stiff to turn.

Use Shell Gadus S3 V220C 2 or equivalent. DO NOT USE a graphite based grease.

a) Yoke pivot bolts x2. Grease six monthly. NB Inject slowly to avoid “blowing out” the O-ring trapped in a groove on the underside of each dome nut.

b) Rotating lid. Grease six monthly. NB Only inject grease when the main sleeve is NOT engaged on the tow-pillar or has the dummy pillar in situ. Wipe out any excess grease that extrudes inside the main sleeve if you inject too much.

c) Main body bolted to the draw-bar. Grease six monthly and inject until leakage occurs at either end.

d) Secondary-locking button. Periodically spray the button’s shaft in the stainless steel housing with WD40 or silicon spray. Check that the button moves up freely in response to the spring.

e) Tow-pillar. Keep the tow-pillar and the top face of the base washer lubricated at all times. Remember: Always use the dummy pillar and tow-pillar cover when disconnected.