Treg Hitch

Submitted: Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 at 11:26
ThreadID: 109517 Views:5630 Replies:8 FollowUps:5
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We have a Treg Hitch on our car for our camper trailer. The connection is not the usual connection you see on caravans. Sometimes when we park on slightly uneven ground it is very very difficult to pull out the thick pin that holds the trailer to the car. We wind the trailer up or we wind it down and still it can be difficult. We have gently used the hammer but this has damaged the pin. Would love some advice on how to solve this problem.
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Reply By: Keir & Marg - Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 at 11:32

Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 at 11:32
We have a Trigg hitch which is very similar (I think yours is a black block, whereas ours is red). We don't have any problem getting the pin out; there are two tricks. Firstly, wind the trailer up or down until the top and bottom surfaces of the block are not touching the metal part of the towbar attached to the car. Then, ensuring the brakes are firmly engaged on the camper trailer, gently rock the car backwards/forwards (easy if it's an automatic) whilst the other person is pulling the pin upwards. The pin should pull out during the rocking process. Hope this helps.
AnswerID: 539162

Follow Up By: Linny - Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 at 11:42

Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 at 11:42
Great! We can do that. Thanks
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Follow Up By: Member - Mark (Tamworth NSW) - Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 at 12:58

Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 at 12:58
In my experience it is a matter of removing any force on the pin and block within the vehicle female housing/coupling, in other words "no weight on it". Problem is greatest when parked on a slope. Rocking the vehicle backwards and forwards whilst someone is pulling the pin does achieve that, but does have some potential safety issues, but isn't much help when you are on your own
What I do (after adjusting trailer height to have clearance top and bottom of the block in the female housing) after applying trailer manual brakes, is to gently move the vehicle forward or backwards as required such that there is no force on the pin then apply the vehicle hand brake, and then pull the pin out . Might take a couple of attempts to get the vehicle in the right position, but it does work and save some cursing and some of my bark with my heavy camper trailer.
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Reply By: Jonty - Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 at 12:33

Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 at 12:33
Hi.
We had a Treg Hitch on our van. Our way was to put a little Vaseline on the pin and that seemed to help removing it We cleaned it every couple of days.
Cheers
John
AnswerID: 539164

Reply By: Rangiephil - Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 at 13:38

Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 at 13:38
I initially had a Treg hitch on my Camp'o'matic camper trailer when I bought it.

However I noticed as it got older that the block would not stay horizontal for hitching, and that I was not happy about having my navi to move it into position as I backed on, as I preferred her to have all of her fingers.

I looked at and bought a McHitch which I have found to be great and has 360degree articulation in all directions. It is very easy to hitch and unhitch, and even with some tension on it it will unhitch when the trailer is raised on the jockey wheel, as it is something like a ball coupling in that respect.
Regards Philip A
AnswerID: 539166

Follow Up By: Member - John M (NSW) - Wednesday, Sep 17, 2014 at 10:06

Wednesday, Sep 17, 2014 at 10:06
Would 2nd the McHitch, self aligning and a 1 person operation, I have changed both my camping trailer and caravan coupling to the McHitch and found them to be fantastic.
Regards John
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Follow Up By: BunderDog - Wednesday, Sep 17, 2014 at 18:46

Wednesday, Sep 17, 2014 at 18:46
Would third for a McHitch..........would never have anything else now.
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Follow Up By: Gado - Friday, Sep 19, 2014 at 08:16

Friday, Sep 19, 2014 at 08:16
We kept the Treg hitch and added a McHitch adapter for our Campomatic a few years ago. Very happy, much easier to line up but sometimes not so easy to uncouple on slopes or with tension on it. The adapter bolts through the hole in the poly block.

After damaging the hitch in an accident a few weeks ago we are replacing the whole hitch unit with a McHitch brake override model - it's like a universal joint with full articulation and bolts straight on to the trailer and costs less than $200.

They also make an automatic model which they say is easier again to hook up.

No affiliation, just a happy customer

Cheers, Gado
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FollowupID: 823876

Reply By: Member - Boobook - Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 at 17:01

Tuesday, Sep 16, 2014 at 17:01
Unbolt it from the trailer, and throw it away as hard as you can.

Then go get a DO35. From that day your life will be so much easier.

No height alignment, nearly pinched fingers, 2 person operation. Just simple fast hitching and unhitching.
AnswerID: 539179

Reply By: Old 55 - Wednesday, Sep 17, 2014 at 10:14

Wednesday, Sep 17, 2014 at 10:14
Tregg hitches tend to test your patience at times. I changed to a Highland Hitch on my camper and it is also a one man operation.
AnswerID: 539205

Reply By: HGMonaro - Wednesday, Sep 17, 2014 at 11:05

Wednesday, Sep 17, 2014 at 11:05
It all about attention to detail. As you raise/lower the drawbar the 'window' for the pin to 'release' is small, 0.5mm either side of ideal. However if you watch the rubber block while you wind up/down you will see it loose any tension on it and you can pull the pin with no effort. Putting it back in is more complicated as you have to line up your tow vehicle as well. If your drawbar is heavy like ours and you're on uneven ground, this means lining up the hitch to within 1-2mm lateraly and preferably 0mm lengthwise as you can't move it much more than that. The comment above about the rubber block titling is a valid one and we use a stick (picked up off the ground) at the back ot the block to keep it level, no fingers involved. We manage to do this with minimal agro as we know what's required, near enough ain't good enough. Alternatively, spend some money and change it to one of the suggestions above.
AnswerID: 539207

Reply By: greg l2 - Thursday, Sep 18, 2014 at 18:47

Thursday, Sep 18, 2014 at 18:47
Grab a nozzle off a liquid nail tube or what ever and shove it between the poly block and steel hitch, simple and we can still play the piano,
AnswerID: 539258

Reply By: Member - Jim - Friday, Sep 19, 2014 at 19:54

Friday, Sep 19, 2014 at 19:54
I had a camper trailer for 10 years with the horizontal version of a Treg and had all the problems you have described.
More recently have had a caravan with a Treg, and having put up with the problems of load and off centre etc, I recently changed to a McHitch auto coupler.

Well, it is dead easy even using the reversing camera to connect versus the intricate directions required to align the pin exactly on the Treg.

So I recommend the McHitch, and (I have no affiliation)

Cheers,
Jim
AnswerID: 539294

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