Tregg look allike hitches.
Submitted: Thursday, Jan 10, 2013 at 18:23
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mfewster
There are a number of hitches on ebay that look like a tregg design but sell for considerably less. Has anyone had any experience with them?
Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Thursday, Jan 10, 2013 at 19:29
Thursday, Jan 10, 2013 at 19:29
The only Treg lookalike to my knowledge is a Trigg hitch.
Don't know of the ones you are referring to on ebay but sometimes "cheap is crap".
When you are looking at something that couples your vehicle to your "pride and joy", the last thing you need is "cheap".
Here's a whole range of various couplings to confuse you.
Couplings
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Follow Up By: mfewster - Thursday, Jan 10, 2013 at 19:51
Thursday, Jan 10, 2013 at 19:51
Thanks Sandman. Yep, I know "Cheap can be crap" but not always. Which is why I was asking out there. I also like the Hitchmaster range which also has a poly block. Previous experience with polyurethane blocks makes me think this is the path to go.
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Follow Up By: Member - Keith P (NSW) - Thursday, Jan 10, 2013 at 20:41
Thursday, Jan 10, 2013 at 20:41
I have had a cupple of trg type hitches in the past...n always thought they were the beeknees...until....my latest camper came fitted with a Hitchmaster DO35 hitch. IMO...after using one of these...beats a treg hands down!!.
Easy to hook up...strong and quiet. and is very positive in the way it works. Even SWMBO reckons that it is easy to use....not scary at all like the other hiches. (that has gotta be female logic....n only another female can understand it I guess). But anyway...when it comes to hook - up time ...I reverse in ...n by the time I,m outa truck ...she has it hitched up and is already winding up jockey wheel.
We both like n recomend these hitches...definitely worth a look.
Cheers Keith
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Follow Up By: Lyn W3 - Thursday, Jan 10, 2013 at 20:54
Thursday, Jan 10, 2013 at 20:54
"Built to comply with Australian Standards" yet it doesn't seem to be stamped anywhere to say it actually complies with standards.
All the welds look a little substandard to me.
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Follow Up By: Member - Boobook - Friday, Jan 11, 2013 at 07:17
Friday, Jan 11, 2013 at 07:17
I'm with Keith. After having had a treg hitch for years, my new camper has a DO 35. Light years ahead to couple.
You only have to get the horosontal position right then drop it down. No more multiple trys to get height right, one person operation and no more near miss finger squeeze episodes.
Tregs are button up flys.
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Follow Up By: Les - PK Ranger - Friday, Jan 11, 2013 at 09:45
Friday, Jan 11, 2013 at 09:45
Another advantage of different couplings like the Hitchmaster DO35 might be theft prevention.
How many thieving scumbags would have anything more than a standard 50mm towball when on the hunt for a 'cheap' trailer / camper etc for themsleves ?
I think of this because I have a trailer my dad built ove . . . oh, probably more than 40 years ago.
It has an imperial size ball coupling that is too small to fit over a modern 50mm ball.
I'm pretty confindent not many could easily pinch this from
home, or unhook it and drive off with it.
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Reply By: Member - Greg N (QLD) - Thursday, Jan 10, 2013 at 21:49
Thursday, Jan 10, 2013 at 21:49
mfewster,
I bought a Tregg look-alike on ebay from Huntsman123/Trublu campers. It is on
my home-built camper which weighed in at 680kg for registration, but somewhat more once loaded for travelling. From July to October 2012 the camper travelled from the Sunshine Coast to Alice via the Plenty Hwy &
Cattlewater Pass track, did the Tanami, and then in to Purnululu (Bungle Bungles), and around to
Broome. From there it went up to C Leveque, along the
Gibb River Road and back to the Qld coast via
Borroloola,
Hells Gate,
Lawn Hill NP,
Normanton and
Croydon. The hitch gave me no cause for concern. The Al-ko disc brakes however, gave no end of trouble and I would definitely NOT recommend them for anything but bitumen. So, sometimes you get what you pay for, and sometimes you don't. If your camper is
well balanced, your tow-vehicle is not too stiffly sprung and you travel sensibly, a look-alike hitch might
well suit your purpose.
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502185
Reply By: Member - John and Val - Friday, Jan 11, 2013 at 07:42
Friday, Jan 11, 2013 at 07:42
We use an Orac style one ( see Sandman's link to types of couplings) bought cheaply on ebay.
I don't think price is a good indicator of quality - good is usually expensive, but cheap isn't always rubbish and too often rubbish isn't cheap!
Ours performs it's function and provides all the articulation you could ever want...BUT... the left-right articulation is handled by a solid bolt attaching the coupling loosely to the towing hook. A metal to metal "bearing" that wears and rattles... and works the retaining nut loose until you learn to weld
the nut to the bolt! It's satisfactory for our lightweight trailer, but I wouldn't recommend for more serious use.
Cheers
John | J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
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Follow Up By: Member - John and Val - Friday, Jan 11, 2013 at 07:48
Friday, Jan 11, 2013 at 07:48
Actually, when I look more closely at the hitches at Sandman's link, ours is shown as a Nathan hitch at the bottom of the page. It is a cheapened Orac (?)
Cheers
John | J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
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Follow Up By: mfewster - Friday, Jan 11, 2013 at 08:38
Friday, Jan 11, 2013 at 08:38
A big thank you to everyone for the thoughtful responses and the sharing of experience. I agree with
John and Val's statement re quality and price (and also appreciated your detailed notes on the Orac type coupling you have) Equating higher price with better quality is just too simplistic.
On a connected, but slightly different topic (I may have to start a new thread on this). My towbar has a detachable tongue, the sort that slides in and secures with a large pin. It moves a little inside the sleeve on the towbar. I'd have thought any movement should be not good. Do I need to have this remedied? If so, how? My garage (generally very reliable) doesn't think it is a problem
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Follow Up By: Lyn W3 - Friday, Jan 11, 2013 at 09:23
Friday, Jan 11, 2013 at 09:23
Drill a hole (15mm) in the bottom of the sleeve, weld on a decent 13mm nut and use a bolt to lock the tongue in.
I think it comes as standard on most Toyota tow hitches,
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Follow Up By: Member - John and Val - Friday, Jan 11, 2013 at 10:21
Friday, Jan 11, 2013 at 10:21
Lyn's suggestion is a good one, though I've seen implemented on a corner of the square tube so that tightening the 13mm bolt acts to compress the inner (towing hook) tube both vertically and horizontally.
Be aware that some towbar tubes don't match exactly some of the after market towing tongues - might be a metric/imperial issue, but Lyn's suggestion can take up the slack provided the fit isn't too sloppy.
Cheers
John | J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
- Albert Einstein
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Follow Up By: mfewster - Friday, Jan 11, 2013 at 10:48
Friday, Jan 11, 2013 at 10:48
Now that's clever. There is a little play, not much, both vertically and horizontally on
mine. The diagonal bolt technique is perfect
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Follow Up By: rocco2010 - Friday, Jan 11, 2013 at 15:49
Friday, Jan 11, 2013 at 15:49
Gidday
Just a a bit of trivia on the bolt to st op the rattling tongue ... The original tow bar and tongue on my ford
ranger came complete with anti rattle bolt. The new towbar fitted after the recall last year doesn't have a hole for the bolt. Somebody in the design department slipped up there, or maybe ford wanted to save a dollar or two by not drilling a hole!
Cheers
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