Snapped Hitch Receiver

[Briar]

Not mine, but have a friend who is towing his Quantum van with a 2016/17 D4 HSE. He is currently near Exmouth in WA

Last week he snapped his hitch Receiver whist towing at about 25km/h over some medium corrugations. Picture attached. I have never seen this happen before. He was stuck for a week whilst waiting to get a Mitch Hitch and attachments sent to him. He has allowed me to post images. He has towed van to Cape York and Fraser and went to WA via the Great Central Highway.

Has anyone else had experience with this. It's a concern as I also tow a van. If the standard Hitch Receiver has some inherent weakness I'll do something about mine as well. I do not want to get stranded somewhere with a snapped Hitch Receiver.

Snapped Receiver on left and new setup on right.

Trevor
141449141450

[trout1105]

With an extended hitch like that something has to fail.

[Konradical]

May be why LR specify a max off road towing of 1000kg. Saying that though, even my '89 RRC states that in the operator's manual.

[Briar]

With an extended hitch like that something has to fail.

I'd be pretty sure there are many other D4 owners who are using a McHitch which does extend the overhang a little. However, the Quantum is only 2500kg ATM so ball weight is about 250kg. There are plenty of people towing with a ball weight of 350kg which is what the D4 is rated to. Even with the extension of the McHitch over a standard ball the weight on the Hitch Receiver would still be around the 250-300kg mark max.

[trout1105]

I'd be pretty sure there are many other D4 owners who are using a McHitch which does extend the overhang a little. However, the Quantum is only 2500kg ATM so ball weight is about 250kg. There are plenty of people towing with a ball weight of 350kg which is what the D4 is rated to. Even with the extension of the McHitch over a standard ball the weight on the Hitch Receiver would still be around the 250-300kg mark max.

It's not the weight doing the damage it is the "Leverage" that a long hitch setup like this that will do the damage.
Keeping the towball weight as close to the vehicle as possible is the Best option. [thumbsupbig]

[Briar]

May be why LR specify a max off road towing of 1000kg. Saying that though, even my '89 RRC states that in the operator's manual.

Got a point there Konrad. I don't know exactly what level off "off road" the hitch has been subject to in the past but I guess Fraser and Cape York qualify (although I don't know which road was used to cape york.

[Tombie]

It's not the weight doing the damage it is the "Leverage" that a long hitch setup like this that will do the damage.
Keeping the towball weight as close to the vehicle as possible is the Best option. [thumbsupbig]

Not in this case mate... [emoji41]

The one that failed - was factory - with factory overhang.

The length of the hitch from Pin to Van is not relevant as the leverage to the van wheels doesn’t matter at that resolution.

The MCHitch has 3.5t on many a D4 etc zipping around the country without issue.

[trout1105]

The factory hitch is designed so that the van, trailer or boat is hooked up to the towball.
Adding another hitch onto the towball and extending it "Has" to put added strain onto the hitch.

[101RRS]

It's not the weight doing the damage it is the "Leverage" that a long hitch setup like this that will do the damage.
Keeping the towball weight as close to the vehicle as possible is the Best option. [thumbsupbig]

I think you are getting confused between the old standard tow hitch which broke and the new arrangement which is shown with the van attached. Yes the new arrangement is long with the hitch, the tow bar, coupling and then gear on the van - but it is on a Mitchell Bros tow bar, a very different arrangement to the broken standard hitch.

To tow that van with using the standard LR hitch what changes would you suggest.

I suspect the LR hitch (plough) has taken a solid hit on a rock or something at some stage and a small crack has occurred which has grown due metal fatigue when towing and finally broken. Looking at the break, it is certainly not a fresh break with the crack being there sometime before finally breaking.

Garry

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Its not the length from the hitch to wherever,,
its the length from the rear axle to the ball,

Any type of trailer is towed better when the trailer hitch is closest to the tow vehicles rear axle.
Both sway and pitch are reduced in magnitude the closer you get.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

To tow that van with using the standard LR hitch what changes would you suggest.

Garry

a pic of the van would Gaz,, [wink11]

[loanrangie]

The standard hitch is not a good design, D4 version is better than the D3 plough but the load on the hitch is down at an angle.
Effectively the same motion as putting a piece of steel in a vice and bending it back and forth to break it..

[Briar]

a pic of the van would Gaz,, [wink11]

There you go.

It is not a huge van my mate is towing.

141456

[LRD414]

Has anyone else had experience with this.
I have been looking for the one other example I have seen of a very similar failure but can't find it sorry.

Scott

[Tombie]

He won’t have any more problems with the new set up.

[dirvine]

I have a DO35 hitch and pin for my van. The pin is directly over the hole on the tongue. If you look at that picture where the van connects to the tow hitch it looks about 10cms further out (ie further back) than the tow ball hole on the tongue. I think thats what a number of people are trying to say in regards to the extra leverage.

[disco4now]

Isn’t the pivot point on the McHitch the middle of that universal? That puts it a fair way back.

[loanrangie]

Isn’t the pivot point on the McHitch the middle of that universal? That puts it a fair way back.

Not any further than the standard hitch just a different angle, plus its mounting system is far better.

[disco4now]

I just measured from that lug where the standard D4 hitch receiver plugs into the chassis ie where it broke and it’s 17.5 cm to centre of the towball hole on standard D4 tongue. The D035 puts the weight and pivot right there. If the McHitch has it out another 10cm it does make some difference to angular force applied to where it broke. I have towed with D035 hitch on 3500kg van and standard D4 setup for 60,000km over 8 years, cape York, Savannah’s way, Gibb river. I have no argument that Mitch Hitch does the job. Maybe some questions with the McHitch and the standard D4 setup. Who is using that combination?

[Hugh Jars]

May be why LR specify a max off road towing of 1000kg. Saying that though, even my '89 RRC states that in the operator's manual.

For the D4? Doesn’t seem to be specified anywhere in my owners manual.

When I got my Mitch hitch, I had the bar shortened and redrilled to position the pin/towball as close to the receiver as possible. I figured that minimises the levering moment...

[Fatso]

I think you are getting confused between the old standard tow hitch which broke and the new arrangement which is shown with the van attached. Yes the new arrangement is long with the hitch, the tow bar, coupling and then gear on the van - but it is on a Mitchell Bros tow bar, a very different arrangement to the broken standard hitch.

To tow that van with using the standard LR hitch what changes would you suggest.

I suspect the LR hitch (plough) has taken a solid hit on a rock or something at some stage and a small crack has occurred which has grown due metal fatigue when towing and finally broken. Looking at the break, it is certainly not a fresh break with the crack being there sometime before finally breaking.

Garry

The hitch in pic looks like the new D4 type hitch to me , not the old plough .

[101RRS]

Maybe - so the new plough rather than the old plough.

Doesn't matter, my point is still valid and applies to both - both hang down and are vulnerable to hitting something solid where a fatigue crack can start.

Cheers

Garry

[Fatso]

You would have to be doing something not very smart to hit the new type on the ground as it no where as long as the joke of D3 hitch , my old D3 plough is in the shed and now have a D4 hitch on my 2007 sport .

I would be very interested to know what happened to the OP hitch , wonder if there was a casting fault in manufature as appears to parted where the locking bolt is ? .
Toyota prado,s had a fault where the hitch broke off on certain models but not sure why .

All being equal i can not see a reason if used normaly why it would fail it is one solid peice of metal .

[mike7]

I’ve managed to bang my hitch twice coming out of a shopping centre turning onto the main road as there was a bit of a dip, it really didn’t take much and I was surprised that it happened. I raise the car now anytime I need to cross a dip.

I ended up buying a new hitch as I no longer trusted the one original and a year later a guy rear ended me straight into the tow ball, no damage at my rear but his bumper/radiator was totalled. Looks like the tow assembly took all of the force of the truck hitting me.

So yet again another replacement but this time I think I’ll go with the Mitch.

Cheers
Mike

[JMH60]

Hi Brian, it’s John the D5 owner than pulled the van out, hope you are sorted now and enjoying the rest of your holiday

[Celtoid]

I used to leave mine fitted without the tongue but it gets very dirty and hard to remove. I've also dragged it in the sand a few times while crossing creeks on Morton and Fraser Is .... so if you were on a rock surface I imagine you could give it a reasonable smack. But that would be at lower speed thus reducing the impact force.

[Jaybee]

I’ve managed to bang my hitch twice coming out of a shopping centre turning onto the main road as there was a bit of a dip, it really didn’t take much and I was surprised that it happened. I raise the car now anytime I need to cross a dip.

My factory D4 hitch also hit the ground on a number of occasions when towing over gutters and rough tracks so I decided to replace with the Mitch Hitch and have not bottomed it out since. So I too think that the original D4 hitch has had a knock sometime that's taken a while to break through.
Now I have more peace of mind with the Mitch Hitch than I did with the factory hitch.

Jaybee MY12 D4

[ADMIRAL]

I just measured from that lug where the standard D4 hitch receiver plugs into the chassis ie where it broke and it’s 17.5 cm to centre of the towball hole on standard D4 tongue. The D035 puts the weight and pivot right there. If the McHitch has it out another 10cm it does make some difference to angular force applied to where it broke. I have towed with D035 hitch on 3500kg van and standard D4 setup for 60,000km over 8 years, cape York, Savannah’s way, Gibb river. I have no argument that Mitch Hitch does the job. Maybe some questions with the McHitch and the standard D4 setup. Who is using that combination?

My rig runs the std D4 plough and a Mc Hitch setup. The van is a tandem about 2.6t. No dramas so far and i have had the entire rig airborne on a whoopdee doo around Mt Augustus.

[BradC]

I used to leave mine fitted without the tongue but it gets very dirty and hard to remove.

I recall reading that was a no-no (both the receiver hitch and the cast ball) because it'll rattle around and wear both the hitch and the socket in the chassis. I certainly take mine out when it's not in use. Is it ok to leave them in?

[Celtoid]

I recall reading that was a no-no (both the receiver hitch and the cast ball) because it'll rattle around and wear both the hitch and the socket in the chassis. I certainly take mine out when it's not in use. Is it ok to leave them in?

I did for years in my old D4 and never noticed any rattling or progressive looseness ... in fact quite the opposite .... it was a bugger to get off.

I ended up having to pull it apart to clean and re-grease it at one stage too because it had been gummed up. I leave it off my car these days.

And I never left the tongue and ball on ... that definitely rattles and somebody might nick it [bighmmm] like they did the red blank .... bastards!

[Rick Fischer]

This is just comment.

Looking at the prominent fracture face, and for what it is worth, it would appear to be an overload failure. Note the pyramid/ mountainous crystal structure of brown failure face, and there are no apparent fatigue striations.

So for whatever reason there was too much load, or the device itself is not strong enough in the application: equals ditto.

Cheers

Rick F

[ATH]

"a guy rear ended me straight into the tow ball, no damage at my rear but his bumper/radiator was totalled." That reminds me of an incident many years ago in Perth when the Causeway roundabout was actually a roundabout with no traffic lights to control things.
Mechanic hit me up the rear with a customers Datsun he was testing and my tow ball went straight through the radiator. He worked for John Hughes a big car dealer who arranged a car for me to use while the minor damage on mine was fixed.
Not sure what happened to the mechanic but Hughes's face went through various shades of red when I told him. :)
Back to the subject, I'm also one who removes the hitch when not towing as I can't see the purpose of leaving it in. Even after doing a trip I've found it hard to remove as the pin gets gummed up and I've had to get under with a drift and hammer and give it (the pin) a couple of thumps to free it up.
LR really do come up with some strange ways of doing things sometimes......
AlanH.

[vee8auto]

I understand that the Land Rover hitch failed, thats one issue.

But the 2nd photo of the Mitch Hitch shows a fact that concerned me, that is the (what I consider to be excessive) length of the hitch extension in the Mitch Hitch receiver.
I cut the excess off mine and re-drilled new holes so that the hitch was completely snug in the receiver.

[Briar]

I understand that the Land Rover hitch failed, thats one issue.

But the 2nd photo of the Mitch Hitch shows a fact that concerned me, that is the (what I consider to be excessive) length of the hitch extension in the Mitch Hitch receiver.
I cut the excess off mine and re-drilled new holes so that the hitch was completely snug in the receiver.

That's what my mate has done as well.

141730

[trout1105]

That's what my mate has done as well.

141730

That is afar.more sensible arrangement.[thumbsupbig]

[Konradical]

For the D4? Doesn’t seem to be specified anywhere in my owners manual.

You are right, I had another look through the manual in my car and online, couldn't find it. But I do swear I saw it somewhere. At the time I remember laughing because it was the same as my 89 Rangie and thought that some things don't change.

While looking though, I did find an interesting diagram.142806142807