Mitch Hitch Question

[mike7]

Hi all,

Got rear ended a couple of months ago with minimal damage to my D4, literally only some scratches on the bumper but my tow ball went thru the car bumper and radiator that rear ended me.

Im thinking I should replace the tow assembly as I don’t know how much load my tow assembly copped.

Im doing the Cape in July and towing a Cub camper (1750kg loaded) and was seriously considering a Mitch Hitch, I believe the OEM one is limited to a trailer weight of 1000kg off road according to the hand book.

Those that have a MH are you happy with it? Do I need to buy a new bearing kit if I remove the MH and re-attach to the car later?

Any input appreciated.

rgds
Mike

[John_D4]

Yes you should get one (short answer). I don’t trust the standard hitch. I know Land Rover engineers have designed it but when I looked at mine the locating pin was only advancing about 10mm. I wasn’t comfortable with my families life towing a similar weight camper on that. I put on a 2nd hand recovery brand hitch. Cost me $400, complies with ADR, and the camper actually tows level. It was fairly easy to install.

Just to help with your install in case you buy one, the main bolt (goes through the towing eye) needs to be tightened to 250nm. From what I’ve read online that means torqued to 150nm then an additional 90 degree turn. Super tight. I had a lot of trouble finding that info so I thought I’d share.

Also, on my 2013 if I remove the tow tongue the reversing sensors don’t get activated every time I put it in reverse. They only go spastic if the tongue is in.

There was a 2nd hand one on one of the market places just today. Can’t remember where ? Facebook maybe?

[John_D4]

Found it. But I think it’s missing the metal brushing that goes in the tow eyelet. At least mine had one and I can’t see one in that pic


Facebook Marketplace: Tow Hitch High Rise LRD3/4 & RR Sport – Car parts – Adelaide, South Australia (https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/769314226825424/)

[RickO]

I think the hitch in the picture might be upside down

[loanrangie]

I think the hitch in the picture might be upside downOnly in some of the pics.

[DiscoJeffster]

Not correct. Standard one can tow the full weight of the vehicle. I tow a tonne camper on the D4 “high” ball and it’s fine. Sure you can buy various replacement hitches, but that’s your call. The factory hitch is designed to take 3.5 tonne as per the factory towing spec. At extreme angles articulation with the D4 factory one could be an issue, but most commentary is around the awful D3 one. It was a crap design. The D4 one is much better.

[mike7]

Thanks for the link, I’ll try contact the seller. I’m loosing count of the number of times my hitch has hit the ground so far.

Disco Jeff in the rowing section of the handbook it says 1000kg for off road towing and 3500kg on road, am I reading something wrong here, genuine question.

Spoke to LR and they said the same, any clarity you have on this would be great.

[John_D4]

Thanks for the link, I’ll try contact the seller. I’m loosing count of the number of times my hitch has hit the ground so far.

Disco Jeff in the rowing section of the handbook it says 1000kg for off road towing and 3500kg on road, am I reading something wrong here, genuine question.

Spoke to LR and they said the same, any clarity you have on this would be great.

My replacement hitch is rated to 3.5t. It doesn’t say anything about off road being different

[Tombie]

All vehicle manufacturers de-rate their towing when offroad. dont worry about it too much.

[envee]

I have a recovery hitch for sale. D4 Recovery Tow Hitch (https://www.aulro.com/afvb/body-and-external-accessories-for-sale/272560-d4-recovery-tow-hitch.html)

Cheers

Neil

[shamirj]

that one pictured is not the original mitch hitch but a copy just so you know.
go for the original mitch hitch had it in my last 3 vehicles and loved it. would not go back to the LR hitch. only my opinion.

[101RRS]

I got rear ended in August and as a result a new rear bumper was needed. I advised my repairer that a new fitting kit was needed for my Mitchell Bros hitch as the rear ender was basically as the Op's was.

Mitchell Bros advised that in any rear end shunt, no matter how minor, the hitch should be replaced as they could not guarantee the 3500kg/350kg load capacity will remain.

Mine was replaced under insurance - my bingle was a no blame claim on my part so no cost to me.

Garry

[DiscoMick]

My BIL has a Mitch hitch on his 80 which he uses to tow both a caravan and camper trailer and loves it. Just did 8 months on the road with the camper, including lots of very rough places and no problems.
BTW an unsealed track is not 'off road' - it's still a road.

[Tombie]

My BIL has a Mitch hitch on his 80 which he uses to tow both a caravan and camper trailer and loves it. Just did 8 months on the road with the camper, including lots of very rough places and no problems.
BTW an unsealed track is not 'off road' - it's still a road.

MC Hitch???

[NavyDiver]

I love my Disco. The tow hitch on your and my D3(s) is a shocker

Ramp over and tail drag hell plus plus plus. A MH is you best move ever.

[DiscoMick]

MC Hitch???Ooh yes, you're right, it's a McHitch. Used the wrong name. It works brilliantly. Just line it up at the same height and back it up to hitch.

RV DAILY | Australia's most read RV Magazine - McHitch Automatic Trailer Coupler ReViewed! (https://rvdaily.com.au/mchitch-automatic-trailer-coupler-reviewed/)

[John_D4]

I’ve been putting off buying one as I’ve been sceptical of the uni design for off road (cape York later this year). Are they ok?

[DieselLSE]

I’ve been putting off buying one as I’ve been sceptical of the uni design for off road (cape York later this year). Are they ok?
Yes.

[Tombie]

I’ve been putting off buying one as I’ve been sceptical of the uni design for off road (cape York later this year). Are they ok?

They are brilliant and completely over engineered.

I have the drop on versions on my Cat, Van and even the 6x4 trailer.

Different size uni joints for different load ratings.

[Melbourne Park]

I wanted a Mitch Hitch for my D4 which now and then tows a 2450kg AOR Matrix. But the Mitch Hitch was always out of stock and they would say "we'll make some more in a few months - keep your eyes open". After 18 months of occasional looking but not being able to find one when I looked, I had a Ritter unit installed, and its been excellent. It's fully rated, for 3,500 kg. Hopefully Mitch Hitch supply issues are gone, but if you get impatient, the Ritter product is an alternative that is serving me well.

Doug

[Narangga]

Hi all,
Im doing the Cape in July and towing a Cub camper (1750kg loaded) and was seriously considering a Mitch Hitch, I believe the OEM one is limited to a trailer weight of 1000kg off road according to the hand book.

Those that have a MH are you happy with it? Do I need to buy a new bearing kit if I remove the MH and re-attach to the car later?

Any input appreciated.

rgds
Mike

My Statement:Mike I have a Mitch Hitch. I have a tongue that suits so that I can tow my camper trailer 'level' - See here https://www.aulro.com/afvb/wa-reports/273144-darwin-pilbara-return.html#post2928257

Your Questions: 1. Yes as it is easily accessible to remove the tongue and does not protrude beyond the rear bumper by much. 2. As far as I am aware that is recommended but I have not removed mine so have no personal experience.

[101RRS]

Some poeple seemed confused.

The Mitch Hitch is a tow bar for the D3/D4/RRS that is made by Mitchell Bros in Sydney Mitchell Bros Hi-Rise Tow Hitch – Mitchell Bros 4x4 - Mitch Hitch (https://www.mitchhitch.com.au/products/mitch-hitch). It is not a trailing coupling.

The Mac Hitch is not a tow bar but a caravan/trailer coupling McHitch Trailer Couplings (https://www.mchitch.com.au/)

The combination of a Mitch Hitch tow bar with a Mac Hitch coupling for the van is probably a great combination.

Garry

[mike7]

Thanks everyone, I’ll call and order the MH on Monday.

GAP Tool is next on the list, I aint going to the Cape without one.

[PhilipA]

I have an older style Mc Hitch on my D2. I have done the GRR with no hitch problems.

I had the fuel manifold fail on the GRr and was towed into Kunnunurra by the WA RAC contractor .

During the tow they managed to destroy both the top and bottom threads on the "tow ball" attachment and then tried to get another only to be told they had to buy the whole thing from the WA distributor. They did this as they did not have a correct hitch for the truck and attempted to place the ball on their battered truck hitch and overtightened the large nut. In addition they also stripped the small thread on the top by trying to pull down the ball with the thread when the tow insert was rough and the trailer part which goes on would not sit flat .

I was able to call McHitch and they air couriered one over from Lithgow.

The UJ is from a Land Cruiser and quite strong if greased properly.

To be fair I saw one at the WA RAC contractor workshop where the UJ had disintegrated and caused an accident when the towed trailer dug in, presumably because of the chains being too long. McHitch had never heard of it happening and asked for the offending piece to be sent to his company.

Needless to say I now carry a spare ball which is cheap.

I recommend the (old type) Mc hitch as it is MUCH easier to hitch when not exactly in line by just rotating the UJ. Also it is much easier to Unhitch when on a slope and there is tension on the ball (vs a Treg or whatever). I am talking the old type . I elected not to upgrade to the new "rear entry " type as I am happy with the old type and feel that it is easier to unhitch with pressure on the hitch. You just raise the trailer and it unhitches.(with a bang)
Regards PhilipA

[Tombie]

What you call old type is simply the drop-on version.

I use the drop on versions...

[Hugh Jars]

I have an almost new MH for sale, if anyone's interested.
As it has been removed from my vehicle it will require a fastener and bush kit from Mitchell Bros. They run at $121.00

PM if interested.
John R.