Towball hitch fell out with van attached!

Air suspension, hadn't had any dramas until now, in fact the 2.8t van towed noticeably better with load levelers attached. However, am aware of LR issues with load levelers, and probably would have got a Mitchell had I known what I know now.
Came through Nambour today, picked up an as new hitch; won't use levelers again, and will not tow anything of this size with my D3 ever again once I get home in 6 weeks unless I shell out for the Mitchells.
Thanks to all for your advice. Very ####### scary situation.
Hamma

Thanks Ken, will roll dice again as only needing it to last for 6 more weeks, and won't use levelers (not that I think they were the problem in the first place).
Hamma

Hi Hamma

I don't know about you, but I rather think the engineers at Land Rover would have reasons to advise against the use of load levellers in electronic air suspension. After all the EAS will level the car itself without the levellers and will continue to counteract yaw and roll, something that the bars can't do.

Diana

I tow a 3500kg van with a ball weight of 320kg without any issues. I have towed this van on went and at times icey mountain roads on open highways and dusty dirt back roads. I have seen my trailer stability control at work. But not once did my rig ever feel unstable. Most of that was with the Land Rover plough fitted. I now have Mitchell Bros hitch and the van Tows even better.

I would suggest your use of a WDH could have overloaded the LR hitch. The forces involved can be very high.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mowog

I tow a 3500kg van with a ball weight of 320kg without any issues. I have towed this van on went and at times icey mountain roads on open highways and dusty dirt back roads. I have seen my trailer stability control at work. But not once did my rig ever feel unstable. Most of that was with the Land Rover plough fitted. I now have Mitchell Bros hitch and the van Tows even better.

I would suggest your use of a WDH could have overloaded the LR hitch. The forces involved can be very high.

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I think we all pretty much gree that the standard D3 hitch is rubbish and what Mowog says is correct, WDH's can put immense forces on the things they are attached to, not just the tug but the van as well.

Just look at how many A frame's get snapped off of the front of vans that have WDH's fitted and usually it is because they are adjusted incorrectly.

Most of the old timers on Caravan sites will rave on about how good WDH's are and how stupid you are if you don't use one, but few will highlight the various problems they can cause.

I to use a Mitch Hitch on our D3 and they make towing a van a much more enjoyable and safer experience, in part because I don't worry that the van might fall off of the back as I did with the standard hitch.

cheers,
Terry

My take on all of this is that I created the problem by reversing into a tight spot with the WDH in place and getting the safety chains caught on the LR hitch. Up until that point I had had no more problems with the airbag system than I'd had before we ever attempted to tow anything ie. three compressors!!!
I won't attach the WDH again, I quite probably never needed to, and I understand LR's perspective, but I will maintain that it felt better towing a 2.8t van at speed with it than without it.
At the end of the day, the buck stops with me, not LR. Just happy we're okay.
Thanks again for your advice,
Hamma

Irrespective of your actions the fitting should still not have fallen out - this is not the first reported action and in my view there should be a safety recall on these hitches.

Garry

Quote:

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Originally Posted by garrycol

Irrespective of your actions the fitting should still not have fallen out - this is not the first reported action and in my view there should be a safety recall on these hitches.

Garry

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I agree.... I asked my dealer to pay for my Mitchell Brothers Hitch because I had no confidence in the hitch system. They said no.

Completely agree Gary, mine has fallen out while towing a 5m boat on the freeway. They replaced the hitch, however i have no confidence in it.

What gets me - hitch issues aside.

If people buy Cruisers they almost always:
1) use a WDH
2) fit aftermarket springs and shocks!
3) if they have Air, fit aftermarket shocks

Yet people get a D4, do nothing and some complain it feels a bit soft;)

It *can* tow stock as can the others.
Doesn't mean a custom shock wouldn't benefit the vehicle.