Want to get hitched quicker than a night out in Las Vegas? Check out this beauty from McHitch.
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When I saw this auto coupling from McHitch, my curiosity had me signed up in no time. Many of us have seen the old ‘marriage saver’ over the years, with most of them still bearing the remnants of shins and kneecaps!
I have to admit being sceptical of the perceived benefits of the coupler, so I grabbed a 3.5T system, suited to my LandCruiser, to check it out.
On opening the box a big warning label gets your attention and reminds you this is a technically crucial device we’re fiddling with. The instructions provided are great, easy to read and cover a variety of setups.
Further inspection drew my attention to the receiver section first, as this is the part lurking and waiting to catch that unsuspecting kneecap.
Upon fitting, it is proud but the yellow sections are a good reminder to avoid them.
An odd thing was seeing the handle with a hinge assembly, but welded solid. This led me to contact MrHitch who explained the change in design to a solid handle as the fold-back feature wasn’t as crucial as maintaining strength. New handles will be one piece in future.
Only one aspect of the product caught my scrutinising eye: the molding irregularities of the main body. A few rough areas, although not critical to the performance of the device, were a shame as it is otherwise a very tidy product.
The machining and finish of the main engaging parts that hold everything in place are superb; it is weighty but I like the feel of it. One may question using a universal joint designed for torque load in a device under lateral load, but the size of this unit will easily meet the intended task.
Fitting was a breeze, as you would expect, and the adjustments were all spot on straight out of the box. I did like the handbrake handle style.
As far as using the setup, well, judge for yourself in the little video. Once you have your height worked out, and follow the suggestion of marking your jockey wheel accordingly, reversing up and hitching is just so easy, as is disconnecting.
This one’s a keeper.
