McHitch versus Hitch Ezy

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Interesting hitches…

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the post. I want to get an articulated hitch. I have had 2 trailers with them. They definitely help. We have already been in a few situations where I wish I had one. 

Kirk

[Rivernerd]

12 hours ago, Wandering Sagebrush said:

Interesting hitches…

Very interesting.  But not inexpensive.  The Hitch-Ezy costs from $1290 to $1575 plus $290, Australian, for shipping to the USA.  That converts to from about $1K to about $1200 in US dollars.

I suppose that expense makes sense if you take your Oliver on really bad roads.

[routlaw]

@Wandering Sagebrush did you ever try one of these? Just ran across this hitch this morning and find them an excellent alternative but not sure the installation bolts that come with the kit would suffice with our Olivers. 

[FloraFauna]

This is interesting discussion, but I don't really consider the Elite II to be a TT with an off-road suspension where something like this would be needed.  I do have the hitch for 2 -5/16 ball since that is what I normally have on my truck anyway and provides a bit more security.  Sure, I take the Ollie down gravel roads and even some dirt roads, but I never have had the trailer in such a condition where this kind of articulation would be needed.  Do others do overlanding or really rough terrain with their Ollie?

[jd1923]

46 minutes ago, FloraFauna said:

This is interesting discussion, but I don't really consider the Elite II to be a TT with an off-road suspension where something like this would be needed.  I do have the hitch for 2 -5/16 ball since that is what I normally have on my truck anyway and provides a bit more security.  Sure, I take the Ollie down gravel roads and even some dirt roads, but I never have had the trailer in such a condition where this kind of articulation would be needed.  Do others do overlanding or really rough terrain with their Ollie?

I agree 100%. I posted about our trip to Harquahala Mountain and a forum member wrote they wouldn’t tow through those washes. I also have the 2 5/16” Bulldog and Alcan Springs, so good enough for us.

If one was to travel in rough terrain to truly need an articulating hitch, they would likely need to change axle orientation from underslung to overslung for greater ground clearance!

Edited 17 hours ago by jd1923

[topgun2]

15 hours ago, FloraFauna said:

Do others do overlanding or really rough terrain with their Ollie?

Apparently the answer is a "qualified" - yes.

However, I've never actually observed an Oliver in what I term "really rough terrain".  Perhaps there just might be some "definition" issues of what is really meant by really rough terrain but when things get to the point of possibly damaging my Oliver - I simply bail out and refuse to proceed.  I do not take these situations as a challenge to be overcome.  I'd rather park the Ollie and then take the truck with its 4 wheel drive out into the more "interesting" stuff.

Having said this - I do believe that there have been a handful of owners that have tested the limits of our Ollies.  I'd guess that at least a few of these owners then decided that they agree with your statement about not having a "off-road suspension" and/or other accoutrements of trailers actually designed for the serious off-road crowd and swapped the Oliver for something they thought to be better suited for what they wanted to do.

Bottom line for me is that the Oliver is robust enough to get me to all of the places I've ever wanted to go and sure does beat any other RV I've ever owned in this regard.  I really do not enjoy traveling at speeds of between 2 an 5 miles an hour (I can just about walk that pace) while at the same time being concerned about what is going on inside Twist, worrying about a rock putting a nice gouge in its side, etc..  But, if that kind of activity is what "floats someone else's boat" and they have the coin to fix whatever damage occurs because of it then I say have at it - but - be careful.

Bill

Edited 2 hours ago by topgun2
spelling

[routlaw]

Excellent, appropriate response to the subject @topgun2 . I would like to add my thoughts along those lines. Likewise I have traveled some really rough roads, backcountry gravel and dirt without a scratch so far. By no means am I stupid enough to take the Oliver down serious overland roads made most famous in the desert southwest, ie White Rim Trail, The Maze and so forth and so on. There are other rigs better suited to this endeavor such as MDC from Australia, Escapod, Bean Teardrops, Pause, and especially the Emperial Outdoors made in WI. I've seen and been in those and there is nothing like them made in this country I am aware of. Like the Olivers they are expensive, even more so, but built to the extreme made to go anywhere and are a true 4 season camper. Many RV's claim 4 Season, they are not in most cases.

Regarding hitches and suspensions there is one reason why we still have leaf sprung suspensions and traditional ball hitch mounts on travel trailers. They are inexpensive for the manufactures to produce. While it may make sense to put leaf sprung suspensions on trucks due to their ability to carry very heavy loads installing them on a travel trailer makes no sense at all other than cheap manufacturing cost. Same goes for the traditional ball hitches. From a safety standpoint this was the inspiration for the invention of the Hitch-Ezy due to the designers wife having rolled over completely with her trailer and TV. I've lost count of the number of YouTube videos I've seen of trailers rolling over and taking the TV with it. With a fully articulating hitch this would not happen. While I don't have any personal experience using an articulating hitch it is my understanding the implementation allows for easier maneuvering, backup, and safer towing and traversing even mildly rough terrain. I don't know what the flex angles are on a typical ball hitch but on more than one occasion I've avoided going into backcountry BLM/USFS due to some very steep angles of approach. The BLM Overlook campground west of Grand Junction is a classic example where 99% of the jeep trail is easy to navigate with an Oliver until the final drop off which is quite steep. I would not be comfortable taking the Oliver through this. Otherwise a fabulous campground for tenters, vans, and small RV's with more accommodating hitches and suspensions.

Leaf spring suspensions are rough, stiff and harsh period. Again they might make sense for utility trailers carrying very loads such as horses, construction equipment and supplies but for RV's it's simple and cheap to manufacture. There really is no other compelling reason to build an RV this way. There is a reason the automotive industry went to 4 wheel independent suspensions decades ago, it's safer, more comfortable allowing for greater dexterity while driving. I know of no one who has transitioned to an independent RV suspension with a desire to return to leaf springs and same could be said for the articulating hitch. For me, I would love to be able to go a little deeper and bit further off the beaten path safely without being an extreme overlander thus the interesting in different hitches and suspensions. 

As a final note on the leaf springs, just recently came across the Road Master mod kits for leaf springs and by all accounts appears to be far superior to the Dexter Easy Flex and other such flex kits made by Lippert and Morryde both apparently better than the Dexter version.