Greg 1 wrote:

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Yobarr, I measured it this afternoon. From the receiver to the centre line of the towball on the original factory tongue and from the receiver to the centre line of the bolt hole for the ball on the WDH tongue, there is a 40mm difference. The Ford tongue measures 160mm and the WDH measures 200mm. The Ford tongue cannot be much shorter or it would not satisfactorily clear the rear bumper on a turn. Add the 90mm from ball centre to centre of uni joint on the McHitch and you have 130mm difference to running say a D035 on the standard tongue with no WDH. Hence my comment about the effect being academic.

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Hi Greg...."The Ford tongue measures 160mm" clearly shows how you got your figures,but that tongue length is much more than usual,with tongue length beyond the receiver generally a lot less than that.See photo.Because there is so much distance between the end of the towball receiver and your hitch point,when you fit your WDH unit you are able to get more of the shank into the receiver,thus minimising the difference in TBO between the two tongues.However,if the receiver was extended so that a shorter tongue could be used, the difference in TBO between the two would be far greater when a WDH was fitted.Cheers

P.S What do you think of the safety chain hooks?

-- Edited by yobarr on Saturday 26th of September 2020 10:48:18 AM

I am not sure what to make of the safety chains. I have never tried them so to comment would be a little unfair and I have mixed feelings about them. An interesting concept and something worth testing I would think. With regards the hitch issue, I really am over it. I have stated my experiences with the McHitch which have been nothing but good. An excellent product any way you look at it. But you can make your own minds up. TBO's change vehicle to vehicle and towbar manufacturer to manufacturer. It is personal choice what you as an individual wish to believe here. There are so many combinations of rigs out there that it is impossible to really say one size fits all. I have towed vans that were the biggest pile of crap to tow, that no matter what you did with the load, anything faster than 70 or 80kph and you were taking your life in your hands. Others, like my current van, other than the dead weight, you wouldn't know they were on the back. From many years of experience towing things around this country, I now have a pretty good idea of how a van might tow when I walk up to it. Different tow tugs respond differently even though the van is the same. If you like a DO35 or some other hitch in preference then go for it. The DO35 is a good product so you won't get any negative comments from me on one. With regards a WDH, my experience over many years and many miles is that I would not be without mine, but again, if you don't like them, or don't want to use one, then don't use one. It's personal choice. I am not holding a gun to your head. I am not going to make any further comment on this subject, so to all you popcorn and peanut eaters, unfortunately the shows over.