Yea good question Rocky.
Thats why i was hoping someone with experience with other WDH other than HR would share their experience, which coincidently is part of the original post.
Kezngaz.
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Commitment shows. Quality is what is done when no one is looking.
I have been using the Pro Series Weight Distribution Hitch 275 kg model for the last year. It does not have the fine adjustment of the head that they HR models have but the number of steps in the head rotation are not too bad. I certainly do not think the difference is worth the extra shekels to acquire the HR model. As far as performance on the road goes, I don't see any change from the older HR Classic bars I was using.
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PeterD Nissan Navara D23 diesel auto, Spaceland pop-top Retired radio and electronics technician. NSW Central Coast.
Smaller vans can get away with fixed head and plain single\dual round spring steel bars with no taper.
I had one yrs ago.
Upgraded van. too heavy. I drilled out mount holes and had some bigger dia String Steel bar bent up.
Magic.
The HR are too rigid for lighter rigs.
I have a set of HR with the 500 and the 750 bars.
Collected over the yrs.
In process of making up another head for round spring steel rods
for this 2 ton tandem van.
Still Got rods. Lost head??.
When you like me and wear out the holes on HR. Twice.
hard coating bucket rods to build up Oval holes in head
and bar ends.
You doing too much methink's.
Did second coating 3-4 yrs ago. Corrugations really wear them.
Suppose I should retire them. Over 16 yrs old.
Still spring well though.
and naughtily over 350kg on drawbar.
Mine came from BTA tow bars in Vic. Definitely not under-engineered, each part carved from solid steel, no hollows, half the price of HR, heavy as...
This might seem a dumb Q, and apologies for going mildly off topic, but I'm trying to work out whether the (huge) weight of the WDH bars (i.e. bars only, obviously excl. the ball mount) is considered part of the car's payload, or the van's? It shouldn't really matter since it's all counted in the GVM in the end, but I'm just curious because if the car and van are weighed separately, neither vehicle on its own would have the bars attached, so legally I wonder which vehicle this weight would be attributed too?
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Cheers,
Tony
"Opinion is the medium between ignorance and knowledge" - Plato
The greatest part of the WDH mass is the head, which is part of the tug. The snap up brackets are part of the van (ie they are permanently mounted. If i ever get weighed then I will place them in the tug when they are removed.
When making allowances for the WDH you will more have to watch the extra weight on the vans wheels. Note the weight on the wheels goes up by 60 kg when the bars are attached.
I reckon it'd be easier to sell a HR Camec Pro Series if/when the day came... better known brands always are. There's not a lot of difference in the purchase price, so I wouldn't consider it unless there's some unique feature you need.
The point about the weight of the ball mount head and receiver adaptor is worth considering also. It'd be interesting to compare the weights of the various systems around.
FWIW, I use an old HR trunnion system I bought cheap second hand. Works fine despite some signs of wear. Adds cred too š
Cheers,
Steve