McHitch ABOUT US
My name is Joe McGinnes and I am the inventor of the McHitch Uniglide Trailer coupling. I'm no stranger to towing and couplings as I myself have a 27ft Matilda motor home which I used to tow my race car around Australia.
After numerous trips to Perth and back (from Lithgow N.S.W.) and wearing out traditional tow balls and couplings in a single return trip, I started to search for something better. I was surprised not only by the amount of alternate couplings on the market but the fact that ALL of them both lock to the tow vehicle and pivot on the one point! Out of necessity, the McHitch Uniglide coupling drop on range was born In 2009. Our first award was the Farm Inventor of the Year at the Orange National Field Days in November 2009.
The McHitch Uniglide Trailer Coupling has been developed to be an all purpose coupler for all types of caravans and trailers including, off road campers, car trailers, horse trailers, tipping trailers and every type of tow situation out there.
The most important feature of our couplings is the use of a universal joint incorporating roller bearings to handle all of the horizontal/vertical movements, well past 90 degrees horizontally AND vertically (nothing else on the market comes close) with the twisting being handled in the rear body by shock absorbing graphite impregnated polyurethane bushes. The 2 and 3.5 tonne universal joint itself is the same found in all 4wd Landcruisers (industry part no RUJ-2041). The 4.5 and 6 tonne unis are out of a 10 tonne truck (industry part no. K5GB22R). The joint itself is held in place by registers and opposite threaded plugs/end caps which remove any end play and provides enough pressure on the cross to prevent the front section falling down.
The McHitch Uniglide Trailer Coupling goes back to the drawing board and alleviates this problem by separating the point of attachment and the point of wear (the tapered pin is the point of attachment, the universal is the point of articulation) To understand the breakthrough of the McHitch is to understand a fundamental shift in towing technology. Every other type of coupling on the market pivot AND connect to the towing vehicle at the same point. This introduces wear, which introduces play and hammer which creates noise and the potential for the coupling to 'jump' off the point of attachment with catastrophic consequences.
Some couplings in common usage have articulation angles as low as 18 - 28 degrees which can cause huge stress and breakage in some instances. McHitch, however, boasts articulation angles in excess of 90 degrees in all directions
On the Original Drop-On range, the main body is clamped over the stainless steel tapered pin by a triple locking mechanism with NO movement between pin and the body. It is easily connected to the tow vehicle by dropping it onto the pin, with the taper allowing it to centre itself. Once the coupling is lowered, the handwheel is then tightened down into the female thread on top of the pin, creating a tight contoured fit which cannot vibrate loose due to the automatic locking ratchet mechanism; with no movement what-so-ever. After which, a hitch receiver pin is inserted through the coupling as a secondary locking measure.
In May 2014 McHitch introduced the world first All Terrain Automatic Coupler which had been unveiled at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas USA in November 2013 where it took away a total of six awards.
On the new Automatic Coupler Range the receiver is bolted in place of the normal towball. The coupler incorporates a tapered shaft which enters the receiver horizontally which is a very close tolerance fit in the tapered section of the receiver.
The tapered shaft incorporates a stainless steel nose which is adjustable to ensure a very tight clamp fit for no movement what-so-ever. As with the 'Drop-On' range, a hitch pin is inserted through the assembly as the secondary locking measure. Hitching up is fast and easy with the special magnetic marker included in all auto kits as standard.
McHitch was recently one of seven finalists in the Society of Automotive Engineers-Australia Mobility Engineering Excellence Awards 2014
Other finalists were GMH, Ford and Robert Bosch Australia.
Since launching McHitch the demand for our product has increased to the point where I no longer have the time to continue racing, being kept extremely busy.
I am working with my wife, Margo, our sons Ben and Nicholas making sure we keep up with the orders coming in for our original Drop On models, Our Automatic All Terrain Coupler range and the new Quik Lift Weight Distributing Systems with the special offset head especially designed for the Mchitch Auto Coupler range.