We're going to buy a small caravan next year, and will soon start preparing the wagon (hitch receiver, trans oil cooler and electric brake controller).

MMAL's hitch receiver (1500kg) is $445 + fitting (at the dealer in Bega, or $495 in Canberra). A Hayman Reese one is $675 + fitting.

Is there a good reason to spend the extra $200+ on the HR? It has the same 1500kg limit as the genuine one (which I suppose could well be made by HR...).

well from what iv hear hayman reese is a better make. i had a HR towbar on my EL falcon and it served well. it never bent or rusted.

for a piece of mind id pay the extra $200 and go for a HR pack

Do The Shop Around. Mitsubishi Dont Make Thier Own Towbars. They Are Made By External Suppliers Eg. Hayman Reece, Trailboss Etc. The Gen Onw Could Very Well Be H/r.

We're going to buy a small caravan next year, and will soon start preparing the wagon (hitch receiver, trans oil cooler and electric brake controller).

MMAL's hitch receiver (1500kg) is $445 + fitting (at the dealer in Bega, or $495 in Canberra). A Hayman Reese one is $675 + fitting.

Is there a good reason to spend the extra $200+ on the HR? It has the same 1500kg limit as the genuine one (which I suppose could well be made by HR...).
One thing to do is check your insurance cover , A dealer fitted bar covers you under your insurance and also car warranty that may still be in force. A bar fitted by anyone else possibly leaves you carrying the can in case of an accident. Worth checking this out.

I can remeber when i put the heavy duty towbar on my wagon that there was a heyman reese for around the $400 mark and the one round the $650 mark. Both were the heavy duty receiver rated at 1500/150kg and i ended up going th dearer one because it had to be better for the extra money.

I found out that the difference was that the one i went for being the dearer one has an extra anchor(bolt on) point further up under the car near the rear axle and the cheaper one just bolted on under the bumper.

I was looking at the hayman reese website and it doesnt mention that cheaper heavy duty reciever anymore, just the better one.

Maybe that might be the difference between hayman reece and the Mitsubishi one.

And yeah, Mitsubishi dont manifacture their own, they just put their stamp plate on it, so it makes you wounder, how good can it be if they only charge round the $400 mark and they obviously put their mark up on it.

As for insurance, anything hayman reese will be fine with your insurance.

hayman reese towbars have a lifetime warranty and is definitely the better one to use, ive worked with them for the last 3 years.

Thanks guys... I think we'll go with the HR.

HR is best. If the price is ok, go for that.

Alternatively I looked at Allen Towbars in Adelaide, and they could supply and fit one for some amount less than Mitsubishi.

The makers have different styles, obviously, so it also depends on whether your worried about aesthetics and so on.

Asthetics are hard to judge, seeing as no-one (that I know of) actually stocks these things! MMAL dealers get them in on order, as do the towbar places I've spoken to!

So I guess it would be cool if anyone has a HR hitch receiver on a 3rd gen wagon then a pic would be great! Alternatively - do they come out underneath the rear bumper (preferred) or require a hole to be cut?

Slightly off-topic, but is the word 'hitch-receiver' a technical term for the actual tow bar structure?

They explain it here (with pics):

http://www.cyberhorse.net.au/safetowing/couplings.htm

Asthetics are hard to judge, seeing as no-one (that I know of) actually stocks these things! MMAL dealers get them in on order, as do the towbar places I've spoken to!

So I guess it would be cool if anyone has a HR hitch receiver on a 3rd gen wagon then a pic would be great! Alternatively - do they come out underneath the rear bumper (preferred) or require a hole to be cut?

I actually went to a Mitsu car yard and looked at all the cars with tow bars and noted what they looked like and who made them.

Also for that month, suddenly every magna with a tow bar in a car park became interesting and needed a closer look.

Yes...wierd...sometimes I wonder whether I was brought up right as a child :D

Slightly off-topic, but is the word 'hitch-receiver' a technical term for the actual tow bar structure?

yes, the hitch is the square towball mount and the bar with the square outing is called a hitch receiver


Asthetics are hard to judge, seeing as no-one (that I know of) actually stocks these things! MMAL dealers get them in on order, as do the towbar places I've spoken to!

So I guess it would be cool if anyone has a HR hitch receiver on a 3rd gen wagon then a pic would be great! Alternatively - do they come out underneath the rear bumper (preferred) or require a hole to be cut?

im pretty sure that the bumper doesnt get cut with the HR bar, although im not completely positive on the position. i know that the standard towbar has the ballmount coming from under the bumper and bending upwards with nothin being cut