OFF-HIGHWAY APPLICATIONS

With the ball mounted on the pup trailer (where the kingpin of the semi-trailer would normally be) this hitch came into being in 1988 and is by far the leader in the TANKER pup field. All road tanker operators of note have a high proportion of AVMARK hitches in their fleet.

Entirely locally designed and manufactured, AVMARK PUP HITCHES are known for their safety and reliability, and are remanufactured/reconditioned as part of an ongoing service exchange operation.

This hitch has the ball mounted on the drawing vehicle and was originally designed for use in the forestry industry, where it was extremely successful , and where many are still in operation.

When further changes in the SA Road Ordinance were introduced, increasing overall combination length of a Truck/Tractor and semi-trailer to eighteen and a half meters, a number of transport operators began fitting pup trailers behind their tridems, where there was now some space, but not enough for a drawbar trailer. There was, however, no hitch on the market that could accommodate the downward loads imposed by the rigid drawbar design of the pup trailer and it was therefore decided to market this hitch for general road transport for pup trailers, as this design was capable of withstanding considerable loads, in both vertical and horizontal planes.

The hitch became extremely popular for pup applications and was soon “discovered” by companies operating drawbar trailers, mainly tipping drawbar combinations in the beginning, and then to three and four axle drawbar combinations in on/off highway operations.

Tests have been carried out on these products by the CSIR, a leading scientific research institute (in the absence of any current SABS specification ), to more than twice the load required for a drawbar or pup trailer application, since DIN ratings, given for imported hitches, do not accurately reflect the situation in SA, where our road ordinance allows nearly 50% higher GCM. The thousands of ball hitches now in daily operation in South Africa and neighbouring countries cover an estimated 80 000 km every working day.

The generally smooth operation of ball hitches eliminate much of the backlash which causes drivetrain damage. The degree of articulation of this hitch make it extremely suitable for off-highway applications, and also make it possible to easily couple the trailer on uneven terrain. THE MORE “FORGIVING” ANGLE OF “A” FRAME WITH BALL HITCH MAKES HEIGHT LESS CRITICAL ie IN LADEN AND UNLADEN CONDITION.

All components and wearing parts are “visible”, and any parts needing attention can easily be seen without removal of covers or housings. A quick visual inspection is all that is required to establish the safe working condition of this hitch.

The relatively low initial cost of this hitch, as well as the low cost of the few wearing parts, and the long working life, make it a very viable economic proposition for any heavy transport operator.

All mounting bolt sizes and spacing are to European standards and are the same as most other hitches in use.

As well as being used widely in the forestry and cane industries the AVMARK ball hitch is being used increasingly in other heavy duty highway applications such as car transporters and brickyard tractor drawn train combinations, as well as skip loaders and “land train” combinations.

The AVMARK ball hitch is entirely locally manufactured and is unaffected by imported component supply delays and currency fluctuations.

All parts are always in stock and can be sent via overnight courier service to most parts of the country.

Routine lubrication and checking play on the few wearing parts, is the only maintenance required.

The rating of hitch capacity by a DIN number is arrived at by a formula which takes into account possible varying elements of a combination (such as drawing vehicle mass, acceleration and braking efficiency), and the whole concept must be beyond the understanding of the average operator, traffic officer or testing station official. AVMARK couplings are plated in maximum trailer GVW of the trailer which may be drawn. A simple comparison of hitch and trailer GVW will show if the hitch has sufficient rating for the task.