Hyland unhitched

Pioneering Australian trailer hitch manufacturer Hyland Trailer Couplings has closed its doors in Brisbane after more than two decades of local manufacture.

First Treg, then Trigg and later Hyland in the late 1990s were for many years the only off-road hitches that Australians could fit to their caravans and camper trailers for extreme off-road use because of their 360-degree swivel, but unlike the Treg and Trigg that employ poly block and pin connections, the Hyland dropped straight onto a 3.5 tonne-rated 50mm ball of the type used to haul most trailers.

Hyland’s closure, which took the industry by surprise, came in mid-January and is understood to be related to health issues in the founding family of Darren and Sheree Hyland. It's understood that the Hylands have refused offers to sell the business.

Trakmaster, Goldstream and a number of other off-road specialist caravan manufactures have been stalwart users of Hyland hitches over the years.

Trakmaster Australia’s Operations Manager Richard Metcalf said that when the company started building extreme off-road vans in the mid-1990s the Hyland and Treg were the only true off-road couplings available.

“The Treg was ideal for smaller trailers but not for larger vans because the poly block and pin could be tricky to align, but the Hyland was designed for Australian conditions, worked easily and was well made,” he said.

Another advantage of the Hyland over competitors was its low profile that didn’t interfere with the door or tail gate openings on the 4WD vehicles that inevitably towed the trailers to which it was fitted.

“We still use them regularly to bring chassis back to our factory because of the universal nature of their ball coupling,” said Metcalfe.

Goldstream’s Mitch Daymon said the Pakenham (Victoria)-based off-road specialist had also been caught by surprise by Hyland’s closure.

“We were one of their regular customers, but as there are many other good hitches on the market it hasn’t really caused us any disruption,” he said.

Both Metcalfe and Daymon agreed that Hyland’s share of the off-road market had been eroded over the years as a number of new players entered the off-road coupling market.

“The Hyland is still an icon in the industry, but unfortunately it didn’t develop over the years, whereas its rivals have,” said Metcalfe.

As a result, Trakmaster switched over around two years ago to the Vehicle Components’ Hitchmaster DO-35 pin-style coupling that is also designed and built in Brisbane.

Hyland’s withdrawal from the market leaves Al-Ko as the only Australian supplier of an off-road ball-based hitch with its Australian designed and developed, but overseas manufactured, 2 tonne and 3.5 tonne rated off-road coupling.