RacksBrax Installation Guides & Videos
Reference Guides
Download RacksBrax PDF guides to see if your accessory fits the HD Hitch range.
RacksBrax HD Hitch Compatibility Chart
Recovery Board Mounting Reckoner
Product Installation Guides
Fitting your RacksBrax HD Hitch
Mounting your RacksBrax HD Accessory Plate
Mounting your RacksBrax HD Accessory Bars
Mounting your RacksBrax HD Awning Adaptor Bars
Setting a freestanding 180-degree pull-out awning
XD Hitch Recommended Configurations
XD HITCH Assembly and Mounting Instructions
WING AWNINGS: WIND, RAIN AND SNOW
Frequently Asked Questions
Q- Is RacksBrax Australian?
A- Yes! Loud & proud..... and so is our entire product range.
Q- What does the "HD" in Hd Hitch mean?
A- Heavy Duty! The HD Hitch range has been manufactured from UV stabilized glass reinforced nylon to provide a tough, strong material to ensure the HD Hitch is robust in all harsh weather conditions. All our other accessories are fabricated in Australia & made of powder coated aluminium or powder coated stainless steel & built to last the harsh enviroment of the outdoors.
Q- What are the Prop Cleats in the box for?
A- To make your awning freestanding without your vehicle. The prop cleats are fastened at either end of the spline of the pull-out awning to provide anchor points for the guy ropes so the awning may be set freestanding.
Q- Can I attach my tradesman tube to the HD Hitch?
A- Yes. You will require a tube clamp to match the size of your tube. The HD Hitch will take most tube clamps where the tube clamps have 2 fasteners with fastener centres in the range of 40-53mm. Some tubes may need 2 mounting points (Tradesman II) with a max load of 20kg x 2 = 40kg or 3 mounting points (Tradesman III) 20kg x 3 = 60kg depending on the load in the tube. The maximum load per single Hitch is 20kg or 44lb.
Q- Can I remove my awning & put my storage tube (conduit) in place of the awning on my roof fack?
A- Yes! The HD Hitch Tradesman II comes with 2 sets of holders: one set for your awning & one for the storage tube. The Tradesman III comes with 2 sets of three holders, perfect for heavier loads. Both the Tradesman II/III kits come with a set of HD Wall Mounts to store one of your accessories on the wall when not in use.
Q- Are all the bolts & fasteners included in the box?
A- Yes! All fasteners needed to install the HD Hitch System to your vehicle & roofrack accessory are included in all HD Hitch packs to suit both M6 & M8 bracket holes. When using M6 bolts (if your brackets are drilled to M6) use both an M6 & M8 washer where the bolt head or nut is in contact with the nylon component in the Hitch. This simply helps spread the load more evenly.
Q- What are the fasteners made of?
A- Stainless Steel. All RacksBrax fasteners included in the box are made of stainless steel.
Q- What tools are required to fit the HD Hitch to my roof rack?
A- Ideally, an open ended spanner & socket wrench, 10mm for the M6 or 13mm for the M8. We always recommend using a professional if in doubt.
Q- What are the main components of the HD Hitch range made from?
A- The Bodies, Holders, Covers, Pins & Prop Cleats in the HD Hitch range are manufactured from fully engineered, UV stabilised glass-reinforced nylon. All nylon components & packaging are manufactured in Brisbane, Australia.
Q- What sort of roof rack with the HD Hitch fit on to?
A- Most of them. Provided the roof rack is able to accept an awning bracket that suits the design of the roof rack, typically a "L" or "T" style bracket then the HD Hitch range will suit.
Q- Will the HD Hitch fit all awnings?
A- Most! It will suit Awnings where the spline tracks are in the range of 40-53mm. The HD Hitch SUPA PEG range also fits awning with fastener centres at 33mm such as the SUPA PEGs range of pull-out, 180 degree & wing style awnings.
Q- Do i need brackets on my roof rack to fit the HD Hitch range?
A- Yes. Most pull out awnings come with & require "L" brackets or a variation of those & the body of the HD Hitch attaches to these brackets provided that the fastener centres are between 40-53mm.
Q- How many roof rack connections do I need?
A- In most cases only 2 unless the manufacturer supplies/recommends 3. Generally 2 is sufficient as long as the load doesnt exceed 20kg per point. With the SUPA PEG HD Hitch choose the kit that matches the number of brackets supplied with the awning.
Q- Does the HD Hitch fit a single track pull-out awning?
A- Yes. It fits most single track awnings. Typically, single track pull-out awnings are fastened with M8 square head or "T" bolts supplied by the awning manufacture. These should be used to fasten the HD Hitch accessory holder to the awning. Two additional 20x20x25mm long M8 square head bolts are provided to fasten the prop cleats to either end of the single track awning. The prop cleats are used to set the awning freestanding off your vehicle.
Q- My roof rack accessory has two mounting slots, can the HD Hitch accomodate this?
A- Yes, both the holder (awning/accessory side) & the body (bracket/vehicle side) of the hitch have hole spacings that handle accessory/awnings spine tracks or bracket holes in the range of 40-53mm. The HD Hitch SUPA PEG models will fit awnings with spine track spacings of 33mm. There is also a single hole to attach single single track pull-out awnings, such as rhin-Rack Sunseeker® awning.
Q- Can I use the HD Hitch to fasten a wing-style awning?
A- Yes, if your wing-style awning has awnign spline tracks at 33mm eg SUPA PEG or spacings between 40-53mm centres you can use a HD Hitch provided a max of 20kg per load point is maintained. The all-new wing adaptor for wing-style awnings (Double or Triple) provides the ability to fit awnings with spine track spacings ranging from 78mm to 105mm is suitable for wing-style awnings (in this spine centre range), including brands such as Rhino-Rack's Batwing awning and Oztent's Foxwing awning.
Q- Does the HD Hitch suit my SUPA PEG awning?
A- Yes. You can use our HD Hitch (SUPA PEG model) range to mount your SUPA PEG awning to your vehicle, provided a maximum of 20kg (44lbs) per load point is maintained. You can also store it using the HD Wall Mount on a wall in your garage, carport, mancave, etc. so you don't have to be driving around with all that extra weight!
Q- Does the HD Hitch suit my Rhino-Rack® Batwing awning?
A- Yes. Our engineers have designed the long-awaited adaptor bars used to safely mount your Rhino-Rack® Batwing awning so you can easily take it off with the HD Hitch when you aren't using it. You can also store it using the HD Wall Mount on a wall in your garage, carport, mancave, etc. so you don't have to be driving around with all that extra weight!
Q- Does the HD Hitch suit my Oztent® Foxwing awning?
A- Yes. Our engineers have designed the long-awaited adaptor bars used to safely mount your Oztent® Foxwing awning so you can easily take it off with the HD Hitch when you aren't using it. You can also store it using the HD Wall Mount on a wall in your garage, carport, mancave, etc. so you don't have to be driving around with all that extra weight!
NOTE: You will need roof rack brackets with fastener spacings at 50mm centres. The Oztent® Foxwing currently comes with hole centres at 100mm.
Q- Does the HD Hitch suit my Darche® awning?
A- Yes, it fits the Darche® pull-out awning ... BUT NOT the Darche® 180 degree or 270 degree wing-style awnings. Our engineers and designers are busy behind the scenes creating an HD Hitch that will fit Darche® wing-style awnings soon!
Q- Can i mount my MAXTRAX or TRED recovery boards?
A- Yes, with the With the HD Accessory Plate and/or HD Accessory Bars, you can now mount your recovery boards with the HD Hitch (sold separately) to your vehicle.
Take them off or put them on in seconds and store them using the HD Wall Mount on a wall in your garage, carport, mancave. An added bonus is that with the Accessory Plate/Bars/Recovery Boards removed, you reduce you head room requirements by up to 150mm.
NOTE: Depending on your setup/rig, this will determine what HD Hitch, HD Accessory Plate and HD Accessory Bars combination you will need. Check our Guides & Videos section on how to determine what you'll need to transform your vehicle from daily commuter to 4WDing adventurer!
Q- Can I store my awning or accessory when I remove it from my roof rack?
A- Yes. You can simply place it on a wall when you purchase an HD Wall Mount separately. This will work with all your accessories and awnings that currently use the HD Hitch. The HD Wall Mount gives you two additional Bodies to fasten to the wall of your garage, basement, man cave etc. The HD Wall Mounts simply need to be fastened to a wall at the same centres as on your awning or accessory load points on the vehicle. They do not have Pins or built in locks but you can purchase Pins and Locks separately if you wish to secure your stored awning/accessory in a carport (for example). If you have an HD Hitch Standard you will need to purchase the HD Wall Mount separately.
NOTE: There are HD Hitch Wall Mounts included in the HD Hitch Tradesman II and Tradesman III and the HD Hitch Tradesman II (SUPA PEG Model) and the HD Hitch Tradesman III (SUPA PEG Model).
Q- Is the HD Hitch safe?
A- Yes. The HD Hitch has been designed by structural/mechanical engineers using state-of-the-art finite element analysis. Load testing has been carried out to ensure the safe loading of 20kg per Hitch load point is indeed, safe.
Q- What load capacity can the HD Hitch take?
A- Load capacity is 20kg (44lbs) per load point:
- HD Hitch Standard (with 2 load points) is max. 2 x 20kg (2 x 44lb) (applies to the SUPA PEG model also)
- HD Hitch Tradesman II (with 2 load points) is max. 2 x 20kg (2 x 44lb) (applies to the SUPA PEG model also)
- HD Hitch Tradesman III (with 3 load points) is max. 3 x 20kg (3 x 44lb) (applies to the SUPA PEG model also)
Always ensure the load on the roof rack does not exceed the roof rack manufacturer’s specified load limit.
Q- Will the pin fall out if I do not lock it?
A- The lock must be locked once the pin is inserted (see instructions). Whilst the pin has a positive engagement with the body (it "clicks" when correctly inserted), locking the barrel lock ensures the pin is fully engaged and there is no pin movement.
Q- What if my roof racks are not level?
A- This can happen when on a curved vehicle roof using roof bars or with vehicle specific longitudinal roof rails. Some tolerance is built into the HD Hitch range by allowing a small amount of pendulum movement to ensure the bracket bodies are parallel to each other and vertical. This does NOT apply to the Supa Peg Model. The issue can only be corrected by adding the roof rack manufacturers packers in roof rails to make them level.
Q- Should I tighten my bolts on the HD Hitch on a regular basis?
A- Yes as you would with all other roof rack accessories. As with all roof racks and roof rack accessories, it is good practice to check/tighten all fittings on a semi-regular basis. This is especially important when travelling on rough roads. The Warnings Guide offers more information on this important safety aspect.
Q- Can I lock my wing onto my vehicle?
A- Yes. An in-built barrel lock (in each Body) is supplied across the our entire range of HD Hitches, including all SUPA PEG models.
Q- Should I always lock my roof rack accessory to my roof rack?
A- Yes. Locking the accessory not only keeps the criminals at bay but ensures that it is impossible for the Pin to move out of the Hitch Body.
Q- What is the locking mechanism?
A- An in-built barrel lock. These are pre-fitted to the HD Hitch Body across our entire HD Hitch range.
Q- How do I replace the barrel lock?
A- You can buy replacement locks by ordering through our website here. if matching a lock be sure to specify the key code.
- Unlock the lock leaving the key in the barrel then extract the pin.
- Take a fine flat-bladed screwdriver (e.g. 2mm or 2/16th” across) and insert this through the lower portion of the pin insertion hole and depress the only visible tumbler (small protrusion sticking out from the lock cylinder that holds the lock inside the HD Hitch Body) whilst at the same time twisting the key in a “jiggling” fashion.
- The lock cylinder will then slip out.
- To replace the lock, simply insert the key in the new lock which will cause all but the “inner” tumbler to withdraw into the cylinder.
- Depress the “inner” tumbler with a fine flat-bladed screwdriver and slip the lock into the Body.
- When fully inserted the “inner” tumbler will spring out and hold the barrel in the body.
Q- Do I need extra items to pitch my pull-out awning so it is freestanding?
A- Yes. You will need to purchase two standard tent poles and two “C” cups located in the top end of these tent poles. For a stable freestanding awning, you will also need to ensure you have a total of eight guy ropes, two of which are typically provided with your pull-out awning. Our entire HD Hitch range comes with two Prop Cleats to facilitate pitching the freestanding awning. These are used as anchor points (each for 2 guy ropes) on the spine (vehicle) side of the awning. M6 and M8 standard bolts are provided (in the box) for these. The Prop Cleats are fastened via the awning spine tracks. For the single track awning 2 square head or “T” bolts are supplied for this purpose.
Q- Can I pitch a wing-style awning freestanding using my HD Hitch set up?
A- No. This is not possible. Please do not attempt this.
Q- What if I lose a component?
A- Dont sweat it. Individual HD Hitch component can be purchased through our website.
View videos on the RacksBrax range!
RacksBrax - HD Hitch awning side swap
RacksBrax - How to install your HD Hitch to your vehicle
RacksBrax - Make your awning freestanding at your CAMPSITE!
