Air Safe Hitch Review: Why We Fitted One to Our Isuzu D-MAX

Australian roads are getting rougher, caravans are getting heavier, and the humble hitch is being asked to absorb more punishment than ever. After two years of towing with an Air Safe hitch behind our Isuzu D-MAX, we explain why we bought one, how it works, and whether we would buy one again.

There comes a point in towing where you stop blaming the caravan. Stop blaming the tow vehicle. Stop blaming the tyre pressures and stop blaming the suspension. You realise there is nothing you can do about the bloke who built the road, the council, the weather or the phase of the moon, and finally admit that the bit of steel joining the two together is doing a very difficult job with very little sympathy.

That was more or less where we were with our Isuzu D-MAX. We tow our own personal caravan, but as part of our work with Gone Touring and Caravan & Camping Quarterly, we are also regularly hitching up to other caravans for reviews, road tests and real-world assessments. That means we do not just tow one familiar van over one familiar route. We tow different weights, different chassis designs, different suspension layouts and different drawbar lengths over the same increasingly ordinary Australian roads.

Condition of Roads

And that, really, is what sent us searching for something like the Air Safe hitch in the first place. The condition of Australian roads has deteriorated to the point where some sections of highway now feel less like public infrastructure. And more like a suspension durability program run by people who dislike wheel bearings. Victorian roads, in particular, can be absolutely shocking. We are not talking about wandering off into the Oodnadatta Track here. We are talking about roads like the Hume Freeway, where you can be sitting on a major national route and still hit potholes, broken patches, sharp joins and rough surfaces that send a solid thump through the entire outfit.

Before we go any further, it is worth making one thing clear. We bought our Air Safe hitch ourselves, paid for it in full, and still have the receipt. It was not handed to us with a wink, a magazine editor discount, or the quiet assumption that a glowing review would follow. This is not that sort of review. This is a real-world owner assessment based on two years of towing with our Isuzu D-MAX, our own caravan, and the various review caravans we hitch up to as part of our work.

Shock Transfer

We noticed an increase in shock transfer through the caravan drawbar and chassis. On rough sections, the van could feel as though it was constantly reefing backwards and forwards on the tow vehicle. That does not mean the caravan was physically sliding back and forth like a railway wagon with a loose coupling. But it can feel exactly like that from the driver’s seat. Every bump, pothole or sharp edge creates a load pulse through the caravan chassis, into the coupling, through the hitch and into the tow vehicle. The result is the familiar fore-and-aft snatch, where the van seems to tug, shove, or jab at the back of the vehicle as the two masses react to the road at slightly different times.

In a rigid hitch setup, there is very little mercy in that connection. The caravan hits a sharp bump, the drawbar loads up, and the force travels straight through the hitch into the tow vehicle’s chassis. Then the tow vehicle reacts. Then the caravan reacts again. On a poor surface, this can turn into a constant series of jolts and nudges, making the whole outfit feel unsettled. You feel it through the seat, through the driveline and sometimes through the steering wheel. After a long day on roads like that, you do not so much arrive at camp as wash ashore, slightly dazed. More or less, as though you have just crossed Bass Strait in a tinny with a cracked transom and a wildly optimistic weather forecast.

How it Works

Almost every time we pull up for fuel or roll into a caravan park, someone comes over and asks about our Air Safe hitch and how it works. The way I usually explain it is this: picture the rear axle of the ute hitting a raised patch of bitumen. Then at the same moment the caravan wheels drop into a pothole. The ute wants to kick upwards, the caravan wants to fall away, and the rigid hitch between them becomes the argument in the middle. For a split second, the effective distance between the ute and the caravan is being shortened. Then lengthened again, and that movement has to go somewhere. In our case, it used to arrive in the cabin as a savage thump through the towbar, chassis and driveline. On some roads, especially in Victoria, it was no longer happening occasionally. It felt like it was happening every few metres.

Mechanical Sympathy

The concern for us was not just comfort. Yes, the jarring is unpleasant, and yes, it can make towing more tiring, but there is also the mechanical sympathy and safety side of the equation. Every time the van hammered the back of the D-MAX over a pothole, that shock was transmitted to the vehicle. It is hard to imagine those repeated impact loads doing the transmission, driveline, differential, towbar structure or rear chassis section any favours over time. A tow vehicle already works hard when towing. The D-MAX does not need the caravan taking potshots at it from behind every time the bitumen looks like it’s been repaired with a pickaxe and a grudge.

What we wanted was a hitch that allowed the tow vehicle and caravan to behave with a little more independence over rough sections of road. All the while still keeping the connection controlled and secure. We wanted enough isolation that every sharp hit from the caravan wouldn’t be fired straight into the tow vehicle. Like a steel-capped boot through the drawbar. We wanted a system that could soften the harsh vertical shock loads, control the movement and take some of the brutality out of the connection between the two.

That is where the Air Safe hitch started to make sense.

Premium Hitch

There is no pretending the Air Safe is a cheap hitch. It sits firmly at the premium end of the towing gear. And you are certainly not going to find one wedged between a cordless hedge trimmer and a wetsuit in Aldi’s famous middle aisle on a Wednesday. But the question my wife and I asked ourselves before buying ours was not simply, “Can we afford to buy it?” The more important question was, “Can we afford not to?” When you have a tow vehicle, a caravan, long distances and ordinary roads all in the same equation, the hitch becomes more than an accessory. It becomes part of the mechanical relationship between the vehicle and whatever is following it.

Cushioning 

That was one of the big reasons the Air Safe made sense for us. It does not live on one caravan. It lives on the back of the D-MAX. Because the hitch mounts to the tow vehicle rather than being permanently fitted to the caravan drawbar, the cushioning and damping benefits come with us every time we hitch up. That matters, because we do not only tow our own caravan. As part of our review work, we regularly tow a range of caravans with varying ball weights, suspension designs, chassis setups, and towing characteristics. With the Air Safe fitted to the vehicle, we get the same level of isolation and control whether we are towing our own van, a review caravan, or another suitable trailer.

We also looked at rubber-mounted and friction-style alternatives. No doubt some of them have their place. But looking at them through the eyes of someone with road transport experience. I could not help wondering how long the rubber elements would remain at their best under constant towing punishment. Rubber bushes and mounts live hard lives. They compress, flex, heat, wear, age and eventually need replacement. They may work well when new, but the long-term question is whether they keep working properly once the odometer, heat, dust and corrugations have had their say. And they were not necessarily cheap, either. Australia has a wonderful way of finding weakness in anything bolted underneath a vehicle.

Suspension System 

The Air Safe appealed because it looked less like a gimmick and more like a thoughtful small suspension system fitted between the caravan and tow vehicle. It is a straightforward piece of engineering. The main components include a heavy-duty receiver shank and hitch body, a floating coupling platform, an airbag or air spring, shock absorbers and four pivot linkages that control the movement. The four steel pivot linkages are rated at 7,300 kg each, giving a combined 29,200 kg shock and shear rating. The bushes are self-lubricating, military-grade Nyloil nylon, and the main mounting plate has eight threaded holes for adjustable height positions.

Air Springs and Dampers

Instead of the caravan being connected through a completely rigid steel hitch. The coupling platform can move up and down against the resistance of the air spring and dampers. That last part matters. The Air Safe does not work by letting the caravan wander backwards and forwards. It is not a sloppy coupling. And it is not trying to disguise poor towing manners by moving in the wrong direction. Its job is to cushion and control vertical shock loads at the hitch. When the caravan hits a sharp bump, the airbag absorbs part of that initial impact, while the shock absorbers slow and control the movement so it does not bounce, oscillate or behave like a trampoline under a tow ball. It is the difference between catching a cricket ball barehanded and catching it with a decent glove. The ball still arrives, but the sting is reduced.

That was the big attraction for us. It had the right combination of quality build, controlled damping and practical flexibility. The construction looked serious. The design made sense. The fact that it is made in America also gave us some reassurance. The United States has produced some very fine things over the years. Such as Gibson guitars, Snap-on tools, Caterpillar machinery, and several fine muscle cars that drink like shearers on payday. In that company, a heavy-duty air-cushioned towing hitch feels at home. It feels like the kind of product built by people who understand that steel should be thick, welds should look purposeful. And towing gear should not resemble something bought from the bargain table near the garden hose fittings.

Ordering Process

The ordering process is also worth mentioning because this is not a one-size-fits-all purchase. You need to get the correct Air Safe hitch to suit your towing requirements, tow vehicle height, caravan coupling height, ball weight and receiver setup. This is where it pays to speak with the Air Safe crew before ordering. They have a questionnaire sheet that walks through the key measurements and options, helping ensure the hitch that arrives is the right one for your outfit. With towing gear, near enough is not good enough. The geometry and load rating have to be right, and the hitch has to suit the job it is being asked to do.

And on Australian roads, especially the ones that look as though they have been maintained by a committee of blindfolded wombats with access to cold mix, that extra layer of isolation can make a very noticeable difference.

Two Years On

So, how has our Air Safe hitch performed in the two years we have had it?

The first time we connected our caravan to the Air Safe, I asked my wife if she would like to jump in for the test run. Partly because I wanted her opinion and partly because, having just spent the money. I wanted someone else in the vehicle when I found out whether we had been brilliantly sensible or financially stupid. So it was with a little trepidation that we set off.

That nervous anxiety lasted about as long as it took to pull onto the main road.

The difference in how the D-MAX towed and handled the same caravan was immediate. The harshness through the back of the vehicle was noticeably reduced. The caravan felt more settled, and the whole outfit seemed to lose that constant tugging and thumping through the hitch. It was not that the van disappeared altogether, because no sensible person should ever forget there is a caravan behind them. But the connection between the two felt calmer, more controlled and far less abusive.

Rough Sections of Road

Since then, there have been plenty of rough sections of road where we have turned to each other and said, “Thank goodness we bought that Air Safe hitch.” That, more than any brochure claim or sales pitch, probably says it best. When you are towing on ordinary Australian roads anything that takes some of the sting out of the job earns its place pretty quickly.

Our caravan’s ball weight generally sits around 250 to 280 kg, depending on how much fresh water we are carrying. And with that weight, we usually run only around 16 to 18 PSI in the Air Safe airbag. One pleasant surprise is that you do not need a fancy onboard compressor or an expensive air system to manage it. A simple $5 pushbike-style hand pump from Kmart is enough. That makes adjustment easy, simple and refreshingly low-tech.

Ride Height

Setting the ride height is also straightforward. You inflate the airbag until the pivot rods sit level. Which gives the hitch roughly 25 mm of downward travel and 25 mm of upward travel. In other words, the Air Safe is sitting in the middle of its working range. Ready to cushion movement in either direction rather than already resting hard against one end of its travel.

There are a couple of practical things you learn with use. When uncoupling the caravan, it pays to keep winding the jockey wheel until the Air Safe has risen to its upper bump stops before releasing the coupling. If you do not, the hitch can rise sharply once the coupling is detached.

We have also mounted a reversing camera to our Air Safe hitch, making coupling to different caravans much easier. Instead of relying on guesswork, hand signals or the marital communication system known as shouting through a closed window. We can line the hitch up accurately and safely from the driver’s seat.

Unexpected Benefit

One unexpected benefit emerged at a caravan park with a steep gutter at the site entrance. By inflating the Air Safe airbag to its full height, we gained an extra bit of drawbar clearance. On that occasion, we also inflated the rear suspension airbags on the D-MAX to lift the rear of the vehicle as much as possible. That extra clearance helped us get out cleanly. The people beside us, who were using a standard rigid coupling, were not so fortunate. As they pulled forward, their drawbar dug into the bitumen, and they lost traction. It was one of those small moments when a feature you hadn’t really bought the product for suddenly became very handy.

Caravan manufacturers and dealerships have also appreciated us towing their new demonstrator vans with the Air Safe hitch. A demo van may not be privately owned yet, but it still needs to be treated with care. Because the customer who eventually buys it will expect a caravan that presents and feels as close to new as possible.

Reduced Jarring

In the two years we have had the Air Safe hitch, we have travelled up and down the east coast of Australia with it. And it has worked faultlessly. It has not given us any trouble. It has not required constant fiddling. And it has not become one of those accessories that start out as a good idea and end up as another thing to maintain. From a maintenance perspective, there is very little to do. There are no grease points. We check the bolt torque with a torque wrench during regular servicing, keep the hitch clean, inspect it as part of our normal towing checks, and that is about it.

Another thing we noticed over time is that the reduced jarring not only benefits the tow vehicle. It also translates back into the caravan. The van seems to get a smoother ride, and that shows up in small but telling ways. Cupboards that once wanted to open over rough roads now stay shut. Items inside the caravan appear to be less affected by shock. And while that is not something we can measure with a laboratory instrument. But common sense says that if the caravan is being jarred less violently over thousands of kilometres, that has to be better for the body, cabinetry, fittings and general long-term durability.

One Downside

If there is one downside to the Air Safe hitch, it is the weight. It is serious gear, and you know it when you are handling it. But once you are used to that and have allowed for it in how you set up and manage your towing gear, it is not a deal-breaker. In some ways, the weight is also part of the reassurance. This does not feel like a flimsy accessory trying to solve a heavy-duty problem with wishful thinking.

So, after two years of towing with it, would we buy the Air Safe hitch again?

Yes. Without hesitation.

It has made our D-MAX more comfortable when towing. Reduced the harsh shock transfer between the caravan and tow vehicle. It’s made long days less tiring. And given our caravan an easier ride over some very ordinary Australian roads. It is not cheap, and nor is it pretending to be. But if, like us, you are wondering whether you can afford an Air Safe hitch, the better question might be whether you can afford to keep towing without one.

Download the special print run-on edition of Australian Caravan and Camping Quarterly featuring the full Air Safe Hitch review.

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