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DT Towing (Diversi-Tech) Ball Mount Hitch Vunerability

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nhoj_yelbom

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Post Fri Mar 08, 2013 12:00 am

DT Towing (Diversi-Tech) Ball Mount Hitch Vunerability

so i purchased a nice new 6 inch drop ball mount by Diversi-Tech http://www.diversi-tech.net/Hitches%20Page.htm Has integrated locking mechanism that retracts the two stainless pins and 7 pin tubular lock with drill protection. I purchased the hitch thinking it would be secure and i needed a drop hitch. after opening the package, i noticed the horrible grease they used to lube the mechanism, so i proceeded to disassemble and re-lube with DOW 33 low temp bearing grease. i find a set screw in a hole covered up by a sticker, come to find out the cylinder is only held in by this set screw! the cylinder can be removed in the locked position just by removing the .050" set screw allowing you to remove the ball mount. i contacted the manufacturer to disclose the security flaw, here is the response i got "The lock cylinders have security thread lock on them and they must be removable in case you have lost keys or damage cylinder. You would not be very happy if we did not make these serviceable. We have been building these this way for 10 years and no one has ever complained of having one taken. If you are not happy with the unit please return it before using it." then another shortly after "Do us a big favor please return the unit. We do not want to have customers that can not see the real benefit of our well engineered products. Thanks"

so, i guess i pissed them off..

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MBI

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Post Fri Mar 08, 2013 12:22 am

Re: DT Towing (Diversi-Tech) Ball Mount Hitch Vunerability

That's certainly disappointing. Thanks for sharing the information.
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Altashot

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Post Fri Mar 08, 2013 12:40 am

Re: DT Towing (Diversi-Tech) Ball Mount Hitch Vunerability

Yep! It happens! Some product are poorly engineered. Some designers that didn't understand security has pushed this thing into production. Trying to make Millions $$$, they overlooked the flaw or simply considered it "good enough" for sales. Improving the design or admitting to the flaw would cost too much to fix. Not to mention that they already have a 100,000 of them in stock. So they keep on selling it to unsuspecting retailers that are now stuck with a large amount of inferior product. Trusting consumers buy them and don't know better. Some, like you, soon discover that it is not safe and now fell ripped off.
I am truly sorry you now own a product you are not happy with. The response from the manufacturer clearly shows that they want you to "keep quiet" on the subject. That hitch looks so good too and seems to be of a good quality. Maybe it can be salvaged by welding the screw in?

M.
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nhoj_yelbom

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Post Fri Mar 08, 2013 12:43 am

Re: DT Towing (Diversi-Tech) Ball Mount Hitch Vunerability

Altashot wrote:Yep! It happens! Some product are poorly engineered. Some designers that didn't understand security has pushed this thing into production. Trying to make Millions $$$, they overlooked the flaw or simply considered it "good enough" for sales. Improving the design or admitting to the flaw would cost too much to fix. Not to mention that they already have a 100,000 of them in stock. So they keep on selling it to unsuspecting retailers that are now stuck with a large amount of inferior product. Trusting consumers buy them and don't know better. Some, like you, soon discover that it is not safe and now fell ripped off.
I am truly sorry you now own a product you are not happy with. The response from the manufacturer clearly shows that they want you to "keep quiet" on the subject. That hitch looks so good too and seems to be of a good quality. Maybe it can be salvaged by welding the screw in?

M.


a quick spot weld and smooth will fix the issue, just not what i expected.
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Riyame

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Post Fri Mar 08, 2013 1:16 am

Re: DT Towing (Diversi-Tech) Ball Mount Hitch Vunerability

Make a video on it and send that to the manufacturer? Be sure to show it after it has been welded in as well. :twisted:
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nhoj_yelbom

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Post Fri Mar 08, 2013 12:27 pm

Re: DT Towing (Diversi-Tech) Ball Mount Hitch Vunerability

another response
Hi John,

This is not a flaw at all and most all of our customers are well aware of the design and are very happy that they can be serviced if needed. It even notes that the lock cylinders are fully replaceable on the warranty card (See Attached) with a DT-LBM02RK lock cylinder kit. Many of our very best customers are the ones that requested this feature be incorporated in our ball mounts about 10 years ago. You need to soften the security tread lock on the set screw with air tool oil at least one hour before removing the lock cylinders with the tool provided in the kit or you may end up unintentionally stripping out the head of the set screw. Ball mounts over 1 years or more old may require up to one full day of oil soaking to release the security lock on the set screw since the special thread lock cures harder in time. I do not understand why you do not just return the product if you are not satisfied with the engineering and quality of the product. If you are afraid the lock cylinders on your ball mount might be removed by someone then you can always simply pour 2 drops of red thread lock in there and they will never ever be able to be removed again without a solid carbide drill. You are the first person in 10 years that has ever had a problem with this popular and innovative design feature. This is why we insist that you just simply return the product and then you will not have any reason to complain about the design.

We use a solid hardened steel pin on our DT-25103 locks and this is only because these are much less expensive to dispose of versus a $200 to $500 ball mount. Our customers would be extremely furious with us if they needed to remove the ball mount after misplacing their keys or after getting mud or corrosion in the cylinders if we used our hardened steel non removable lock cylinder retention pins. If you have a better solution to making our DT ball mounts re-buildable and serviceable without using a security tread locked set screw please let us know and we will incorporate this into our future designs.

Thanks,


Paul Williams
Diversi-Tech Corp.
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Riyame

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Post Fri Mar 08, 2013 1:28 pm

Re: DT Towing (Diversi-Tech) Ball Mount Hitch Vunerability

Lol, I wonder what the chain of emails looks like that they sent around looking for what to tell you? I would add that in the video " In their corporate email to me they say it needs to soak in oil to break the adhesive." I wonder if the heat from a small pencil torch would be enough after a few seconds to do it? :lol:
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Oldfast

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Post Fri Mar 08, 2013 2:01 pm

Re: DT Towing (Diversi-Tech) Ball Mount Hitch Vunerability

Geez....lol. Thank you for sharing this John.

I'm finding it concerning, interesting, and rather comical all at once!

And taking into accout what all they already said to you in their first response... this sentence in their last email...
"If you have a better solution to making our DT ball mounts re-buildable and serviceable without using
a security tread locked set screw please let us know and we will incorporate this into our future designs.
"

...is just absolute bullshit LOL. Any constructive, well-meaning ideas you send them are going straight to the trash can.

Full discloser ahead! :tank: I vote vid on this one. lol
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nozza36

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Post Fri Mar 08, 2013 5:10 pm

Re: DT Towing (Diversi-Tech) Ball Mount Hitch Vunerability

Superb find , shitty response to your info , they must be terrified you will go VERY public , i would do the refund option and notify locksmiths working in their sales region of this flaw , thanks again mate ! (oh and well done , for the find and a sensitive approach , even though it got you nowhere)
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MBI

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Post Fri Mar 08, 2013 11:40 pm

Re: DT Towing (Diversi-Tech) Ball Mount Hitch Vunerability

nhoj_yelbom wrote:another response
Hi John,

...This is why we insist that you just simply return the product and then you will not have any reason to complain about the design...

Thanks,

Paul Williams
Diversi-Tech Corp.

I find this line particularly interesting. "Insist"? Really?
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nhoj_yelbom

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Post Sun Mar 10, 2013 11:30 pm

Re: DT Towing (Diversi-Tech) Ball Mount Hitch Vunerability

MBI wrote:
nhoj_yelbom wrote:another response
Hi John,

...This is why we insist that you just simply return the product and then you will not have any reason to complain about the design...

Thanks,

Paul Williams
Diversi-Tech Corp.

I find this line particularly interesting. "Insist"? Really?


yes, LOL
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LocksmithArmy

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Post Mon Mar 11, 2013 1:35 am

Re: DT Towing (Diversi-Tech) Ball Mount Hitch Vunerability

I vote vid aswell...

or send it to me.. ill make the vid ;) then send it back... and you can still get your refund lol. (ill even put some thread locker back in there for them)
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gnarus8429

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Post Mon Mar 11, 2013 8:52 am

Re: DT Towing (Diversi-Tech) Ball Mount Hitch Vunerability

I vote video as well. I would send them the link to the youtube video after you post it though. If they are that confident in their design they shouldn't care if you show the world how they built the thing. I think the response is not only comical but, reflects their desire for you not to show this to anyone and get that hitch out of your hands as quickly as possible.
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magician59

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Post Mon Mar 11, 2013 9:10 am

Re: DT Towing (Diversi-Tech) Ball Mount Hitch Vunerability

You probably know this already: That ball bearing in the center of the key post does nothing to improve the security of the tubular cylinder. That's not where a knowledgable person would drill to defeat this lock anyhow. In the video, you should show yourself picking the lock before you expose the design flaw!
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