"Why do people buy...

[Oldpinkman]

...caravan hitch covers?" My wife asked on holiday?

http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/t582/oldpinkman/hitchcover_zps9d621b5a.jpg (http://s1315.photobucket.com/user/oldpinkman/media/hitchcover_zps9d621b5a.jpg.html)

"For the same reason they buy HiFi ephemera" - I replied. "Somebody sells it, and they like to buy affordable accessories for their hobby."

Consider the hitch cover. It stops the hitch getting grubby when parked. But it is not significantly easier to clean than the hitch itself, and it does nothing for a hitch attached to a back of a car being dragged through all manner of old sh*t when towed to the South of France, as I well know.

No - the real reason is to stop you getting grease from the hitch on your trousers when accessing the front locker for gas bottles and the like. Except that more than 15 years ago now, all hitches changed to dry hitches integrated with a stabiliser device which operates by pressing friction pads against a BONE DRY tow hitch.

And yet you see any number of these, particularly at "club" or "rally" sites - all on new vans with bone dry hitches. Perhaps they are to stop grease from your trousers contaminating the hitch? :doh:

I wonder whether cable lifters, and other "as yet scientifically unsupported" HiFi products have a similar role? Just a thought :cool:

[jollyfix]

I could be wrong, but are covers needed by law? I am sure i have heard this, but cant see why it would be.

[Gordon Steadman]

What a remarkably good question to which I have no remarkably good answer.

[Oldpinkman]

I could be wrong, but are covers needed by law? I am sure i have heard this, but cant see why it would be.

I've added a picture. No they're not needed by law, and they are far from universal. There were a lot of German and dutch caravans in France with them this year. When we go away for a "pre-season kit check" and stay on caravan club sites, they are a "must have" fashion accessory. They are like golf club head covers - primarily to give you something cheap to buy for your hobby. They had a purpose in the days of greasy hitches - now they are just something to buy. :rolleyes:

[walpurgis]

It's a bit like asking 'why do people buy brown shoes'. Who knows? It's just a choice.

The thing that gets me is ties. How can such a useless item of apparel have kept going for so long? It doesn't keep you warm or dry or keep your clothes done up. It's just convention and pointless. There will of course be those who say it looks good or it's expected, well that just shows how indoctrinated society is. Why should somebody for instance fail a job interview for not wearing one. Ludicrous. (not as ludicrous as the get up our judiciary wear though)

[Audio Al]

I think its a maintenance thing , keeps the rain / snow / ice

Off the tow hitch / jockey wheel / handbrake / lighting socket wiring and plug , most of the mentioned components do suffer corrosion and seizing up when subjected to our annual weather conditions

[julesd68]

Let's face it - the world has gone accessory mad. Some good, some bad, but it is very easy to convince yourself that you 'need' something and the marketeers know this only too well ...

I remember when I bought a new lens filter for my camera - of course I decided I needed to have special cleaner fluid, an air-blower, microfiber polishing cloth and premium lens tissue. So I ended up spending 2/3 of the cost of the filter on accessories! I do use them all but just goes to show how much this market is worth nowadays ...

[Rare Bird]

Why do people buy caravan hitch covers

Seems an odd question but on the other hand isnt! Answer: So others can nic em while your not looking..

[StanleyB]

Some people will question the wisdom of having a hifi rack or even a speaker stand. But to those people I would say that they can spend their money how they want to, and leave others to make their own choices. Questioning another person's spending wisdom based on irrelevant criteria is really digging your nose in other people's financial business.

[Oldpinkman]

I think its a maintenance thing , keeps the rain / snow / ice

Off the tow hitch / jockey wheel / handbrake / lighting socket wiring and plug , most of the mentioned components do suffer corrosion and seizing up when subjected to our annual weather conditions

Yeah - but not in mid-july on a camp site for 2 weeks - which is where they are used

[Stubies]

Ha!

And Im about to have a baby, talk about the accessory banana peel!!

All my friends tell me the same thing: "Dont buy all that stuff 'just in case', you wont use it! You know those marketers have you by the 'short and curlys', just dont!!"

Then the follow up with "well, its a lost cause anyway. Your wife's buying decisions are about to be usurped by RAGING HORMONS" - so actually just give up, you will buy all the stuff anyways...

LOL!

[chelsea]

I'am more intrigued to why people buy caravans.

Actually scrub that i'am not.

[julesd68]

Ha!

And Im about to have a baby, talk about the accessory banana peel!!

You have to be mentally very strong to resist all this stuff ... There is some really good stuff out there but it can become a real obsession for some people - stay away from the parents forums at all costs!!

I think one of our most useless purchases must have been a vibrating bouncer chair ... :doh:

[Audio Al]

Yeah - but not in mid-july on a camp site for 2 weeks - which is where they are used

Just shows how caring the owners are , looking after the pride and joy ;)

[Oldpinkman]

Ha!

And Im about to have a baby,
LOL!

Don't worry about the cost of accessories Stuart. If you are about to have a baby just sell your story to the News of the World and you can buy all the baby care items and all the HiFi you could dream of :lol:

[Oldpinkman]

Some people will question the wisdom of having a hifi rack or even a speaker stand. But to those people I would say that they can spend their money how they want to, and leave others to make their own choices. Questioning another person's spending wisdom based on irrelevant criteria is really digging your nose in other people's financial business.

You are of course quite right Stan - people can spend their money how they choose. But I was trying to illustrate how you can "make" a market for things which are just plain fashion accessories, that people subsequently try to justify a NEED for. These had a purpose when hitches were greasy. They survive because people like to buy accessorries.

Harmless? Maybe, but frustrating sometimes. You make proper real HiFi items, which genuinely help people listen to the music they want to hear. When (long ago) I was in the same trade, I used to find it frustrating when our genuine innovations, r&d, and product design, would be blurred with the (I have to be careful with my words here, for a day or two more) other product not necessarily so genuinely innovative or directly relevant to making music. And then you have to listen to rationalisations of a fashion purchase dressed up as rational support for illusory audio benefits. You like a HiFi rack cos it looks cool - great. Don't feel obliged to tell me it improves the sound of your system too.

And it can use up peoples budgets. So because people have spent a tenner or so on a hitch cover, and other similar buys, they often then claim they "can't afford" tyre safety bands on a single axle near 2-tonne vehicle which travels at 70mph.:stalks:

But the real point, was it was a genuine question, and my genuine response was "because someone makes them - so they are there to buy" :cool:

[Stubies]

Don't worry about the cost of accessories Stuart. If you are about to have a baby just sell your story to the News of the World and you can buy all the baby care items and all the HiFi you could dream of :lol:

LOL!
AH, yes, well that is my wife talking...
she is already saying 'well this "insert situation" is because of your kid....' :mental:

and its not even out yet!
:lol:

Come to think of it, kids must be the Ultimate Accessory Banana Peel!
:doh: