Advice needed with Alko hitch / towball

[Matthew_374367188]

Hi, Im a newbie needing some advice on tow hitches & towballs.

We have just bought a caravan, a 1997 2 berth Swift Classic Silhouette. The van has an Alko chassis, does this mean the tow hitch is Alko? If so will I need to fit an Alko towball, or will any 50mm towball work ok? I understand if an Alko stabiliser is used then you have to use an Alko towball, is this correct?

Also what type of stabiliser is better, the Alko / Winterhoff hitch type or the seemingly cheaper blade (flat) type stabilisers?

The towcar is a 51 reg Mondeo 1.8.

Thanks

Matt

 

[Lutz]

If it has a standard AlKo coupling head, not an AlKo stabiliser, any 50mm towball will do. If the car has a swan neck towbar, either fixed or detachable, it will not need a different towball even if a stabiliser is fitted. Only if the towball is of the bolt-on variety and you have a stabiliser will you need the special AlKo one.

The AlKo and Winterhoff stabilisers are about equally good performancewise. The Winterhoff is just a fraction easier to operate. There are many types of blade stabilisers and some of these are just as good as the AlKo/Winterhoff, others are not. This is because, unlike integrated ones, there is no industry-wide performsnce standard for blade-type stabilisers. Blade types are also less convenient to use than integrated stabilisers and some are too dependent on correct adjustment by the owner.

 

[Matthew_374367188]

Thanks for your reply Lutz. How easy is fitting the AlKo stabiliser to the current hitch on the van? Is it something best left to a proffesional caravan service agent or is it an easy DIY job?

 

[Lutz]

Thanks for your reply Lutz. How easy is fitting the AlKo stabiliser to the current hitch on the van? Is it something best left to a proffesional caravan service agent or is it an easy DIY job?

Having always had the AlKo stabiliser fitted as standard, I can't comment and leave it to someone who has had experience in fitting one to give you an answer.

 

[WatsonJohnG]

I fitted one to my friends van and if you follow the instructions its very easy

The main thing to watch is to use the "drift" provided so that you don't lose the damper!!

 

[WatsonJohnG]

I fitted one to my friends van and if you follow the instructions its very easy

The main thing to watch is to use the "drift" provided so that you don't lose the damper!!

http://www.al-ko.co.uk/edit/files/support/AKS3004Handbook.pdf