AKO 3004 stabiliser pads

[camel]

Just about to renew the stabiliser side pads, but what purpose do the back and front pads serve because these are fixed in place by a couple of screws,

 

[thosoneill]

Closing the stabilisation handle presses the four friction linings against the car's towball from all sides. This four-fold increased friction suppresses snaking and pitching movements. The vehicle combination also comes to rest significanty quicker in an emergency situation.

 

[birdman101]

The front and rear pads damp pitching. I always change all pads when I doing a change. I have always replaced every three years.

 

[camel]

Managed to get hold of the side pads for £20.00 and the back and fronts for £24.00,

 

[camel]

The side pads seem straight forward to replace, but am I right in saying that the two screws on the front of the hitch have to be removed to replace the front pad,

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

The side pads seem straight forward to replace, but am I right in saying that the two screws on the front of the hitch have to be removed to replace the front pad,

See page 4 of Handbook here

 

[camel]

WC, thank you I should of gone there myself in the first place

 

[camel]

Can't understand what the two hex screws do when both the kit comes with two screws to fix the pads in place

 

[Hutch]

Closing the stabilisation handle presses the four friction linings against the car's towball from all sides. This four-fold increased friction suppresses snaking and pitching movements. The vehicle combination also comes to rest significanty quicker in an emergency situation.

Sorry but pushing down on the handle does not move the front and back pads only the side ones. If when you hitch up you can see the green section on top then the fore and aft pads are ok. The pads are there to stop metal to metal contact. And do nothing to stop pitching of the caravan.
Hutch

 

[Hutch]

Hi Camel, the screws are replacment "Torx Screws" not Allen, And As far as I can remember the back pad has a tork screw to retain it in place that has to be removed, to remove the back pad.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

It mentions the torx screws in the link to the handbook I made earlier.

 

[camel]

Hutch, cheers for the info,

 

[thosoneill]

Sorry but pushing down on the handle does not move the front and back pads only the side ones. If when you hitch up you can see the green section on top then the fore and aft pads are ok. The pads are there to stop metal to metal contact. And do nothing to stop pitching of the caravan.
Hutch

The data that I quoted was from an official alko website titled "high-tech components for caravans" which can be read here http://www.al-ko.com/en/vehicle-technology/sites/default/files/uploaded_files/499457-caravan-broschuere-2017-9_en_low.pdf

 

[Dustydog]

Sorry but pushing down on the handle does not move the front and back pads only the side ones. If when you hitch up you can see the green section on top then the fore and aft pads are ok. The pads are there to stop metal to metal contact. And do nothing to stop pitching of the caravan.
Hutch

The data that I quoted was from an official alko website titled "high-tech components for caravans" which can be read here http://www.al-ko.com/en/vehicle-technology/sites/default/files/uploaded_files/499457-caravan-broschuere-2017-9_en_low.pdf

This is the relevant statement from Al-ko quoted within the above link:-
Closing the stabilisation handle presses the four friction linings against the car's towball from all sides. This four-fold increased friction suppresses snaking and pitching movements. The vehicle combination also comes to rest significantly quicker in an emergency situation

 

[camel]

I've just had a look inside the head this morning to see if I could get on to the rear screw head before I start to do the job, my caravan is a 2010 Sterling and the front pad is removed after you have removed the front rubber cover to reveal the screw head which goes through the body of the hitch head and when removed releases the front pad, so the hitch I have is a 2010 AKO 3004 and can't have four moving pads, the later models it looks like do have four pads that grip the tow ball when the hitch handle is closed,

 

[camel]

Just change the side pads on the hitch and It was a good I ordered the 'O' rings that sit in the recess inside the hitch, when I knocked one of the pads out the 'O' ring came with it and it was split,

 

[camel]

Just change the front and back pads which took about twenty minutes after I worked out the best way to remove the screw from the back pad. First of all remove the rubber cover which goes over the hitch head this just pulls away from the top, then remove the hexagon screw stick your head under the hitch and with a flat head screw driver prise away the front pad, next use the same size headed screw driver and put this through the hole at the front through to the back screw and remove the back screw, prise away the back pad and simply replace with the new pad making sure you put it in the correct way, then take the head of a smallish screw driver and shove up inside the head and wedge open the top button with a 14 mil spanner you need to do this to get the new front pad back in, go back under the hitch and replace the front pad it just pops back in, replace with the new screw that is supplied, remove 14 mil spanner, replace the rubber cover, job done,

 

[Martin_E]

It is only the side pads that move, the front and back pads are fixed into position so cant physically move unlike the side pads.

 

[camel]

Hello Martin,
On my particular model of the Ako 3004 the front and back pads are fixed and don't move, but reading through the Alko web site you come across a later model and if I'm reading it correctly the fornt and back pads do move,