AL KO STABLIZER & REMOVABLE CARPETS

[RichardW1]

Hi all. Two questions. Our new to us abbey adventura 325 2003 has the al ko stabilizer its our first van with this type of stabilizer. Last weekend was the second time weve used the van and again it flet a bit twitchy. We have been vaning on & off for ten years and i must say i felt rather uncomfortable towing it. I know all about nose weight and how to load the van im towing at about 70% ratio at mtplm although we have never fully loaded it yet. This is the heaviest van weve ever towed. Could it be the stabilizer not working properly never felt this way before towing with the blade type. Any thought would be appreciated. My towcar is a seat alhambra.

Question 2 this van dosent have removable carpets, its the only thing on our tick list it didnt have. Ive been told by our local dealer that they carnt get them any more. But said that if you carefully cut it out it can be used as a template. They gave us a number of a carpet shop that would bind the edges to make them like removable ones then you just need to fit some lino and hay presto. My problem with this is as they fit the carpet first when building the van and place every thing on top. When you cut it out you will still see the cut edge of the carpet and it could look unsightly. Anybody done this, any suggestions or ideas would be helpfull. Thanks Richard W

 

[ThePlotter]

I have a 2004 Abbey Vogue GTS 416 with the Alko stabiliser and I tend to agree whilst my van is well behaved it is not a good as when I have used a blade type.

It is hard to imagine that little plastic pads right on the point of articulation can be as effective as large friction discs acting away from the fulcrum point,the up side is the convenience over that of the blade type.

Regarding the carpets you say they are no longer available,so if you so can you not get a set of the old ones and put them on top of your existing ,not the ideal solution but perhaps better than cutting out the old ones.

 

[Lutz]

The effectiveness of integrated stabilisers like the AlKo are covered by ISO standard 11555. The towbar, vehicle and caravan manufacturers are all aware of this standard which limits the degree of friction in the coupling so that it cannot result in possible material failure. The performance of blade type stabilisers cannot be appreciably higher without causing a potential durability problem.

A dealer should be able to check whether an AlKo stabiliser is working properly. It should show a frictional torque about the towball of between 250 and 350Nm sideways and 300Nm max in pitch and roll respectively.

 

[greenplum_5088396]

A silly question Richard but you are running with an absolutely dry towball ???

 

[RichardW1]

Hi. Yes. I ment to say that my towball is clean and dry and i try to have about 80kg noseweght. The nosweweght for my car is 85kg. I may take the van back to the dealer and have it checked Richard W

 

[mike_5041102]

Lutz-

quote 300Nm max in pitch and roll respectively unquote.

Are these the actual Alko figures and do you know the figures for the Winterhof? Thanks.

 

[mike_5041102]

Richard, may I suggest you try towing with a different car? That way you will know if the problem lies in the caravan or tow car.

 

[Lutz]

The figures are not specifically for the AlKo, they are taken out of ISO Standard 11555. As such they apply to all integrated stabilisers, whether AlKo, Winterhoff, or any other.