Alko Hitch Stabiliser Really Confused

[glowman]

Hi,

I hope you can bear with me on this unfortunate affair.

Three weeks ago I bought a second-hand ELDDIS Crusader Twin-Axle fitted with one of these new type hitches which grab the ball, at least its new to me. I can't find the makers name it is however of German manufacture, on reflection I think its an AL-KO

When I collected the caravan it was a windy day, its some 24ft long I would add, on the way home I experienced a lot of swaying at 50 mph at 60 mph it was even worse, I Thought it strange for a twin axle unit to be like that anyway I then forgot all about it until a friend said your swaying was most likely because it was an empty van and there was not enough nose weight.

In the last week or so I was looking over the van to accustom myself with all the buttons and switches, and as there was a few items the original owner had put in him self I decided to phone him as I found his number on the original paperwork that came with the van,( by the way I'm the third owner the second owner bought it and never used it.)after a chat with him about the various items I had questions about ,I casually asked him how it had towed, he immediately said terrible, my heart sunk, he said from day one he had problems swaying at 60 mph, now bearing in mind he had just bought the caravan new he called in ELDDIS they could find nothing, he had Shogun check the vehicle again nothing wrong.

Now in my many years of caravanning I had only ever used and heard of the spring-leaf stabiliser'but restarting again I have yet to learn about these new stabilisers, I have learn't to put the hitch on the ball and feel the pressure and it should be at the first line in the hitch its Ok, I did that and it is fine, but i wonder even more particully as the original owner said the van scuffed two balls out in 3 years that desn't sound right to me

The orginal owner thinks he might still have the original Alko hitch and I thought if I can't get to the bottom of this situation by getting the right tyre pressures, nose weight, etc then I would consider going on the Bulldog type stabiliser.I think I should Change the Pads to try first but how do I do that?

.

I hope someone can throw some light on this affair as I'm sure there must be a wealth of experience out there some where.

 

[ValA.]

Just a couple of initial thoughts:

Firstly, have you got an ALKO towball - different type to normal, and essential if you have an ALKO hitch. You can buy them from accessory shops and they just bolt on to the towbar.

Secondly, have your dealer check the pads on the stabiliser are correctly adjusted, and if not adjust them properly.

Thirdly, what car are you towing with - it's a very big van, and you need a very heavy towcar to cope with it?

 

[Bri-C]

Hi..

I bought a new Bailey a couple of years ago with an Alko Stabilizer and it damaged the ball very quickly.. It might be worth checking that the screw that hold the front pad in is not too long. I had to take 1.5mm of the length of mine before the hitch worked correctly. If this screw touches the ball then the load of the trailer is taken on a single point on the ball not being spread evenly across the area of the front pad, you can do this by having a quick feely groap inside and if you feel anything sharp this could be the cause.

Also having towed for a distance check for new damage on your ball and note its position .

As a side note if the hitch has red components it's an AL-KO and if it has blue parts then it is a Winterhoff Both of German origin.

You should also be using either a Swan neck or extended Al-KO ball which gives more room for the larger coupling to move and it should be Clean and Dry NO OIL OR GREASE. It is possible that your pads are contaminated if you or the previous owners have been towing with a greased ball.

Good luck Brian...

 

[rob_jax]

Hi Terry,

if it's a twin axle, it's probably one of the AL-KO 2000 series stabilising couplings and these are appropriate for your caravan.

Stabiliser couplings and blade type stabilisers do the same job - they both add around 25 to 30 NM of resistance to the free movement of the caravan - helping to stop it fish-tailing.

However, neither will correct an improperly loaded caravan they just improve the limits before instability becomes a real issue.

You need to check:

1. The caravan nose-weight - it is essential that you get this right

2. How the caravan is loaded

3. Check the tyre pressures - car and caravan

4. have the chassis checked for straightness or other defect

But it's most likely 1 or 2 that's the heart of your problem, and the stabiliser has just let you tow faster than without.

Robert

 

[Lutz]

There's roughly a factor of 10 error in Rob_jax's data concerning the resistance to free movement of stabiliser couplings. According to ISO Standard 11555, the maximum frictional damping torque against side-to-side movement is 350Nm, against pitching and roll 300Nm.

 

[glowman]

Hi,

I am towing with a new Freelander 2 Capacity 2,500,

I am not sure if I have a Al-ko tow ball, I will check with my dealer who supplied the tow bar.

These screws where are they?

I have noticed that the scuffing on the ball is on both sides of the ball.

I will be testing out the towing a little more in the next few weeks, so I keep you informed of the reports.

 

[ValA.]

Check out the kerbweight (not the towing capacity) of your Freelander. According to this website, http://www.cuddles.abelgratis.net/landrover.htm applying the 85% rule, means that even with the heaviest Freelander you should tow no more than a 1400 kg fully loaded van. The Elddis probably weighs more than this even without a full payload. If you also don't have an Alko towball (most standard towbars don't - you have to ask for it to be changed) then you're almost asking for trouble. Check it out straight away. There is a website you can check car/caravan compatibility but I'm sorry that I don't have the details.

 

[Bri-C]

Hi.

Firstly you need to identify what type of hitch you have. Elddis as standard use BPW running gear and Winterhoff hitches (Blue parts used) Info for this can be found at bpw.co.uk follow the caravan link, these have two pads one front and one at the back but the sides of the hitch are just cast metal and should not touch the ball so if your ball sides are damaged it could be that the pads are either worn or not in place or the hitch is simply out of spec but this is very unlikly. Al-ko can be identified by the Red parts and depending on the type have up to four pads the side pads should not have any screws protruding.

As for the ball it is standard 50mm diameter but these new hitches are physically larger so they need more clearence between the bumper and the ball in order to fit and turn and to tilt they need more height clearance from the ball to the mount. However a lot of new vehicle come with Swan neck towballs that mount directly under the vehicle so no problem there.

I'm off for a couple of weeks so good luck .

Regards Brian.......

 

[rob_jax]

There's roughly a factor of 10 error in Rob_jax's data concerning the resistance to free movement of stabiliser couplings. According to ISO Standard 11555, the maximum frictional damping torque against side-to-side movement is 350Nm, against pitching and roll 300Nm.

Hi Lutz, I just love this forum, where you can't edit your own posting after you've seen an error... Robert

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Terry

Looking at the issue from a slightly different view point, if the caravan is swaying at normal towing speeds, then the you are very close to the limit where instability can take control. This is serious as technically you have an unsafe vehicle, and that is of course illegal. However don't loose hope.

Now, it is unusual for twin axle caravans to be so sensitive, and your efforts should be primarily directed to establishing why the caravan is so sensitive.

Tyre pressures of both car and caravan are very important, as is the nose load. I assume that you have checked both of these, so beyond that I would start to look for any damage or misalignment of wheels and axles, or oval brake drums etc.

Not withstanding the report that a previous owner has had the manufacturer involved, I would seriously consider having the chassis and running gear very accurately checked for alignment. Miss alignment of one or more wheels on twin axle can lead to some very poor handling issues, of which swaying is definitely one.

It has already been implied by previous respondents, that a 'stabiliser' is not a cure for instability. For your safety and peace of mind you should aim for a stable outfit at normal towing speeds without a stabiliser, then the addition of such a unit is just a top up which might help in extreme situations.

I can only reinforce the point about nose load. I have twin axle box trailer, and when totally empty, it affected the ride of the tow car enormously through it's pitching. By adding a load 20 to 30Kg to the front it reduced the pitching and smoothed out the ride. Whilst I know this is a different issue to your own it does demonstrate how sensitive trailers can be to loading.

 

[Rodone]

Hello Valerie,

I believe that the website that you refer to has published the inncorrect kerb weight s for the new Freelander. I have the kerbweight showing as around 1770 ( depending on model) which at 85% allows aroun 1500kg - not 1400kg. However the problem could still be weight/loading related, as, regardless of which type of stabiliser you use, it is capable of only assisting stability (when fully functional,) and even if not performing correctly, I doubt very much that it could induce swaying etc.

 

[Lutz]

100kg in towload shouldn't make a marked difference between a stable and an unstable outfit so there must be more to the problem. If it's not noseweight I'd have a look at the tyre pressures.