ALKO TOW BALL

[Toro]

Had my new towbar fitted and as I asked for 13pin electrics, they fitted an Alko towball, but my Xplore van has a standard hitch. Will I need to change the towball for the standard tow ball?

 

[Damian]

Tom, no you will not have to change the towball as it is still the standard 50mm size.

The only difference is that the Al-Ko if they have fitted the extended neck ball has just that,a slightly extended neck to accomodate the hitch head stabiliser couplings

 

[Toro]

Thanks for your reply. What I forgot to add, was that the Alko towball has a smooth black coating (either enamel or teflon) advise given is that I should not grease the standard hitch. Is that OK?

 

[Lutz]

The paint should be removed before you tow. The advice not to grease was given on the assumption that the caravan has an AlKo stabiliser. Grease would result in contamination of the pads. However, if it has a standard hitch instead, you will have to grease the towball.

 

[Toro]

The paint should be removed before you tow. The advice not to grease was given on the assumption that the caravan has an AlKo stabiliser. Grease would result in contamination of the pads. However, if it has a standard hitch instead, you will have to grease the towball.

Thanks for that. I will sand enamel with fine sandpaper, clean and apply a liberal coat of grease.

 

[paulus_374409736]

Thanks for that. I will sand enamel with fine sandpaper, clean and apply a liberal coat of grease.

Good luck using just sandpaper!

I found the coating to be quite difficult to remove, I used a wire brush, sandpaper and then an electric sander all to no avail. The only thing that worked for me was an abrasive wheel attached to my electric drill!

It's nice and clean now, though!