are stabliser's needed?

[martin13]

I have just brought my first caravan Elddis mistral gtx, it came with a spring type stabliser, are they needed if the van is loaded ok, and if so which is the best type or is it personal choice. cheers jago

 

[ValA.]

Yes, Yes, and Yes!!! Any stabiliser is worth it. We've seen too many vans overturned without a stabiliser. Ours, ALKO, part of the hitch, (friction pads on the towball) is great, but ask your local dealer for a recommendation, but DON'T GO ON THE ROAD WITHOUT ONE!!! We previously had a spring-type and this was fine for the van we had, but even properly loaded without a stabiliser you're at risk when going up or down hill, with HGV's passing you at high speed. Don't risk it. Keep your stabiliser. It may well save you and your van from a terrible accident.

 

[chrisn7]

Jago

If you do a forum search on 'stabiliser' I'm sure you'll find plenty of info. There is a school of thought that a properly set up outfit does not need a stabiliser. On the other hand many think of as insurance-its there when you need it.The fact you are on the forum asking this question suggests you are concerned about safety. Provided all the other safety aspects are attended to, then the stabiliser effectively buys you an extra margin to deal with the unexpected.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Jago,

The presence or use of a stabiliser is not an excuse to cover up poor loading or driving habits.

As others have responded consider it like an additional bit of insurance, hopefully you will not need it, but it might help prevent a disaster.

 

[Steve L]

I too share the thoughts of John.

A stabiliser is not there to compensate for poor load distribution, or a badly maintained car.

Our tow car has to cope with a 20ft twin axle caravan and to help it do the job I have fitted new shock absorbers. The car is towing at 100% of it's capacity and so I do use a stabiliser. The biggest benifit I get is that the leaf spring does damp out the up and down motion more than any swaying.

I always load the van with the heavy stuff on the floor and over the axle and also ensure we have 75kgs of hitch weight. Loading realy does play a big part in a safe tow situation.

In short a stabiliser is realy the same tool as you fit to a childs first bike, it is there for peace of mind until you can ride by your self.

Steve L.

 

[rob_jax]

Hi Jago,

I add my support to John and Steve, a stabiliser (blade or coupling type) is there to increase the stability of towing the caravan, it is not a cure-all for a badly loaded, unstable caravan.

Blade or AL-KO type - both work with roughly the same efficiency - they both are "claibrated" to offer around 27NM of resistance to sideways sway - the blade type is not as easy to use, but if you have one already - then it's a free safety device.

Over on our Eriba Touring forum, there is a discussion thread about the necessity to fit AL-Ko type stabilisers on Eriba Touring caravans. These German designed caravans have a longer A-frame than UK caravans (making them inherently more stable) and have a lower centre of gravity (better stability) and shock absorbers as standard (better stability) - and are widely regarded as the easiest caravans to tow. But the addition of a stabiliser only increases stability, and only has positive benefits, so why would you not want one?

Robert

 

[Paul_374308620]

can you use both. (alko hitch and a blade )

 

[Lutz]

An integrated stabiliser such as the AlKo or Winterhoff should never be used together with a blade type as the two acting together will increase the stiffness of the joint to an extent that structural integrity of the towbar and/or the underbody sheet metal of the towcar may be impaired.

 

[martin13]

Thank you everyone for your reply's I will be useing my stabiliser. cheers jago

 

[joeby]

I too share the thoughts of John.

A stabiliser is not there to compensate for poor load distribution, or a badly maintained car.

Our tow car has to cope with a 20ft twin axle caravan and to help it do the job I have fitted new shock absorbers. The car is towing at 100% of it's capacity and so I do use a stabiliser. The biggest benifit I get is that the leaf spring does damp out the up and down motion more than any swaying.

I always load the van with the heavy stuff on the floor and over the axle and also ensure we have 75kgs of hitch weight. Loading realy does play a big part in a safe tow situation.

In short a stabiliser is realy the same tool as you fit to a childs first bike, it is there for peace of mind until you can ride by your self.

Steve L.

yes i agree with steve leo .personally it does not bother me about using a stabiliser ,i had shock absorbers fitted on my last van ,and what a difference ,when i arrived at my site every thing inside the van was in the same place as when we started ,as for the stabiliser i havent noticed any difference