Hi everyone, i have just been informed, quite by accident,that i have been towing around my Bailey Pageant with the wrong tow ball fitted, is my informant correct in saying that with a Alco stabilizer i should have the extended neck tow ball.I went to france last year and various places in the UK and never experienced any problems.What does worry me is if that is the case,why the fitter did not put on the correct tow ball.To be honest the fitter did not ask me any questions about what i was towing and what stabilizer set up i would be using
EXTENDED NECK TOW BALL
- Thread starter Laurence_374308219
- Start date
When I bought my Eriba which had an AL-KO 1300 stabiliser fitted I was told I had to have an extended neck tow ball for the system to work properly. Which I duly did. I then bought a Sprite Alpine 2 years later with an AL-KO AKS 3004 stabiliser and the supplying dealer asked if I had an extended neck tow ball fitted, as I already had one fitted all was OK.
As a dry type tow ball the problem I have is keeping it clean to stop creaking and groaning. I have followed all of AL-KO advice which keeps it to a minimum. Not haveing towed the van since the beginning of December I saw yesterday the ball was starting to go rusty. Anyone any ideas how to safely remove the rust and how to stop it re-occurring,
Thanks
Hugh
As a dry type tow ball the problem I have is keeping it clean to stop creaking and groaning. I have followed all of AL-KO advice which keeps it to a minimum. Not haveing towed the van since the beginning of December I saw yesterday the ball was starting to go rusty. Anyone any ideas how to safely remove the rust and how to stop it re-occurring,
Thanks
Hugh
The AlKo coupling does require more clearance between the towball and the bumper. Hence, there is normally the need for an extended neck. However, if you have not experienced any problems with your existing arrangement, i.e. no damage to the bumper, then the extended neck is not absolutely necessary.
Hi i did experience a bit of trouble coupling up but have since fitted a spacer plate and have not had any trouble since then. I was under the impression that the extended neck was slightly taller than the standard tow ball, i think i have been given the wrong info here,the guy who told me about the extended neck towball is brand new to towing and has obviously misread what he was told.
Its not the distance to the bumper alone that is the problem its the length of the neck below the ball that needs to be greater to allow articulation of the more bulbous coupling head
We met a guy in France and the neck below the towball was badly gouged
So its no good just fitting spacers
We met a guy in France and the neck below the towball was badly gouged
So its no good just fitting spacers
Hugh, what I do to clean the ball is use a green scotch pad and GENTLEY rub the dirt/rust off the ball, dry and use brake cleaner to get any paricles off the ball. I did have a problem with growning and grating last year but since I adopted this approach all has been fine.
I use the brake cleaner on the pads periodicly as well.
I was informed of this method on the forum and I must say the results are brill.
Kevin
I use the brake cleaner on the pads periodicly as well.
I was informed of this method on the forum and I must say the results are brill.
Kevin
Thanks for the information John,i have now ordered the correct tow ball and will be fitting it shortly.I should count my lucky star's really that i have got away with nothing catastrophic happening whilst on my travels.
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