Raising towball height

[phorbiuz]

I'm due to be taking our caravan away this weekend, but unfortunately the cam chain has slipped on my X-Trail leading to the obvious engine failure.

My fallback is to use my Vauxhall Senator CD 3.0i which has been sat since 2001. I've got the car sorted fine, serviced, MOT'd, taxed etc in the last few days.

However..... I've just measured the towball height as I was concerned it looked low, and without a load its appx 340mm from the floor to the center of the ball. Obviously this is going to be too low.

Anyone know a legal and safe way to raise the towball height?

Thanks.

 

[Lutz]

Unless the wrong towbar was fitted, the very low towball height would suggest that something is amiss with the suspension, leaving you with less suspension travel than you should have. Therefore, even if you were to raise the towball, you would still be left with the problem of bottoming out too early. I'd therefore have the suspension checked first. Maybe the springs are tired or fractured.

 

[phorbiuz]

Sports suspension I'm afraid. All of this particular model are like this.

 

[rob_jax]

Hi David,

Then the low height of the tow-ball is due to the wrong tow-bar arm being fitted to the tow-bar mounting cassette (swan-neck) or the wrong tow-bar was fitted in the first place (flange-plate).

Do you know the history of the tow-bar? Or at least it's make?

Robert

 

[phorbiuz]

Afraid not - it was on the car when it was bought and has no identifying marks. It actually came with a drop plate fitted but in reverse to raise it, with the tow ball bolted up higher! Idiots.

Oh well, guess I'll struggle then.

Ta anyway folks.

 

[RogerL]

Raising plates have never been recommended although drop plates were allowed for towbars before type approval was introduced.

Vauxhall Senators were built from 1978 to 1994, ie prior to type approval for towbars so a raising plate isn't illegal as such, but not recommended under any circumstances.

 

[phorbiuz]

Now that raises an interesting thought......

I was planning to fit the extended Alko towbar with a 1" space due to the close proximity of the bumper.

These drop plates aren't recommended due to the stress thats put on them, especially when fitted in reverse. I wonder though, for this mini emergency I'm having whether fitting 2 together would add the extra strength needed.

So it would be 2x bolts going through 2x drop plates bottom holes and into the towbar mount point, correctly torque'd. Then the towball bolted through the upper drop plate holes.

I'm no metallurgist though. I have no idea if this would provide enough strength.

 

[Lutz]

Sports suspension on a Vauxhall Senator? Sounds as though this car was modified at some time because Senators were never built ex-works with lowered suspension. It is therefore not surprising that the towball is too low even though the correct towbar may have been fitted.

 

[RogerL]

Now you are thinking dangerously - adding a drop/riser plate increases the leverage on the flange - adding spacers increases the leverage on the flange - doing both gives a big increase in leverage.

 

[phorbiuz]

Now you are thinking dangerously - adding a drop/riser plate increases the leverage on the flange - adding spacers increases the leverage on the flange - doing both gives a big increase in leverage.

Hadn't thought of it like that.

Stupid things go through your mind when you're trying to save your holiday. First thing I did when I got the car was get rid of the upside down drop plate, tutting at other people's stupidity, and the next thing I know I'm considering buying and fitting 2.....

 

[phorbiuz]

Hadn't thought of it like that.

Stupid things go through your mind when you're trying to save your holiday. First thing I did when I got the car was get rid of the upside down drop plate, tutting at other people's stupidity, and the next thing I know I'm considering buying and fitting 2.....