Morning all.
Yesterday, I was going through my routine of checking my caravan over before my forthcoming trip. This includes checking the tightness of the wheel bolts with a torque wrench and the general condition of the removable tow bar and its receiver. As I was setting the torque wrench I remembered that as per the instructions I always undo the torque adjustment mechanism so there was no tension on the device while it's not in use. I also own a shotgun for clay pigeon shooting. When I put it away I always decock it to release the load on the firing pin springs because one of the reasons springs lose their tension over time is if they are kept under load.
This brings me to the removable towbar which has a spring-loaded mechanism which triggers when it's inserted into the receiver locking it in place. When the towbar is removed from the receiver by twisting the release mechanism the spring is put back under tension and that is how it goes into the storage bag. It then occurred to me that maybe the spring should be released prior to being put away to rest the spring and maintain its tension. I have had several removable towbars over the years and nothing has ever been mentioned about releasing the tension when not in use and I can't find anything online. Maybe though, the spring mechanism is purely to set the locking pins in place and not critical to keeping the towbar secure in the receiver.
Thoughts please.
Thanks.
Yesterday, I was going through my routine of checking my caravan over before my forthcoming trip. This includes checking the tightness of the wheel bolts with a torque wrench and the general condition of the removable tow bar and its receiver. As I was setting the torque wrench I remembered that as per the instructions I always undo the torque adjustment mechanism so there was no tension on the device while it's not in use. I also own a shotgun for clay pigeon shooting. When I put it away I always decock it to release the load on the firing pin springs because one of the reasons springs lose their tension over time is if they are kept under load.
This brings me to the removable towbar which has a spring-loaded mechanism which triggers when it's inserted into the receiver locking it in place. When the towbar is removed from the receiver by twisting the release mechanism the spring is put back under tension and that is how it goes into the storage bag. It then occurred to me that maybe the spring should be released prior to being put away to rest the spring and maintain its tension. I have had several removable towbars over the years and nothing has ever been mentioned about releasing the tension when not in use and I can't find anything online. Maybe though, the spring mechanism is purely to set the locking pins in place and not critical to keeping the towbar secure in the receiver.
Thoughts please.
Thanks.
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