slight movement in detachable swan kneck .

[andre]

Good afternoon, I have an e class mercedes with a detachable swan kneck tow bar fitted, when the detachable tow ball is locked onto the housing unit their is a very slight movement.

my caravan is well within the limits, and the nose weight is allways checked on every trip and kept to 75 k.g and I have had many years of towing experience.

as anyone else experienced this problem, [the tow bar is only a couple of years old]

many thanks

regards

ray

 

[JohnnyV]

Ray,

I have had similar experience - mine is a Witter detachable, it appears that sometimes you can fit the hitch and it locks but is not actually 'seated' properly (On one occasion I could hear the occasional bump) - I find that I need to make sure it 'clunks' into place quite audibly when fitting, it then seems fine.

Someone might have a better technical response, and obviously mine is a personal tale and it may not be the issue that you are suffering - if in doubt get it checked?

Jon

 

[JTQ]

I dont know the supplier of your detachable towbar but our Discovery has one made by Brink.

In initial fitting it feels very tight but not after towing with it. In no way is it dangerous but it backs off very slightly within its tapered fit when loaded, so a slight clearance develops. Even so it also has a large pin across it so it cant fall further out or gain further slackness. It clonks audibly if forced across its clearances. I understand its design and am not in the least concerned by the inevitable slight clearance it features. This way at least I can remove it, not always the case with taper fittings.

 

[antrimboy]

This happened to me (in Spain) with a Bosal detachable towball fitted. A new towball was flown out to me, and fitted, but by the time I arrived back in the UK, it was just as slack as the first one. After many conversations between my tow-bar fitter and Bosal, they, Bosal, eventually agreed that the bar itself must have been faulty, rather than the "hook", and consequently agreed to fit a new complete tow-bar. By this time the novelty/advantages of the detachable tow-bar had worn off, and I opted for a fixed bar instead.

 

[gary]

Without knowing the design I would be concerned about any movement whatsoever, check with the manufactures.

My own Brinks is absolutely solid and is what I would fully expect