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Stabiliser

D

donald_5078413

Hi Guys (and Gals ofcourse). I am looking to buy a stabiliser for my van. In particular I am looking at the Snakemaster Quick release stabiliser. Does anyone have any experience of towing with one of these? What are your opinions and experiences of using it? How easy are they to fit?

Don
 
Hi Don

We used a snakemaster for a number of years and it worked quite well at damping the side to side movement.Once installed they are easy to fit and use.

If you are fitting a new bracket to the A frame of your van use a clamp on bracket as drilling holes in the a-frame could invalidate an warrenty you have, I think these are supplied as standard.However if you use the van often you'd be better off with an an Alko Aks stabiliser, they are a lot more expensive, but worth every penny.Ther are no little bars to loose and the stabiliser lives on the van so ther are no storage issues, also it works far better than a regular bar style stabiliser.

Cheers Mark
 
Don

We have just changed to an ALKO 3004 which is an excellent stabilisor. Prev we haD the bulldog 200Q blade type which was the best blade type we have used. Dont know where in the country you are but if interested I have a 200Q complete with Swan neck bracket if you are interested.
 
Don

We have just changed to an ALKO 3004 which is an excellent stabilisor. Prev we haD the bulldog 200Q blade type which was the best blade type we have used. Dont know where in the country you are but if interested I have a 200Q complete with Swan neck bracket if you are interested.
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Hi, we have towed for many years but have only just got a caravan. On the previous things we have towed we have never used a stabiliser or anything but now with the caravan we have got a Bulldog stabiliser, it makes some awful creeking and groaning but we are told this is normal. We are considering in the near future to change to an Alko one, should we do this or stick with the Bulldog? We read plenty of thigs about both but being new to this we thought we would ask the more professional people for there ideas. We have a Bailey Ranger 510/4 and a Citroen Picasso 2.0HDI. Thanks Gary.
 
Hi Don

We used a snakemaster for a number of years and it worked quite well at damping the side to side movement.Once installed they are easy to fit and use.

If you are fitting a new bracket to the A frame of your van use a clamp on bracket as drilling holes in the a-frame could invalidate an warrenty you have, I think these are supplied as standard.However if you use the van often you'd be better off with an an Alko Aks stabiliser, they are a lot more expensive, but worth every penny.Ther are no little bars to loose and the stabiliser lives on the van so ther are no storage issues, also it works far better than a regular bar style stabiliser.

Cheers Mark
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I am in Banbury in Oxfordshire. Where abouts are you. Very interested in the Bulldog. How much where you looking for it and will it fit on my standard(none swan neck) tow bar?

Don
 
HI

I have used a "snake master" for over twenty years and find them to be fine.

I currently use it on a twenty foot twin axle van which happens to tow well anyway, but what I do find is that the snake master does stop the yawing up and down.

Steve LL
 
Hi Don

I'm not familiar with the Snakemaster stabiliser. I would, however, recommend the Straightliner stabiliser,now marketed by SAS. Unlike all other stabs this one actually usually a gas strut to push the 'van back in line when it starts to swing rather than just dampen the problem. I have been using one for several years now have seen it highly recommended in the caravan mags. It seems that it was used to help set the current, 100mph world towing record.

It's not a cheap, currently about
 
Donald,I've used a blade type stabiliser for years,but couldn't tell you the make! They are pretty much all the same.PLEASE NOTE,though, that no stabiliser will cure an inherently unstable outfit.They are not a cure-all, simply an aid to stability.
 
While I do not wish to criticise the effectiveness of the Straightliner, I am sure it was not used when the current world records were set. The speed record for a single axle caravan is 143.5mph and the speed record for a twin axle stands at 128.5mph. In both cases a Porsche Cayenne Turbo was towing a standard Knaus T@b and T@bXL caravan, respectively, so the record is well over 100mph.
 
Blade stabilisers aren't all the same, the thickness of the blades varies considerably.

The original Scott-Halleys were the thickest, Bulldog do two thicknesses and Snakemaster are the thinnest. This is reflected in the price.

This doesn't alter the main function of a blade damper, ie yaw damping, but the noseweight pre-load is proportional to the thickness.

For a modern (heavy) caravan the thicker Bulldog is the most appropriate.
 
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