Stableiser

[goose]

I have Alko 1300 Stableiser on my caravan it was set so I can hitch & unhitch the van without any trouble then along comes a "chap" & sets about explaining how it works & when I tried to unhitch the van it wouldn't come off so the( chap ) sods off leaving me to get it off which I did after 1/2 hour or so, how many turn of the ratchet should I use or better still how do I use the ratchet hand wheel?
Thanks Wayne

 

[colin-yorkshire]

hi, yeah I had one of those on the last van , there is a knack to using them if you dont do it right it doesn't work or more importantly it won't come off.

first, before you hitch it up, make sure the pads are backed off by turning the knob anti clockwise until it stops with the red handle in the up right position.

then attach it to the tow ball [make sure this is a ALKO long neck one] with the paint removed, it has to be the long neck ALKO because these have a cut shoulder on the underside of the ball that the hitch latches onto. [a round ball wont work] as the catch is too low and the the hitch will be too tight to release.

once it is attached make sure it locks with the hitch handle [the silver one not the red one] and the green section is clearly visible in the window [ps if you dont use the right ball this will not happen].

now you have it at this stage turn the knob clockwise with the red handle in the up right position [should not have been touched up to this point] until it clicks twice, then push the red handle down to the lock position, and your ready to go.

when you arrive and want to un-hitch, make sure the hitch damper is extended and there is no pressure on the ball. if say you have just reversed onto a pitch or your pointing down hill, and the damper is compressed apply the handbrake on the van and move forwards slowly until the damper is released. [if you do not do this there is no chance the hitch will release the ball].
once you have done this lift the red handle and unscrew the red knob anti clockwise [as you did before] until it stops, gently wind the jockey wheel down to take the noseweight of the ball, and then lift the silver handle to unhitch it will drop straight off,

do this every time and you will have no issues hitching/unhitching it will come off every time.
but just in case you do it wrong and it sticks, when you have got to the last bit wind the jockey wheel up a little further so the ball is hanging on the hitch, and hit the hitch in the circlip area [opposite the the red handle] with the rubber peg mallet a couple of times and it should release.

this procedure may seem complicated but it is not and dead easy when you get used to it. but must be followed if you want trouble free use of the hitch. [guess how I know].

ps. it took me 12 mths to work out the correct procedure, first time I used the hitch I spent most of a day getting it to release on site, but only after I had removed the ball from the car so we could use the van. hmy: hmy: after working out the procedure, it never stuck in the following 9 years.

pps, if you have been using the hitch without the pads being set ie turning the knob and using the handle you have not been using the hitch as a stabiliser, just a fancy plain one that cost 10 times more.

 

[goose]

Thanks Colin we are off to Hooton park on the Wirral today ( doing a WW11 display ) I'll let you know how I go on.

 

[goose]

I don't have the Alko long neck one Colin but saying that before that ( chap ) tried to help me it was ok & I didn't have a problem.

 

[colin-yorkshire]

hi, if the ball you have has a cut shoulder on the underside it may work ok, my initial problem was the old round ball.
it is difficult to explain in words [I dont have a internet photo account to post any] but the hitch grabs the ball with the pads but it has to be in the right position, this is achieved by having a finger that locks under the ball and runs on the shoulder, [a flat bit machined out of the underside of the ball].
the ALKO 1300 hitch only has 2 round pads to grip the ball one either side, [unlike the 3004 type] that has one on the top]
so there is nothing to stop the hitch grabbing the ball off centre. if this happens there is not enough clearance in the side pads to release the ball when the hitch is un-coupled, so it has to be centred by relieving any pressure on the hitch, this why it gets stuck on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYBfVh9CIrw
it is quite possible just to use the hitch without setting the pads however, by keeping the red knob wound back and just using the red handle to lock it. but it is then no longer a stabiliser hitch as the pads are not gripping the ball.

I suspect the guy that tried to help pushed the red handle down first, and then turned the red knob this would have un-centred the pads making them grip the ball too low down, and then lock into position so they would not retract enough to let go of the ball.

not sure how you set the hitch before this happend but a guess would be it wasn't correct.

 

[TowerAmulet]

I rescued a caravan from a field for someone a few weeks back that had one of these types fitted. Never met one before so unbeknown I greased my ball as per normal and chucked it on the back of my 1966 Landy. First sharp right hand turn and crunch went that red knob against the Landy drop plate chassis bolt (even with my "high-artic" spacer). All the steel torque-limiting ratchet bits were very rusted and seized up. We transferred it to their vehicle on the highway with another regular ball but more space round it. I looked it up on t'web when I got back home and discovered the long neck and zero grease requirements which had not been passed on along the chain of owners/drivers. The knob had obviously been doing nothing for a few years even though it had been "serviced" a couple of months beforehand. Either this had been totally overlooked or the servicer had been so cautious about keeping grease off the pads that the ratchet had been denied any lubrication.
Thus I suggest that you also check the operation of all that gubbins inside the red knob.

IMHO this is not a good design strategy due to the grease conflict and due to the inability to operate with the regular ball. Furthermore the component specification is poor.

TX

 

[colin-yorkshire]

I rescued a caravan from a field for someone a few weeks back that had one of these types fitted. Never met one before so unbeknown I greased my ball as per normal and chucked it on the back of my 1966 Landy. First sharp right hand turn and crunch went that red knob against the Landy drop plate chassis bolt (even with my "high-artic" spacer). All the steel torque-limiting ratchet bits were very rusted and seized up. We transferred it to their vehicle on the highway with another regular ball but more space round it. I looked it up on t'web when I got back home and discovered the long neck and zero grease requirements which had not been passed on along the chain of owners/drivers. The knob had obviously been doing nothing for a few years even though it had been "serviced" a couple of months beforehand. Either this had been totally overlooked or the servicer had been so cautious about keeping grease off the pads that the ratchet had been denied any lubrication.
Thus I suggest that you also check the operation of all that gubbins inside the red knob.

IMHO this is not a good design strategy due to the grease conflict and due to the inability to operate with the regular ball. Furthermore the component specification is poor.

TX

that is appalling.. sounds like someone did not do their homework, alko hitches have been around a long time, yet a few weeks ago you have never seen one, sorry mate that is pure neglect, the fact that it had "ALKO" written on it should have rung alarm bells. to the fact it needed both a very clean ball, and a long neck one.

ALKO make chassis, suspension, tow hitches and such like for trailers and these are used on caravans, so it is not rocket science to assume if they make a ball it must be one that suits their hitches.

also why would one use any grease on a part that uses friction as part of the design, no one would dream of greasing a cars brake disc would they!! that is why the hitches have plastic parts and why they break easily, if misused it also the reason they invented the ALKO ball, and now we have gone full circle.

obviously the hitch had not been used as intended just left so water could get in. probably because the owner had problems un-hitching and just left the knob perminantly in the off position for convenience, mine was used for a total of 10 years and never serviced once save for changing the pads after 7 years due to wear.

quote "IMHO this is not a good design strategy due to the grease conflict and due to the inability to operate with the regular ball. Furthermore the component specification is poor "
well there is no grease conflict you must not use any, full stop on any Alko, Winterhoff type stabiliser hitch,
and if used properly the component specification is fine, they are German after all.

just hope you have good insurance or offered to pay compensation for the damage done, duty of care and all that. the recovery services do, when we were recovered during a breakdown the driver guy after putting the car on the back of the truck looked at the van hitch and said "oh" an Alko and changed the ball on the truck for the Alko type. before hitching up.
.

 

[TowerAmulet]

Colin wrote a lot of stuff that was an unnecessary dig.
I have towed a few things in my life but mostly older vintage stuff or heavy duty items like chippers and Ifor Williams and this was the first of these I have had to tow.

Please do not suggest I am negligent when the owner was saying they had previously towed it [without a special ball] and that it did not matter. You are being a bit big-headed and quite abusive by suggesting that the ball/hitch match should be obvious and that the presumption "is not rocket science". If this is a requirement then it is not good practice to have a special hitch that can be mistaken for a standard hitch if someone as intelligent as me cannot predict that presumption. After all I can easily put a Ring bulb in a Lucas lamp holder and it works fine and I would not expect the terminals or pins to be interchanged and the thing to short out. I should not have to presume that someone might have invented a bicycle that steers to the left when the handle bars turn to the right. (I did ride one once - it was a competition at a fair and the person who could ride it beyond a certain distance got a prize.)

FYI the plastic knob is not 100% plastic and contains (non-stainless) steel components that in this case were rusty and seized. Stainless steel or bronze have been used successfully for decades for items that cannot otherwise be protected from moisture.

I am not a commercial rescue man who changes his balls daily and was just helping someone who got stuck. I asked all the right questions. Their wrong answer, their mistake, end of. I've got better things to do today.
Thank you
TX

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello TX,

One of the major pitfalls of communicating via an anonymous forum, is that none of us know each other (except where you choose to meet up) and as a consequence we have absolutely no idea of what knowledge, skills or experiences an poster has.

Different contributors will make different assumptions about posters, where as I tend to take the view that unless there is evidence to the contrary I will assume a new poster is also a novice, and will need more detail and guidance, where as other will be more generous and will assume the poster has some knowledge of the subject.

Also please don't forget this is an open public forum, and whilst you may ask or post a question that is specific to your self, it can sometimes be useful for other readers to have an answer that goes a little beyond the original topic.

Colin's assumption may have been off the mark, but for your historic knowledge, but he is correct in so far that the vast majority of caravanner's will be aware of the no grease issue with Alko and Winterhoff stabiliser hitches.

I'm sure his comments were not intended to be offensive.

 

[colin-yorkshire]

offensive Prof, depends only on your point of view neglect and non understanding of a situation simply because of inexperience and possibly not asking the right questions or not appreciating the difference between normal and odd. is quite frankly appalling.
common sense sometimes escapes all of us but when it involves someone else's property you can never be too careful whether it is a favour or a paid task, duty of care, these days is a big issue, ignoring it is a no brain'er,

"rocket science" even someone who had never seen a ALKO hitch could not help noticing the big red bits that are not present on a normal hitch, and anyone who has towed anything should be aware of the clearance required between trailer and tow vehicle whilst making a turn.
if that is big headed so be it. but I noted there was a reference to changing the ball AFTER the incident. so why not BEFORE. just lacks forethought IMHO.

it is also true that not all ALKO hitch parts are plastic, hmy: as far as I know they have not yet succeeded in making serviceable long life plastic springs,circlips and pad adjusters but there you go. normally they dont get whacked by a 1966 landrover, whether seized or not.

assumptions are based on the text as written. without any other useful information that may have been unavailable at the time. so cannot be wrong, as it is only a guess.

I too have other things to do today, besides write answers to defend the obvious. there may be someone out there that needs help not arguments.

I have a simple view "if looks like a dog, barks like a dog and wags it's tail". then it is a dog, if it just happens to be a Cat that acts like a dog and takes offence at being called a dog, well that's the Cats problem.

 

[Lappy]

Moderator Note: Totally unnecessary comment removed from poster who has had no input to the topic ..

 

[TowerAmulet]

I have just found that red knob in one of my toolboxes and came back to this thread to post a picture to highlight the concern. The circlip has rusted to such an extent that the eye broke away with the circlip pliers. The ratchet bits were also rusted and seized but they are with the hitch so I don't have pictures of those. Despite the assurances of other posts I am concerned that some other people may have steel components that are similarly afflicted because, it seems, grease is not allowed.

https://postimg.org/image/o777wg6s9/
[I posted on this topic to share my experiences with the hitch that somebody else was having a problem with.
I agree that you might not know the level of knowledge of the person you are addressing but in either case it is unwise to goad them and make belittling comments. I have a degree in mechanical engineering but if I go to my doctor I would not expect to be berated for not knowing the difference between my tibia and fibula.
I don't know what you mean about me changing the ball after the event. We changed to a different vehicle once on solid terrain. The majority of your comments have not helped the thread. Cats and dogs eh? Like a dog Colin you don't seem to be able let go of what you've got your teeth locked in to. Cats problem or cat's problem??]

 

[Parksy]

I think that all information that may be of use to forum users on this topic has been posted.
The best course is now to disable any further comment.
Thank you to all who have submitted informative comments to a lively discussion