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Top pressure pad Alko hitch

P

Pinto

Due to faulty car we had to have the car and caravan brought hoke by a recovery truck - about 35 miles. When we unhitched the caravan a pressure,pad since identified as the top one fell out of the caravan alko hitch - its an ATC hitch.
Does anyone have a link or instructions how to replace this pad please and is it safe to tow the van without it if we need to take it to the dealer. many thanks
 
Consider a thorough clean of all the pads as it sounds likely that the tow truck hitch was well greased which caused the pad to stick as the caravan was unhitched. Spray brake cleaner with a clean rag should do the trick.
 
Is it safe to tow without this pad ? It's the top one that the button goes through that shows you the coupling is on the ball. I ask this as our dealer is about 28 miles away and my husband is happier for them to do it.
 
I've never attempted to tow with an Alko friction pad missing and in all honesty I wouldn't recommend it.
I'm not saying that it's not possible to tow with the stabiliser handle lifted and the stabiliser disengaged but I'm not sure whether you would cause damage to the stabiliser with a pad missing.
Why not ask an approved mobile caravan engineer to take a look if your husband isn't sure that he can replace the pads?
A better and safer method of checking that your caravan is hitched securely is to engage the hitch and then wind down the jockey wheel until the hitch begins to raise the back of the tow vehicle before rewinding and stowing the jockey wheel.
The hitch indicator button is an unreliable method to use, sometimes the button can indicate that the caravan is properly hitched but the caravan becomes uncoupled when the tow vehicle draws away. Do the jockey wheel test every time that you hitch the caravan and you won't go wrong.
 
We do the jockey wheel test. I went on the Caravan Club towing course and that was covered there. Just to say I mentioned the button as it identified which pad I meant. There is only the one pad to replace that came adrift. The others were replaced at our last service, Thanks for the replies. We're waiting for the servicing boys at our dealer to give us a call back and advise.
 
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