i have got a AKS3004 Stabiliser Kit
can i get away with using a normal towball or do i need to use the long neck towball
can i get away with using a normal towball or do i need to use the long neck towball
towball
- Thread starter andrew1608
- Start date
what would happen if i tried to use a normal towball, i don't know if it's just a sales ploy by the dealers to get me to pay for another ball.
Your Alko stabiliser wouldn't fit properly, and the caravan might come detached from the car! Buy one. You need it. It's not a sales ploy!!!
due to the dimension of the alko stabiliser any rotational movement can cause the hitch to come into contact with the tow ball shank.
At best you will not get full movement side to side ,and could cause some damage to the tow cat chassis, at worst you could lose the caravan as the alko stabiliser would prise itself off the tow ball.
Alko type balls can be bought for as little
At best you will not get full movement side to side ,and could cause some damage to the tow cat chassis, at worst you could lose the caravan as the alko stabiliser would prise itself off the tow ball.
Alko type balls can be bought for as little
i should also mention that any warranty on your car / caravan would be void and you may find in the event of an accident that your insurers may refuse to pay out on any claim.
You can use a standard ball in conjunction with perhaps a 12mm spacer to clear your bumper in most circumstances, however the big problem here is with the zinc plating that standard balls are coated with?
The hitches friction pads will quickly rip the soft zinc off and this will cause a lot of noise while you are towing, this will then require the premature replacement of the very expensive friction pads.
The other problem is 'pitch', this is when the car is going uphill while the van is still going down, as first noted on ferry loading ramps at low tide but could be a steep dip in a road anywhere?
Under these circumstances the head of the hitch comes over and binds on the shank of the tow ball, the damage then can often require the whole hitch to be replaced, that's if the damage is noticed before the van comes adrift!
So no not at all a sales ploy!
The hitches friction pads will quickly rip the soft zinc off and this will cause a lot of noise while you are towing, this will then require the premature replacement of the very expensive friction pads.
The other problem is 'pitch', this is when the car is going uphill while the van is still going down, as first noted on ferry loading ramps at low tide but could be a steep dip in a road anywhere?
Under these circumstances the head of the hitch comes over and binds on the shank of the tow ball, the damage then can often require the whole hitch to be replaced, that's if the damage is noticed before the van comes adrift!
So no not at all a sales ploy!
- Mar 14, 2005
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Presumably for cost cutting reasons, many bolt-on towballs on the market do not fulfil all dimensional requirements of EU Directive 94/20/EC, especially with regard to clearance at the neck where the ball meets the shank. This can reduce vertical articulation, which is even more critical with the AlKo AKS. In addition, the AKS requires more clearance to the bumper than provided for under the EU Directive (a standard Class A50-1 towball only has a dimension of 55mm from the bolt-on face and the centre of the towball and this is not enough for the AKS).
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