Even as a relative newcomer to caravanning, do I need a system to stop snaking? I ask after having had a bad experience last year when my van jack knifed on a motorway and needed extensive repair. When the van was off the road I saw a demo of ATC and decided to buy altho I now learn I need the system developed by BPW to suit my chassis. Problem is that since my stabiliser was changed from an Alko to Winterhoff during the repair the van has been as solid as a rock. Am I going to get anything more than peace of mind for £400 plus?
Trailer control
- Thread starter david.wise
- Start date
Hi David
We've got the Alko ATC on our new Sterling Elite Searcher (t/a)
With the Alko stabiliser it's absolutely brilliant, no hint of any swaying even under extreme conditions - high winds coming back from Devon.
When other outfits were quite clearly having difficulties, ours was really stable particularly when overtaking or being overtaken by HGV's.
If you get it you wont regret it.
I would say that the only drawback is you could get overconfident & rely entirely on the ATC instead of following the usual safety practices ie. sensible loading & speeds.
We've got the Alko ATC on our new Sterling Elite Searcher (t/a)
With the Alko stabiliser it's absolutely brilliant, no hint of any swaying even under extreme conditions - high winds coming back from Devon.
When other outfits were quite clearly having difficulties, ours was really stable particularly when overtaking or being overtaken by HGV's.
If you get it you wont regret it.
I would say that the only drawback is you could get overconfident & rely entirely on the ATC instead of following the usual safety practices ie. sensible loading & speeds.
Well said Gooner,
No trailer should be towed unless the driver feels that have full control without a stabiliser.
My reason for saying this is that the majority of stabilisers rely on manual intervention to arm the system when the trailer is hitched up. There is always the possibility that the system may not be activated. This is certainly true of the old blade type systems, and to some extent the same may apply to the Alko hitch types where the ball may have been contaminiated, and thus rendering the system ineffective.
a stabiliser should always be seen as a belt & braces approach, and not relied on as a primary control element.
I am not familiar with the ATC and similar systems, but if they are automatically armed when the trailer is hitched then their reliability is liklely to be much greater adn may be considerd as part of the primary running gear.
Regardless of the presence or otherwise of a stabiliser system, it is good practice to avoid instability by carefully loading.
No trailer should be towed unless the driver feels that have full control without a stabiliser.
My reason for saying this is that the majority of stabilisers rely on manual intervention to arm the system when the trailer is hitched up. There is always the possibility that the system may not be activated. This is certainly true of the old blade type systems, and to some extent the same may apply to the Alko hitch types where the ball may have been contaminiated, and thus rendering the system ineffective.
a stabiliser should always be seen as a belt & braces approach, and not relied on as a primary control element.
I am not familiar with the ATC and similar systems, but if they are automatically armed when the trailer is hitched then their reliability is liklely to be much greater adn may be considerd as part of the primary running gear.
Regardless of the presence or otherwise of a stabiliser system, it is good practice to avoid instability by carefully loading.
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