Which way round do the bolts go?

[JimD1]

Hi All,

OK, so wehen we got the towbar fitted to our van we didn't know that we needed an Alko ball, so the fitter used a cheap standard ball. I've bought an Alko ball & I'm planning to fit it in the near future. The one the fitter put on has the bolt heads pointed outwards & the nuts in-over (am I making myself clear? I'm getting confused now !!). This looks like the most difficult way to fit it .....Is this the recommended way of doing it, or am I OK putting them in the other way around?

Thanks,

Jim

 

[RonD]

Jim,

Mine are fitted as yours. I've never seen a towball fitted with the nuts on the 'outside'.

Ron

 

[JimD1]

Ron,

Thanks for the quick reply. I just thought that it might be easier to grip the bolt head with a ring spanner & tighten the nuts with a ratchet if the nuts were on the outside. Never mind, looks like it's going to be nuts in-wards .......

Cheers,

Jim

 

[Lutz]

I doesn't matter which way round the bolts go so long as you tighten the nuts up, not the bolts. However, visible nuts and bolts aren't particularly pretty, but, if anything, I'd prefer to see bolt heads rather than nuts with a bit of thread sticking out.

 

[JimD1]

Thanks for the reply Lutz. As we will be towing with a Vauxhall Vivaro van, I'm not that worried about how pretty the towing bracket/ball looks 🙂 I did already know to tighten the nuts onto the bolts - I've also got a torque wrench lined up so I make sure that they're on tight enough/not too tight.

Cheers,

Jim

 

[glen_374237991]

ooopps , now youve said it !! i too pull with a vivaro and people on here will now look down on you. you will be suprised at the snobbery around pulling with vans.....maybe that info should stay with ourselves......cheers

 

[TD42]

No way at all, I and many others have no concerns whether the tug is a commercial vehicle or not.Although I must admit to concerns when 3 trannies with no rear no.plate towing T/A Hobbys turned up on a site in Switzland & parked next to me

 

[JimD1]

We got a Vivaro for pure practicality - my wife & I have 3 border collies & compete at agility. Much of our caravaning during Spring/Summer/Autumn will be over weekends at agility shows. The van's caged out at the back so we can transport the dogs with as near to 100% safety as we can achieve. We also need room to carry simple agility equipment - fold-away jumps, weaves etc as well as what ever else we need to survive.

To be honest, we bought the caravan towards the end of last year & didn't have a vehicle which would tow it. We then bought the Vivaro & moved on from there. We'll be using it for the 1st time in March & hope to be away at least every other weekend until late September. In addition, we plan a week's holiday in late April & 2 weeks in September, so it'll get some usage....

The only time people will have the chance to give us "the look" will be during the 2 holidays - the other times we'll be in fields with a couple of hundred other agility nuts towing with vans 🙂

 

[Parksy]

Glen wrote:

' ooopps , now youve said it !! i too pull with a vivaro and people on here will now look down on you. you will be suprised at the snobbery around pulling with vans.....maybe that info should stay with ourselves......cheers'

That's a sweeping generalisation Glen and evidence from posts on this forum do not support your statement.

 

[xtrailman]

jim

the reason for the bolt head on the outside/seen side, is to allow the ball cover to fit snugly. tried it in the past.

 

[JimD1]

Thanks Ray. I felt that there must be a logical reason why - just needed somebody to point it out to me.

Cheers,

Jim

 

[Andy5Z]

You know what? If people do suffer a snobbery problem well that's it! Their problem!

Good luck to you what ever you tow with - we're all caravanners aren't we? Happy caravanning mate. Andy5Z

 

[Saladdodger]

I doesn't matter which way round the bolts go so long as you tighten the nuts up, not the bolts. However, visible nuts and bolts aren't particularly pretty, but, if anything, I'd prefer to see bolt heads rather than nuts with a bit of thread sticking out.

Sorry to question you Lutz.

As an apprentice in the motor trade, I was taught to tighten the bolt and not the nut.

The shakeproof washer could become dammaged by the rotating nut.

Also when a towball is fitted with the bolts forward facing (as common practice) the nuts are usually in a position that a torque wrench with a socket cannot reach. Therefore, in the case of a towball, it is the bolts that have to be rotated to reach the torque figure.

SD