Wrong Towball for Alko stabiliser

[crankyhorse]

Hi
My caravan has an Alko 3004 stabiliser and I thought the towbar I have had an Alko tow ball on it but I have measured it and it's not.

I towed the caravan home 90 miles with the wrong tow ball.
I'll be getting a proper towball before I tow again but could this have damaged the hitch on the caravan? What damage should I check for?

 

[Mel]

We towed hundreds of miles with the wrong (not extended neck) towball. Thought the grinding noise was muck on the towball having contaminated the pads. Only discovered we had the wrong towball by a chance reading of a post on here, and I thought I had read all the beginners guides to caravanning so it wasn't for want of research. Why isn't there a sticker on the alko stabiliser warning you!! Any way we didn't seem to have damaged the tow hitch as there was no sign of rubbing or wear around the bit that the tow ball fixes to. I can't imagine it would cause any distortion to the tow bar. However if you have concerns get it checked by someone who has suitable expertise.
mel

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

hi crankyhorse there is no difference in the size of the alko ball to a standard one the only difference is in the ammout of standoff from the bracket providing there is enough room for the coupling head between between hitch and bodywork the old one will be fine just make sure it has no damage (dinks) and is clean and shiny "no rust or paint"

the only damage as far as I can see would be to the car if it was too close or if the ball was dirty or rusty the pads could need cleaning. mine does not have a alko ball fitted because it stands off from the body work by 14cm the extra 3 or 4 cm of standoff form fitting a alko ball would only serve to take the skin of the shins when loading /unloading the car
colin

 

[ValA.]

Alko

Normal

Swan Neck

I'm surprised that you could get the Alko hitch onto the wrong sort of towball - it must have been a very close fit.
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgu...sa=G&gbv=2&tbm=isch&ei=zPOjTa2OBoaR4Qb_8v2NCg

 

[Lutz]

I have come across some towballs in the UK that do not have adequate clearance immediately under the ball, where it is attached to the neck. Over a shank length of at least 17mm under the towball the neck diameter must not exceed 29mm (this is clearly visible in the above photograph of an AlKo towball). This is necessary to allow the degree of articulation that the AlKo coupling requires. Although these dimensions are defined in the regulations, it appears that, probably for cost-cutting reasons, some less reputable manufacturers are skimping on an additional machining operation that would ensure the clearance is present.
In other words, it is not always simply a case of inadequate offset if an AlKo towball is not used.

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

hi all.
yes quite right my appologies in haste I forgot to mention the head hight of the ball and the neck diameter, from memory I think the alko stands up about 9cm from the btm of the neck to the top of the ball, and yes Lutz some poorly made after market ones can be a bit short.
however mine is a witter one that was supplied with the towbar for the m/home which I removed when sold, it stands at 8cm from top of ball to base of neck so there is more than enough room for the coupling head.

 

[crankyhorse]

Interesting. I thought the longer neck was needed to allow the pads to grip properly.

Clearance is not an issue with my car with the existing ball, possibly because it sits in front of the number plate recess in the bumper.

 

[Len_Cuff]

I only found out by accident that I needed an Alko towball I have a bike carrier plate fitted on the towbar itself and when I was doing some tight cornering heard a scraping noise!! Asked the local towbar company what was going on and they said that the Alko towball is 'longer' than standard so fitting one would stop the hitch catching on the bike carrier plate. Got one fitted and problem has gone away so it seems to be the length of the towball rather than the size.