How not to Hitch your caravan up!

GentleEnglishman
GentleEnglishman Forum Participant Posts: 14
edited August 2012 in Your stories #1

 

Over the 25 years that I have been towing caravans, on two occasions I have failed to hitch the ALKO head properly with the result that the van has broken away on moving off but we were saved by the emergency brakeaway cable.  The fault was entirely mine for not realising that the ball was not completely in the socket!

Just to prove how valuable this forum is, I discovered a simple trick to avoid this happening.  Once the head is coupled on the ball, just wind the jockey wheel up a little and the coupling should follow, if not coupled properly, the coupling won’t move.  SIMPLE as the meercat says!

The other thing that I learned from the kind person who gave the above advice was that you should remember to remove the dummy ball inserted in the coupling when using a hitch lock device.

So last week, we loaded up to go off and I commenced to hitch up, but try as I may, I could not get the ball to sit in the socket!  A neighbour stopped to admire our shiny new van as I toiled away trying to hitch the damn thing up.  Then it dawned on me!  As the man had said, check that you have removed the dummy security ball which I hadn’t!

BOING!

Comments

  • Inali
    Inali Forum Participant Posts: 224
    edited August 2012 #2

    I've fitted an Alko 'spade' type handle to my jockey wheel shaft- so whenever I check the caravan is properly hitched to the tow bar, I grab the handle and give it a big tug upwards to check it is secure.

     

  • Cardiffian
    Cardiffian Forum Participant Posts: 43
    edited August 2012 #3

    LOL! done that as well. And I thought I was the only one Embarassed

    Thanks for the story!

    Bob.

  • savernake
    savernake Forum Participant Posts: 3
    edited August 2012 #4

    I dont do the hitching up, only the left a bit,right a bit! but I would have thought that raising the handle ready to receive the towball would have released the dummy ball, or am I just being a dummy!

  • GentleEnglishman
    GentleEnglishman Forum Participant Posts: 14
    edited August 2012 #5

    Sorry Savernake but the hitch was already resting on the dummy ball (which I had forgotten was there) which was resting on the towbar.....so your solution wasn't possible but thanks for the thought.  If I had released the hitch in the first place before
    offering up the hitch then of course the dummy ball would have been released.

  • jenanrich
    jenanrich Forum Participant Posts: 1
    edited August 2012 #6

    Winding the jockey pulley down to see if you are hitched up. Best tip ever to prevent your van falling off (like ours did) thanks for the tip. /It will now become a check every time I hitch up

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