alko tow balls
Hi all,i had everything checked out on my car and caravan weight wise and size.when i go over a speed hump my jockey wheel catches.i was wondering if you can fit a longer tow ball so it lifts the caravan a bit more.many thanks.
alan
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No way of fitting a longer tow bar as far as I am aware.
The EC Directive 94/20/EC (The standard that all towbars are designed to.) states that the tow ball height should be between 350 and 420mm from the ground with the vehicle in a 'laden' state.
What height is yours? What tow vehicle, model, year etc?
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Suggest you check whether jockey wheel is engaged in " security" slot when wound up - as this can affect the distance - also that the jockey wheel lifted right up inside the "A"frame cover.
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Alan, the answer to your question is probably no. There could be a number of causes for your jockey wheel catching - which it should not. The simplest is to check that your jockey wheel is locked in as high as possible in the A Fame; there should be only about a third of the wheel showing below the A Frame. Check if your tow hook is fitted at the correct height; the centre of the ball should be between 350 - 420 mm high (vehicle fully laden, but not with caravan attached). You say you have checked weights, does this include the noseweight which should be the lower of either the maximum on the tow hook of the caravan or the car's limit; mine is 100kgs max but I met a guy on holiday whose car limit was only 50 kgs.. When you attach the caravan does the car suspension sag more than a couple of inches; if so maybe you need suspension assistance.
(See a couple of folks have replied whilst I was typing, luckily we are singing from the same hymn sheet!)
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Thanks for replys.jockey wheel is up in the correct position.i had the caravan sold to me by ebor caravans who would not sell me some caravans as they where to heavy for my car and have the docs to say its a match.maybee ill look at the suspention .thanks again
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i have nothing in front of the caravan to make it heavy.one caravaner told me it was to light as when he helped me hitch he said i shouldnt be able to raise it with one hand so easy.sorry im new to all this how do i find the permited load of the ball.i think its the car rather than the van
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For the caravan most tow hitches are rated for 100kg. The limiting factor is usually the tow cars permitted tow ball load. It shouls be in car handbook. If you have full car model and year details somebody may be able to advise.
To check actual nose weight I use bathroom scales, a piece of wood to spread load on them and a piece of wood cut to length to rest on hitch head such that tow hitch is at same level as when attached to car.
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It would help us all to help you if we knew what your towcar and caravan is.
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I have just done a quick check using the clubs outfit matching service and it says your car is not up to towing that caravan based on what you said you have. I would suggest that your Caravan is too heavy for the car and is the problem!.
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Many Citroens have low nose weight limits so you should check this limit in your car manual and not exceed it.
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I have found CC matching poor. Try http:h/www.towcar.info
Suggest Alan puts figures for exact model in there. I tried but don't have exact details and it shows OK.
Provided that car suspension OK and tow ball height as described it should not ground at the speeds involved over a hump.
The CC match for my 2005 X-Trail says too light to tow my1 500kg van. Actually it is about 87% and good
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I understand where your coming from ET but a 6 berth caravan being towed by what is not really a big car, only 1600cc and 110 BHP makes me think the issue is just down to the outfit being at it's maximum limitations if not exceeding them. he also stated he loads the car to it's limit as well by the sound of it.
It would be interesting to hear from Alan once/if he enters the exact details of his outfit into either matching calculator..
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Thought it a bit lightweight when OP gave vehicle details.
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Good decision in my opinion.!
You probably need minimum 160 bhp and torque around 345/370
They are out there.
I run new cr-v - 1600 "Dream Diesel "
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I have a Citroen 1.6 C4 Picasso utting out 110 BHP The towball limit is 70kgs and the maximun tow weight is 1300kgs.
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Alan what age C4 is it?
It's a C4 hatch, not a C4 Cactus, or C4 Picasso Grand Picasso?
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The van weighs more than the car. Just stay away from me on the roads please.
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With 3 adults and a child and a bit of luggage in the boot and 100kg of caravan on the ball, the car rear axle could be a tad heavy. I would suspect the MTPLM of the caravan may be a bit high as well. Have you actually checked all the relevant permitted and actual weights? You cannot rely on sales people as most of them don't know what day it is. You are the driver, and legally responsible to ensure this is all correct.
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alan0378.
You are obviously in need of a bit of help on this. May I suggest you do the following simple checks yourself.
1. Look at the plate on the caravan just below the doorway. The MTPLM (maximum technically permitted laden mass) is the weight which you should use to determine whether your car can legally tow it.
2. Look at the plate on the car on the back of the 'b' post (the door pillar behind the drivers door) You will see some weights, the greatest is the maximum train weight allowed (the total plated weight of the car and caravan), the next heaviest weight is the maximum plated Gross weight for the car (deduct this Gross weight from the Train weight and what is left is the legal maximum you can tow) if the caravan MTPLM is more than this, the car is not allowed to tow it.
No matter what other issues are involved, this is where you should start, because the salesman who sold the caravan to you cannot argue with this and he should have checked this. Do this first and then come back to the forum and we will help you try to resolve it.
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Our puny jockey wheel struggled over gravel with the motormover
So I changed it for a twin pneumatic hobby (brilliant!).
However when retracted, it was too low and touched the ground on long suspension movement.
So, I have modified the jockey wheel so I can remove the wheels by using quick release sprung clips. The "fork" that the axle runs through has also been modified and now will act as a ski should the worst happen, all finished in yellow passivated zinc plating.
Works a treat, looks smart, loads of growing clearance when retracted!.
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But you'd still better get ya weights sorted fella
Good luck
Get a Jeep Grand Cherokee, they will pull any caravan you choose. :0)
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I have the same car and had the same problem, I fitted Grayson auxiliary coil spring assisters and it fixed it, in fact it improved the handling of the car solo as well.
http://www.springassisters.co.uk/menu.htm
Dave B
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