Tow balls being to high , fitting drop plates
Here is something to think about with towballs being to high that many of you will not be aware of the caravan technical department was not much use when I contacted them about it
if you fit a drop plate to a tow ball to reduce the height they have to be tested at the same time together at the point of manufacture otherwise they can void the insurance if the worst happens , also brink don't make drop plates so are never tested together and witter does not recommend them and if you tow with a commercial vehicle including pick ups they are illegal after 2014 by a Euro directive
i ordered a new 67 plate ford ranger wildtrak pickup , ford was also not aware of this issue and fair play to ford they give me my deposit back
they are a lot of people towing like this unaware of the consequences , if the worst ever happens they are giving the insurance companies a get out of jail clause
its well worth doing the research before buying a new tow vehicle, I'm glad I did
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Shouldn't the manufacturer be supplying a hitch which, when fitted, complies with the regulation towball height of between 390 mm and 420 mm from the ground, with the car in a laden state? How can a hitch which is outside this range fit in with the EC Directive? Surely the hitch as supplied by Ford would be considered illegal?
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For many decades Messrs Dixon Bate have sold a ladder type of height adjuster to match various different trailer and vehicle heights.
Nothing on their web site today to suggest it is not legal to use one on the highway. Which is a good thing as I use one with a selection of sliders fitted with different hitchs. Not everthing in the universe has a 50mm ball coupling.
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It is my understanding that drop plates cannot legally be fitted to towbars on cars. Towbars are 'type approved' and any modification negates the approval certification.
Some bigger 4x4 vehicles with ladder chassis were exemp from this ruling, as in Heethers case, but that may well have changed as outlined by Banff.
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That is correct that's what I thought but the caravan will still be nose high so a drop plate is required and then that's a whole new ball game has I stated earlier that they have to be tested together at the time of manufacture and witter says that's it's still to high for the ranger plus after 2014 they are illegal so yes they are exempt from it but still require a plate to tow safely but then it's a catch 22 situation what do you do ! I decided the best thing was to not take a chance with losing a 35k caravan and a 35k pickup with the chance the insurance could find a get out clause in case the worst happened but you never know , not many people are aware of this certainly the caravan technical team are not but witter towbars are
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Illegal on commercial vehicles after 2014 , plus has to be tested at time of manufacture with the towbar and drop plate together on all vehicles so if it's a aftermarket drop plate not tested with the towbar if the worst happens and yes I guess hope it won't the insurance could find a way of not paying out it's well worth researching I was amazed by it
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It makes obvious sense that a towbar is tested when made has soon has you add a drop plate it changes the way forces act upon the towbar only if they are both tested and stated that it has been done at point of manufacture together can an insurance company not void it and hence not pay out , we all now what insurance companies are like
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Not illegal to sell one but has it been tested with the towbar and rated as one unit unfortunately you will only find out when the worse happens it's a very grey area which people don't know or even think about has I said ford give me my 2k deposit back on a vehicle they shipped in for me from South Africa with out any hassles
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From my observations, drop plates are connected to substantial quantities of metalwork and the idea that they are subject to failure and therefore hazardous suggest to me 'nanny state' mindset. Surely in this day and age it is not beyond the wit of engineers to design towbar kit with drop-plates that meet any requisite safety requirements. ISTM that the legislation has approached this issue from the wrong direction. Not that any of this affects me now unless I feel the need to have a car on the back of my 6m MH.
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Drop plates should only be used on towbar that have been tested with drop plates. If a drop plate is fitted to a towbar that is not designed for a drop plate the point at which the load is applied is changed. This can cause problems
taken from the Euro directive
brink towbars which ford use do not test they towbars with drop plates or make drop plates they have stated this
witter towbars do not recommend them and stated they where illegal on commercial vehicles after 2014
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There are drop plates and drop plates. As far as I remember the objection and restriction was on the box type ones with pin inserts allowing varying height by means of pins through the two sections. These were prone to failure, pins not fitted, weak sections etc. The plates that are usually 13mm laser cut steel that bolt to the bar and then you bolt the ball to the plate are more than robust. A 13mm steel plate is well capable of any of the energy of a caravan. I have no problem using these. There are dozens for sale on the web so someone is using them. The argument that this alters the dynamics does not hold water, the plate bolts where the ball would bolt and so the difference in forces is negligible.
Bending a stupid rule or towing nose high, its your choice. I would take the sensible option.
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Being illegal is a little more than bending a stupid rule, Phish.
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Drop plates have to be approved by the manufacturer of the towbar because they extend the cantilever length of the towbar itself, thereby increasing the bending moment and hence material stresses when the trailer is hitched. Where permitted, the manufacturer will specify the maximum allowable thickness of the drop plate (usually 15mm).
Having said that, a nose up attitude is not, in principle, a problem other than it reduces the ground clearance at the back of the caravan, which could, at worst, result in contact with speed bumps.
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Your view of the effectiveness of the Clubs technical department seems to be repeated regularly. This is extremely disappointing because where else can we members go for effective expert impartial advice??
I am pretty sure Dixon Bate has recently been bought out by AL-KO.
You also need to be aware that some caravan manufacturers advise that their caravans are not suitable for towing behind commercial vehicles. See photo of a screenshot from my 2016 Lunar handbook.
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Fairy Dust and Unicorn Farts more likely!
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What is the correct towball height?
This is a tricky one to answer! EC Directive 94/20/EC stipulates that a vehicle in ‘laden condition’ should have a towball height of between 350mm and 420mm. The vehicle’s manufacturer could define ‘laden condition’ as ‘fully laden’. This is the maximum permitted mass of a vehicle as specified in the vehicle’s handbook.
On the other hand a manufacturer may define ‘laden condition’ as ‘conventionally laden’. This is when a load of 68.5 kg is permitted for each specified passenger seat, along with a further 6.5 kg allocated per passenger and located centrally in the area for luggage storage. You will need to check which specifications apply to your particular towing vehicle.What is the correct height for the coupling head on a trailer or caravan?
A height of 385mm to 455mm is stipulated by the EC Directive if the trailer or caravan is in laden condition. Laden condition refers to a trailer loaded to the maximum specified mass in this instance. The mass must also be distributed evenly over the loading area.-------------------------------------------------------------
one set of measurements for the van and another for the vehicle. that seems stupid to me. taken from a google search by the way.
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Well, there we are then. Correct height is between 385 and 420mm. I might even go work out what that is in inches.
Only the EC could define a standard for something by splitting it in half and then not making it fit.
Damned if I'm going to carry two extra people on holiday just to comply with a Directive from Brussles. We're out anyway.
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There maybe an alternative to fitting a drop plate.
The factory fitted towbar on my Nissan Navara was too high and also gave the caravan a nose high attitude.
The towball was a Brink, so I researched the Brink website and found a lower profile hitch (also alko suitable) that sat 50mm lower, thus bringing the hitch height within the specifications and gave the caravan a slightly nose down attitude that I have found makes it more stable when towing.
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A few points on the thread.
The banned Drop plates in question were the the Adjustable Height Coupling Drop plate for use with commercial vehicles. This was done to stop 10 tonne loads being towed in this way.
This does not impact on the steel plate sections now commonly sold as drop plates, which are not drop plates they are just 1/2" steel plate with alternative fixing points.
Drop plates are banned for commercial vehicles, not cars or light commercial vehicles. Nobody (virtually) tows caravans with commercial vehicles.
The EC requirement is to have a Type approved towbar fitted and tested. It is correct that the towbar manufacturer has to certify the bar and the coupling together. The reason they dont offer alternative couplings, spacers, or one of the dozens of alternative hitches is that they would have to individually certify every combination and every size of item for every bar. This is just not commercially viable.
There is no illegal reason to tow with whatever hitch combination you choose although you are responsible for it to be safe. In an accident situation you may have to prove this.Now lets look at the practicality. A 4x4 light commercial is certified with a standard towball and states 3.5 tonne towing capacity, the bar is certified to this weight. To enable stability when towing you fit a solid plate to bring the towing height into the normal range for your van. This moves the point of load down 50 mm and rearward 30mm. The load exerted by your 1.5 Tonne caravan is not going to be anywhere near the certified maximum stress on the bar and gives virtually imperceptible changes to the loading on the bar. Is this safe, well I would argue (and prove mathmatically) that towing a 3.5T load excerpted considerably more load and inertia on the towbar than a 1.5T load 30 mm rearward of the point that the original certification was done.
To take the scare mongers arguments to the infinite point, my last two dealer fitted certified bars were supplied with a stubby towball. I changed them for an Alko, altering the position in height and reach. This not as certified, so is every Alko towball fitted to a bar certified with a stubby towball now illegal?
Alko currently sell may variants of the drop plate on their website someone should tell them they are promoting illegal activity!!!!
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This is from the Witter,
CAN I FIT A "DROP PLATE" TO AN EC TYPE APPROVED TOWBAR.
Only if the towbar has been submitted and tested for EC Type Approval using a 'drop plate'. Some Witter towbars for 4WD off road vehicles have been tested in this way, e.g. Range Rover, Land Rover Discovery and Defender, the new Mitsubishi Shogun and Mercedes M Class. Your local Witter specialist will be pleased to advise you.
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