al-ko tow hitch

17-02-2008, 12:09

Brink 4 pin tow balls are not compatible with AL-Ko tow hitches.
Brink sell a 4 to 2 pin adaptor which allows an Al-Ko ball to be fitted.
The arm to ball centre must be 60mm as opposed to the Brink one 56mm.
Al-Ko have an excellent fact sheet on their web site - AL-CO KOBER - SHOP ON LINE -CARAVANS - TOW BALL GUIDE.
AL-KO tow balls are usually black.

jims-terrano · 17-02-2008, 12:12

That's worth knowing, it's a shame really as I liked the look of the 4 bolt towballs. The tow bars seemed to look stronger.

Jim T

bigjim · 17-02-2008, 13:17

And you can fit NATO hooks great for towing people out of mud!

(RIP) PLANK · 17-02-2008, 15:39

i must admit i think these alko stabaliser things are a menace, it means you cant tow nothing else without keep cgreasing then cleaning the tow bal, and i dont think they make that much difference when towing! I took the one off our last caravan and may do the same to our present one, then you can use your own tow ball!

(RIP) PLANK · 17-02-2008, 19:48

a small adition - TOWSURE sell an alko compatible (two pin) tow ball for £10.95, and have free delivery on orders over £20 at the moment.

Thomas-the-Terrano2 · 17-02-2008, 19:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by trav

Brink 4 pin tow balls are not compatible with AL-Ko tow hitches.
Brink sell a 4 to 2 pin adaptor which allows an Al-Ko ball to be fitted.
The arm to ball centre must be 60mm as opposed to the Brink one 56mm.
Al-Ko have an excellent fact sheet on their web site - AL-CO KOBER - SHOP ON LINE -CARAVANS - TOW BALL GUIDE.
AL-KO tow balls are usually black.

sorry dont agree towed both alko 1300 and 200(0) for 3 years without issue other than getting lever on or off with spare wheel in place.

the bolt heads sometimes look close to the coupling but have never made contact.

(RIP) rustygates · 17-02-2008, 20:50

I have a brinks towbracket with the 4 holes and have no problem with attaching the alko hitch with the spare wheel and stainless cover in place.

rustygates.

peter277 · 23-03-2010, 23:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by rustygates

I have a brinks towbracket with the 4 holes and have no problem with attaching the alko hitch with the spare wheel and stainless cover in place.

rustygates.

hi have just boght a 05 terrano having sold my 99 model when i wanted to put alko hitch onto car had to always have door open even fitted a spacer between towbar and ball but still no good.does the brink towbar stick out further as need a towbar for new terrano?

zippy656 · 24-03-2010, 07:02

ive a NISSAN one with 4 botls, not got an alko hitch. not sure you can get them with 4 bolts.

dinky · 17-02-2008, 20:55

Have alko on buccaneer .After losing van with blade type would never go back .

(RIP) PLANK · 18-02-2008, 19:23

its not just the clearance to the bolt heads that is an issue with a normal tow ball, I have one in the shed (brink) that was last used with an alko 3000 hitch and there is a clear shiny patch where the hitch has rubbed on the neck of the towball.

alko balls arent just spaced out furhter thay are also higher as the edges of the hitch come down further.

I hope that makes sense?

JonathanM · 18-02-2008, 20:02

NArrower neck on the Alko hitch, to allow articulation of the coupling. The standard fat neck tow balls causes problems. Swan neck towbars are fine for an alko hitch.

andrewk · 18-02-2008, 20:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by PLANK

i dont think they make that much difference when towing!

Funny you should say that. On the way back from a place called Clachtoll in Sutherland last year, we stopped at the big retail park in Inverness and had a burger apiece in Burger King. I've got a Burstner S500TS caravan with an Alko stabiliser hitch and was towing it with an Isuzu Trooper at the time (great towcar). Before we went for lunch, I fitted a Bulldog hitchlock - so the van wouldn't go walkies whilst we were away.

On return to the van, I removed the hitchlock but after putting it in the car, I forgot to press the stabiliser handle down again - so effectively, we were without stabiliser until we stopped next, at a motorway services on the M74 south of Glasglow, which is where I discovered my error. Did it make any difference to the towing behaviour ........ not a bit.

If you fancy a bit of bedtime reading, you might like to have a look at
this. http://people.bath.ac.uk/en8cjk/Caravan.pdf Basically, it says that stabilisers reduce small oscillations but have no effect on big ones - so they make the driver feel better (and hence drive faster) but don't stop snaking - which is pretty much what I thought was the case anyway.

The best way to tow safely is simply to use the heaviest towcar that you can afford; make sure that the caravan's laden weight is sensibly less than the towcar kerbweight (ideally keep to the CC's 85% matching recommendation), have a noseweight about 7% of the caravan laden weight if you can - and load the caravan sensibly.

Cheers
Andrew

18-02-2008, 21:34

Maybe I have not made my point clear.

It was that the ball must be compatible with the tow hitch,not whether the hitch was the the most functional.

Though the Bath information was interesting it does not address the problem directly as does the Al-Co fact sheet.

You can tow with any 50mm ball but any Al-Co / Brink guarantee will be void.

andrewk · 18-02-2008, 22:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by trav

Though the Bath information was interesting it does not address the problem directly as does the Al-Co fact sheet.

It wasn't intended to. My post was a reply to PLANKs.

Cheers
Andrew

17-02-2008, 12:09	#1
trav Guest Posts: n/a	al-ko tow hitch Brink 4 pin tow balls are not compatible with AL-Ko tow hitches. Brink sell a 4 to 2 pin adaptor which allows an Al-Ko ball to be fitted. The arm to ball centre must be 60mm as opposed to the Brink one 56mm. Al-Ko have an excellent fact sheet on their web site - AL-CO KOBER - SHOP ON LINE -CARAVANS - TOW BALL GUIDE. AL-KO tow balls are usually black.

17-02-2008, 20:50	#7
(RIP) rustygates Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: N wales Vehicle: 1997 swb + 2003 swb tdi Posts: 672	I have a brinks towbracket with the 4 holes and have no problem with attaching the alko hitch with the spare wheel and stainless cover in place. rustygates. __________________ 1997 Terrano 2.7tdi se red/silver swb. 130k . A-frame+spots, privacy glass, tyres 235-70rx15 BF Goodrich a/t ko pulling a 2005 Bailey vendee series5 with powrtouch mover. 2003 Terrano 2.7tdi se ruby red/silver 74k

17-02-2008, 12:12	#2
jims-terrano Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: UK Posts: 12,965	That's worth knowing, it's a shame really as I liked the look of the 4 bolt towballs. The tow bars seemed to look stronger. Jim T

17-02-2008, 13:17	#3
bigjim Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 549	And you can fit NATO hooks great for towing people out of mud!

17-02-2008, 15:39	#4
(RIP) PLANK Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Central England, in the Heart of the Black Country Vehicle: T2 2004 TDI SE LWB Posts: 7,740	i must admit i think these alko stabaliser things are a menace, it means you cant tow nothing else without keep cgreasing then cleaning the tow bal, and i dont think they make that much difference when towing! I took the one off our last caravan and may do the same to our present one, then you can use your own tow ball!

17-02-2008, 19:48	#5
(RIP) PLANK Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Central England, in the Heart of the Black Country Vehicle: T2 2004 TDI SE LWB Posts: 7,740	a small adition - TOWSURE sell an alko compatible (two pin) tow ball for £10.95, and have free delivery on orders over £20 at the moment.

17-02-2008, 20:55	#10
dinky Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SOUTH YORKSHIRE Vehicle: t20 lwb Posts: 1,238	Have alko on buccaneer .After losing van with blade type would never go back .

18-02-2008, 19:23	#11
(RIP) PLANK Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Central England, in the Heart of the Black Country Vehicle: T2 2004 TDI SE LWB Posts: 7,740	its not just the clearance to the bolt heads that is an issue with a normal tow ball, I have one in the shed (brink) that was last used with an alko 3000 hitch and there is a clear shiny patch where the hitch has rubbed on the neck of the towball. alko balls arent just spaced out furhter thay are also higher as the edges of the hitch come down further. I hope that makes sense?

18-02-2008, 20:02	#12
JonathanM Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Merseyside Posts: 1,048	NArrower neck on the Alko hitch, to allow articulation of the coupling. The standard fat neck tow balls causes problems. Swan neck towbars are fine for an alko hitch.

18-02-2008, 21:34	#14
trav Guest Posts: n/a	Maybe I have not made my point clear. It was that the ball must be compatible with the tow hitch,not whether the hitch was the the most functional. Though the Bath information was interesting it does not address the problem directly as does the Al-Co fact sheet. You can tow with any 50mm ball but any Al-Co / Brink guarantee will be void.