- Joined
- Mar 14, 2006
- Messages
- 7,699
for me even with a replacment handle I still dont see the draw of them, if towing several different caravans with several different vehicles, and other trailers inbetween the alko stabaliser and grease free ball combiantion is a pain. Plus if you space the ball further back from the tow bar to allow for an alko standard handle (as the replacment one would need to be on every caravan you tow) you effectivley shift the load further from the back axel and this makes towing less stable (ehich is an established principle in stable towing)
the other issue i have with then is the get stuck on the tow ball and can be a pain to unhitch, the standard alko line is this is due to worn pads or a non alko ball but even with new pads and an alko ball I have spent happy times ith jokey wheel wound down bouncing on the back of the towing vehicle to frre them, even after the jiggling backwards and forwards a little bit routine has been exhausted.
And there is no sustantial evidence to prove they do a lot (if anyhting)
so as an equation ,the negative points i have raised against the positives and you end up with a neutral score at best!
if you allready have one fitted and never tow anything else with your vehicle then i agee, if you are happy with it keep it, but i certainly wouldn't recommend rushing out to buy one!
and if you tow any other trailer you know its only a matter of time until you leave grease on the tow ball :lol i carry a can of brake cleaner spray just in case, having said that, when they get stuck i some times squirt them with WD40 as if the pads are worn out anyway what have you got to loose? One alko agent told me the genuine ball has a special polymer coating to prevent the ball form becoming jammed in the head, that must be the black paint that rubs off and clogs the pads? most people recommend you scrape this off first.
they are pretty much standard fit to new caravans now though so it loooks like this debate will continue or years to come!
the other issue i have with then is the get stuck on the tow ball and can be a pain to unhitch, the standard alko line is this is due to worn pads or a non alko ball but even with new pads and an alko ball I have spent happy times ith jokey wheel wound down bouncing on the back of the towing vehicle to frre them, even after the jiggling backwards and forwards a little bit routine has been exhausted.
And there is no sustantial evidence to prove they do a lot (if anyhting)
so as an equation ,the negative points i have raised against the positives and you end up with a neutral score at best!
if you allready have one fitted and never tow anything else with your vehicle then i agee, if you are happy with it keep it, but i certainly wouldn't recommend rushing out to buy one!
and if you tow any other trailer you know its only a matter of time until you leave grease on the tow ball :lol i carry a can of brake cleaner spray just in case, having said that, when they get stuck i some times squirt them with WD40 as if the pads are worn out anyway what have you got to loose? One alko agent told me the genuine ball has a special polymer coating to prevent the ball form becoming jammed in the head, that must be the black paint that rubs off and clogs the pads? most people recommend you scrape this off first.
they are pretty much standard fit to new caravans now though so it loooks like this debate will continue or years to come!
