Alko Stabiliser

alko-stabiliserAL-KO stabilisers are one of the most popular, if not the most popular, ball type caravan stabiliser on the market. There is however something you need to know before you rush off and buy one of these for your caravan rig and that is they don't fit all your standard towballs. The good news is however that if you buy an AL-KO stabiliser AKS type, new from any supplier you will also get a black painted towball as part of every boxed UK stabiliser sold. The bad news is you will need to have your current towball changed to that fitted.

If you're buying a used caravan there maybe a chance that it will already have an AL-KO stabiliser fitted as part of the price or even when you buy a new caravan some dealers may include a caravan stabiliser in the price as a bit of a sweetener for you to buy. In these cases you need to check that if its from the dealer they'll include fitting the correct towball in the deal or how you can at least get the correct towball fitted before you take ownership of the caravan.

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You can purchase the AL-KO towball separately but you should be aware that alko-stabiliser-towballother towballs will work with the stabilisers but use of any other bolt-on type towball will invalid your warranty and will not allow the stabiliser to operate correctly. With that said you should know that a swan neck towbar is suitable for use with the AL-KO Stabilisers, providing the necessary clearances can be achieved. In short check what you're buying before forking out your dosh dosh!

towballsThere are two types of towball that must never be used with any AL-KO Stabilisers. These are the bolted intype balls and the A50-1 towballs pictured left.

A final thing to note about the AL-KO stabiliser is to always remember to only attach it to a dry and free from grease towball and that any protective coating should be removed. To help protect your towball AL-KO have produced purpose made towball cover that fits and protects your precious towball.

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Driving without a Caravan Stabiliser

Long before the day when caravan stabilisers were not an automatic purchase for those considering towing a caravan people still managed to get from A to B with too much drama. But with the introduction of the caravan stabiliser that last little piece of uncomfortable driving while towing a caravan was removed. Stabilisers never were and never have been a substitute for good knowledge and experience in the loading of your caravan nor the towing of it either.

The single most important factor in creating a stable and safe towing outfit is the match up of the caravan with the car. Just because the car CAN pull the caravan doesn’t mean it should, or would be safe to. There are many different ways for you to find the best match but it maybe a little like what came first the car or the caravan. As a first time caravan buyer they will often buy the caravan that will suit their car as this is the least investment required. As long as you make sure your caravan is up to the task there should be no problem with this, however on the odd occasion people will purchase a caravan that suits their needs and don’t consider what car will be towing it. If you’re looking to get the caravan from a dealer then they will more than likely be able to tell you if your current car is up to the job. If however you’re purchasing the caravan from a private seller you should check out some caravan forums, or talk to other people a little bit more knowledgeable about towing outfits to ensure you get a caravan that matches your car. You can also do further research online look at your caravan manufacturer’s web site for information or search for caravan outfit recommendations, this should keep you busy for a while.

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The second most important feature of safe caravan towing is that you have properly loaded the caravan and car. If you apply some common sense, and a little experience, loading a caravan shouldn’t be too difficult for anyone to understand. Simple common sense should tell you that heavy items should be stored low down and never in overhead cupboards. A little experience would tell you that these same heavy items should also be carried on or as near to the axel as possible. Obviously you should never overload the caravan but how much is too much? There is a simple way to work out how much you can load into the caravan, the laden weight of the caravan should not exceed 85% of the weight of the tow car although this can often be increased to 100% for experienced drivers. This may mean you have to carry some of the heavy items in your car but remember you should make sure that if you do these items need to be secured down to prevent them flying around should the worse happen. If you have the weight right and the balance of the weight evenly distributed the caravan should tow level or slightly nose down.

The third factor in creating a safe and comfortable towing outfit is to ensure the tyre pressures of your caravan are correct. You would be forgiven for thinking that this point would be obvious but on more than one occasion you will see caravans arrive at sites with have inflated tyres and when asked the owner will say something like I checked the car tyres and had the caravan recently serviced. Never trust anyone to inflate the tyres of your caravan for you, you are towing the unit, it is your responsibility for the safety of it on the road.

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