I've agreed a sale on a van and an keen to correct it asap. It's a good two hour drive away. The van has an AlKo stabiliser fitted. My car has a towball that looks like my brothers towbar which he uses to pull a van with a slightly different AlKo stabiliser hitch.
How can I check if my towball is suitable?
Can I hitch on in the traditional way and tow without the stabiliser active if it's not right?
Car is a Mitsubishi ASX and it has the manufacturer's standard bolt on towbar. I've got a photo of the number on the top of the towbar belonging to the seller; he had that fitted to match the van. Thank you.
The towballs used with Alko stabilisers are all 50mm as far as I know, but have an undercut for clearance. If it is a new towball then it will need the black paint removing.
If you decide to tow without the stabiliser then it wouldn't affect safety - just go a few MPH slower.
So easy if you know & so hard to explain on a forum. Can you post a picture of side view of your towbar?
If you have flange type towbar then you need Al-ko stabiliser compatible flange ball, this is longer & deeper than standard. If you have swan neck towbar then that is ok with any hitch.
Once correctly hitched, stabiliser is active, you have no choice. If you tow with incorrect flange ball you risk cracking front of hitch at extreme articulation.
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Topic: Working Without The Stabiliser?
