For the last few trips my al-ko 3004 stabiliser handle has disengaged during the journey and when I arrived at my destination the handle has moved from the horizontal position to the upright. I had a witness on the last occasion to observe the hitch was being correctly fastened. When the caravan isn't hitched I can feel the pads moving and when I hook up and engage the stabiliser I can feel tension being applied. I have checked all the pads and these are all ok. I suspect I may have to replace the stabiliser. Anyone got ideas why this is happening and suggestions for repair. Thanks
I've heard of this before, but can't for the life of me recall when, where, or the cause/solution! Sorry - chocolate teapot on that one!
Only thought I have, is the towball itself worn beyond limits? After lots of use, the 'brake' pads in the coupling are abrasive, and countless 'cleaning' of the ball over years, it may have become worn. Not necessarily truly spherical either, more 'faceted' as the pads spend most of their time working on the same spots on the ball!
You'd need an engineers micrometre or vernier calliper to measure it to sufficient accuracy. The minimum ball diameter according to Alko is 49.61mm, which is also the standard min size of a NEW ball to the relevant Euro regs (50mm dia is the MAX size, for reference).
Thanks, the towball is two and half years old fitted when I got the car. I have a caliper it doesn't work to the engineering standards but using it visually it is just less than 50mm but over 49.5 but agree this is a possibility. I will ask the towbar fitter to check if he has an accurate measuring tool. I am thinking of buying a used ALko from a breakers and fitting new pads in it.
Just an update. The towball was independently measured and found to be ok. Strangely when on tow the problem, after I made the original post, didn't always present itself: sometimes OK sometimes not. I bought a pre used alko stabiliser 2004/3004 from a breaker. The pads were good with little signs of use so they didn't need replacing and up to now this replacement is operating correctly.
Thanks. It may have needed shims the original alko was fitted around 15 years ago by a mobile mechanic with myself "assisting". (at that time I didn't have a suitable torque wrench - he did) I scrapped the old one so I cant check now.
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Topic: Al-Ko 3004 stabiliser
via mobile 01/10/2025 at 8:39am
