Towing with FWD V6 vs a Jetta TDI

[Glenn Baglo]

I was actually thinking that I would have more storage, for the cooler and the Coleman stove and Buddy heater.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by honda03842

Earlier in the thread the statement was made that:

"There appear to be a number of people here who do not realize, that on the other side of the big pond they have set tow limits in most counties that apply across the whole country. Not just on certain roads. Doesn't matter if you are towing on a 5 lane freeway vs a 2 lane road - you cant go over x so many Km/h. Its as simple as that."

The reality is that the speed limit in virtually every European country varies depending on the quality of the road.

Sorry Norm my bad. What I should have said that was that they have set MAX tow limits in most countries unlike the US where they vary from State to State.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

If you guys have nothing else to do, you could come over and clean my fridge.

No takers? Got any cold wine in it??

[Glenn Baglo]

Fridge is off, towel over the door to keep it ajar ( learned that here ). Trailer needs a major clean inside. I have all next week to work on it, and the week after and the bar fridge is full. I don't have to leave the house.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Fridge is off, towel over the door to keep it ajar ( learned that here ). Trailer needs a major clean inside. .

Sorry - only do fridges with cold beverages in them Just spent the day giving mine a good clean out before heading off to Bandon on Monday and followed by several weeks of trips. ... cant figure out how I managed to accumulate so much stuff in it since its last major clean out just a couple of months ago ... anyone need a blonde wig or a long black one with green highlights

[Andrew Gibbens]

Originally Posted by mcbrew

2" is 50.8mm. A 2" coupler will work just fine on a European 50mm ball.

Jut in case anyone takes that as the unvarnished truth, I will say that it will clank some, but will probably stay hitched.

Curiously it is the other way round that is dangerous - a 50mm coupler is quite likely to not latch firmly shut on a 2" ball and so detach itself later.

[Francesca Knowles]

While it may be true that a ball that's smaller by "only" .8mm might work/fit O.K. in a standard 2" coupler, it should be pointed out that the difference is within .2mm of the drop-dead-must-replace standard (1.0mm) for replacement of a ball, at least as defined by Al-Ko, probably the premier European supplier of towing equipment.

Here quoting from page 01-4 at this link:

The test ball and the ball of the towing vehicle must have a diameter of not less than 49 mm. If the coupling or towball is worn, it must be replaced immediately as there is a danger of the trailer/caravan caravan being uncoupled.

In my imperfect world, .8mm is pretty much the same as 1.0mm. Why chance it?

Francesca

[Brian B-P]

This is getting very far from the thread topic...

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

... as defined by Al-Ko, probably the premier European supplier of towing equipment.

Here quoting from page 01-4 at this link...

Thanks. Francesca, for in an interesting information source. Dutchmen posts this AL-KO material only in support of the T@B, which they no longer build. They built a North American version of this Tabbert model, and Tabbert (being European) used the AL-KO chassis components which are very popular in Europe. The result is an oddball configuration, and a potential U.S. source of parts and information for European trailers. The posted material covers a far wider range of AL-KO components than were actually used on the T@B.

There's a wealth of AL-KO information in there (e.g. ever wonder if the toe-in can be adjusted?), although it is irrelevant to the thread topic.

[mcbrew]

Originally Posted by Andrew Gibbens

Jut in case anyone takes that as the unvarnished truth, I will say that it will clank some, but will probably stay hitched.

Curiously it is the other way round that is dangerous - a 50mm coupler is quite likely to not latch firmly shut on a 2" ball and so detach itself later.

There is quite a bit of adjustment on most couplers. In fact, some couplers are designed to fit 1 7/8" and 2" balls. From what I've seen, most couplers are more than a millimeter out of adjustment. Fortunately, not enough to come uncoupled.