Towing trailer

[stevethevanman]

Could anyone tell me. Do the french use the same diameter towing ball as in the UK as i am considering buying a french trailer

[PaulT]

Think you will find the size common across europe - 50mm ball

Paul

[Chancer]

Unless you have a very old towball which were 2", never seen one myself but they can be recognised by not having a flat on the top of the ball.

I did once tow a 2" coupling with a 50mm ball, it had as much slop as my everday trailer coupling that I have only just replaced after 26 years.

[John Brown]

Recently there was an accident in our area with a trailer that came detached from the car. It resulted in a death.

Although not a legal requirement on an unbraked trailer it would be wise to make up and fit a run-away cable to keep the trailer with the vehicle if the trailer breaks free at the ball / socket. Wire rope with a max load of 1000kgs ( 2500kg breaking strain ) will be OK for a 500kg trailer

John

[AnOther]

For all practical purposes a 50mm ball and a 2" one are one and the same thing.

50mm = 1.9682

2" = 50.8mm

or in other words a difference of about 1.6% either way and certainly nothing to be concerned about at all.

[nomoss]

They are not one and the same thing at all. 0.8mm difference is quite significant.

I have a trailer from UK which has a 2" hitch. If I put it on my VW's towball it is very loose and rattles like crazy. To stop the noise I wrap a piece of foam around the ball before connecting it and jam the hitch over this. On a trip to UK I had to replace the foam half way in each direction.

I also have a car to which I fitted a 2" towball in UK some years ago. I managed to jam the cheapie tin hitch onto it when I borrowed a french trailer, but it took two of us about half an hour to get it off again.

After that experience I replaced it with a 50mm towball.

Edit: That said, your car is unlikely to have a 2" towball unless it is quite old. My 2" gear dates from about 1970.

[Théière]

This is a prime example of why the bureaucrats in Brussels feel the need to pass legislation to the weakest link in the chain because butt heads cannot figure out 50mm ball for 50mm coupling, 2"ball for a 2"coupling.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/consumer-news/60092/modified-cars-could-face-mot-fail

[PaulT]

[quote user="Théière"]

This is a prime example of why the bureaucrats in Brussels feel the need to pass legislation to the weakest link in the chain because butt heads cannot figure out 50mm ball for 50mm coupling, 2"ball for a 2"coupling.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/consumer-news/60092/modified-cars-could-face-mot-fail

[/quote]

Towbars to be legal require an approval label on them so perhaps this would not fall under the proposed ruling.

Wonder whether this is being hyped up - build a kit car and it might require single vehicle approval and I am sure they do not check the stereo.

However, some cars have brake upgrades, such as fitting the disc brake setup from a later version of the same model.

Perhaps the daftest thing the UK is doing, and I am in to classic cars, is the lack of need for MOT testing (in the UK) of pre 1960 cars so the proposals would not apply. The majority of owners do not agree with the new rules.

[nomoss]

In not too many years time I fear I may no longer have the wit nor patience to deal with creeping over-regulation.

At least there is hope that Voitures de Collection will be exempted from the new requirements.

http://www.fiva.org/FR/Downloads/Text%20for%20FIVA%20website%20Sept%202012%20FR%20Traduit%2021092012.pdf

[AnOther]

With a bit of grease and some nose weight I

can't really see how or why a 50mm hitch on a 2" ball should or could

rattle around noticeably.

The difference between the two is well within the tolerance of the hitch catch so the one thing it isn't going to do is come off !

Théière I think you'll find that proposal has rightfully been binned.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/9758494/EU-backs-down-over-threat-to-classic-cars.html

They tried something similar a few years back I believe and wanted to ban non OEM body panels so that you could only use genuine manufacturers panels for repairs even on modern cars. Again it came to nought.

[nomoss]

[quote user="AnOther"]With a bit of grease and some nose weight I can't really see how or why a 50mm hitch on a 2" ball should or could rattle around noticeably. [/quote]

No, it won't rattle, but it may jam onto the larger ball.

I said that a 2" hitch on a 50mm ball rattles, not vice versa. I have tried it - have you?

I do this every time I tow the (2) UK trailers I have. The hitches are heavy duty forged/cast affairs, with braking mechanisms incorporated. I'm not about to change them for the rubbish sold here, so I put the foam in.

[Théière]

[quote user="AnOther"]With a bit of grease and some nose weight I can't really see how or why a 50mm hitch on a 2" ball should or could rattle around noticeably.
The difference between the two is well within the tolerance of the hitch catch so the one thing it isn't going to do is come off !

Théière I think you'll find that proposal has rightfully been binned.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/9758494/EU-backs-down-over-threat-to-classic-cars.html

They tried something similar a few years back I believe and wanted to ban non OEM body panels so that you could only use genuine manufacturers panels for repairs even on modern cars. Again it came to nought.



[/quote]

Thank goodness for that at least for now. 

[Chancer]

I wasnt going to dignify the postings with a response so am glad that you did.

I replaced my cast coupling recently after close to 3 decades of abuse and overloading, the trailer if not the coupling, it had a lot of slop and the noise and shunting recieved by the car finally made me replace it I had previously replaced a couple of worn towballs, they were never even close to 0.8mm worn on diameter but the play especially vertical was very noticeable.

What you dont see is the wear in the coupling, or should I say I didnt, because I now know there was an indicator. this wear can be very significant and if you think that towing a 2" coupling with a 50mm ball is OK then reflect on the amount of wear in a coupling that is likely to be at least 40 years old.

My newer pressed Alko couplings have a red/green button indicator to show when there is slack between the ball and coupling, I didnt realise that my cast coupling also had an indicator until I read the instructions with the new one (I must have been bored!) it seems that the lever when coupled should not return to the lower position and should remain slightly up, the spring loaded locking catch is actually about 5mm larger than the vertical lug that it retains, if there is between a 1 and 5mm gap at the bottom the coupling/towball fit is within limits, if the 5mm gap is at the top the handle is at the lower position and there is excess wear, mine had been like that as long as I can remember.

I now have a sneaking suspicion that the braked Bradbury coupling on my large van trailer might be a 2" one, there is not insignificant play and I had better check it before my return laden journey.

[dave21478]

I worked for several years as workshop foreman at a caravan, motorhome and trailer dealership and in that time saw the results of at least 4 serious accidents that were the result of this 50mm/2 inch thing.

Sure, the difference between 50mm and 2 inches is small enough not to be a serious worry when parts are new, but as rightly pointed out above, the older components have also had a couple of decades of wear and tear added to them.