Non-European tow hitches and trailer brakes
Discussion
I'm interested in American and Australian approaches to towbars, or "hitches" as they both call them. Specifically, I'm interested in how their versions compare with ours. Brakes too. The reason is because I might buy a caravan from one of those countries, but I have a few questions about their approach to trailers and caravans.
In Europe, we tend to use a ball/cup design. The cup locks onto the ball, and some of the newer versions like Alkos offer friction pads in the cup designed to prevent uncontrolled oscillations / sway. It all seems very simple, and from my own experience of towing a 25ft caravan, works well.
The Americans use secondary bars to prevent "sway". It seems overkill compared with ours... but is ours actually as good?
Also, the Americans seem to use some sort of anti-dive / weight distribution which I've not come across over here. I know they go with far higher tongue weights than us (and why is that?), so is that the reason why this weight distribution is required? And why don't we use that? I'm not talking about the 5th wheel kit here... just the normal A-frame caravans.
The Australians use couplings with far more possible movement than we do - theirs look more like a universal joint type of arrangement. I know this is because they go offroad which leads to quite incredible angles between car and trailer but again, why don't we use this type of hitch? It seems as easy to hitch-up, with advantages over ours. Clearly this type wouldn't offer any sort of sway-control, and I don't think I've seen them use weight distribution.
Both American and Australian continents use "receiver" hitches. Whenever they slot in the towball, there always seems to be a lot of movement. And the towball assembly is only held in place with a half inch pin. My own removable towball (Westfalia) has absolutely no movement between it and the bracketry inside the rear bumper of my car.
Lastly, both the Americans and Australians have forgone the compression braking system we use in Europe in favour of electronic braking controllers in the tow vehicle which have some sort of accelerometer in the controller that sends a signal to the trailer, which in turn uses... what exactly? Is there an electrically pumped hydraulic system on-board the trailer? And why is this system illegal in Europe? What do our lawmakers not like about it?
I am going to the Camping, Caravan and Motorhome show at the NEC on Tuesday where, I expect, I'll only see the towbar and braking types I'm already familiar with. I am just seeking to educate myself on the possibilities of others.
In Europe, we tend to use a ball/cup design. The cup locks onto the ball, and some of the newer versions like Alkos offer friction pads in the cup designed to prevent uncontrolled oscillations / sway. It all seems very simple, and from my own experience of towing a 25ft caravan, works well.
The Americans use secondary bars to prevent "sway". It seems overkill compared with ours... but is ours actually as good?
Also, the Americans seem to use some sort of anti-dive / weight distribution which I've not come across over here. I know they go with far higher tongue weights than us (and why is that?), so is that the reason why this weight distribution is required? And why don't we use that? I'm not talking about the 5th wheel kit here... just the normal A-frame caravans.
The Australians use couplings with far more possible movement than we do - theirs look more like a universal joint type of arrangement. I know this is because they go offroad which leads to quite incredible angles between car and trailer but again, why don't we use this type of hitch? It seems as easy to hitch-up, with advantages over ours. Clearly this type wouldn't offer any sort of sway-control, and I don't think I've seen them use weight distribution.
Both American and Australian continents use "receiver" hitches. Whenever they slot in the towball, there always seems to be a lot of movement. And the towball assembly is only held in place with a half inch pin. My own removable towball (Westfalia) has absolutely no movement between it and the bracketry inside the rear bumper of my car.
Lastly, both the Americans and Australians have forgone the compression braking system we use in Europe in favour of electronic braking controllers in the tow vehicle which have some sort of accelerometer in the controller that sends a signal to the trailer, which in turn uses... what exactly? Is there an electrically pumped hydraulic system on-board the trailer? And why is this system illegal in Europe? What do our lawmakers not like about it?
I am going to the Camping, Caravan and Motorhome show at the NEC on Tuesday where, I expect, I'll only see the towbar and braking types I'm already familiar with. I am just seeking to educate myself on the possibilities of others.
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