For those in the know;

1. Can you fit em to a FL2 with the fixed bracket....are they 'approved'?
2. Do they rattle / make a lot of noise when towing with them?

Reason is because I have a very steep drive and need to drop the nose of a car trailer or caravan to stop it from grounding on the road at the rear just as I pull in.

TIA

let your back tyres down?  At work
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"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

I'm looking to drop the drawbar by about 4" so that just wouldn't go far enough.

Oh and 19' rims have tyres with very little sidewall to flex anyway

Haven't you ever had one on a 90 or a tractor or something?

with a long threaded bolt down the middle? works ok no rattles etc etc. would look odd on an fl2, but then a van looks odd anyways so whats to loose? why not alter the vans drawbar instead of the car? At work
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"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

New ones don't seem to have the centre bolt as they used to have. Hence the question.

http://www.dixonbate.co.uk/towing/adjustable_couplings.asp

You can't alter a caravans alko coupling/drawbar, or if you tried it would be more of a pain than putting an adjustable plate on the FL2, and I only need to lower it to get in/out of the drive but would not want to tow on the road with the ball at that height, if that makes sense, as whatever I was towing would not be level.

buy a second detachable tow bar and get a local engineer/blacksmith to alter it for you. If its only for that one job should be strong enough.

but thinking about it you obviously dont have a detachable or you wouldnt be looking at that adjustable thing.



could you fit height adjustable shocks to the van? or don't vans have shock absorbers? move house? get your drive redesigned? fit big wheels to van? buy a quad bike with a low drawbar just for trailer shunting?

sell the van, rent a cottage , its your only solution  At work
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"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

You can't get a local engineer to do anything to a towbar without it invalidating your insurance and vehicle warranty. I have seen one of these adjustable ones on a secondhand FL2 on a dealer forecourt but that doesn't mean they are approved , only that it is possible to fit one.

the best long term solution would be to spend some time and money and alter the drive profile if possible to minimise the change in gradient....................... ??

Iain

Dixon Bate's website states "Eu Approved Vehicles August 1994 on: Only fit the adapter plate after first checking with the towbar manufacturer that doing so will not invalidate the towbars’ approval"

So you need to ask the towbar manufacturer.... (or possibly LR technical if its a LR 'branded' bar) that's fitted to your FL2.

If you have yet to fit any towbar, then you could go to Witter (or another maker) for a view on the type approval situation with a D-B shocklink before you go any further.

iain cooper wrote:

the best long term solution would be to spend some time and money and alter the drive profile if possible to minimise the change in gradient....................... ??

Another alternative is to have a powered 'mover' fitted to the caravan. These would probably allow the nose to be dropped enough via the jockey wheel? However, they are around £600-£1,000. (Probably still less than re-grading the driveway, though!) However, if you also need one for a car transporter as well........

or a strong and secure post with a electric winch attached with a towball on t'other end

Though i wouldn't stand behind it incase the winch rope snapped  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Powr Touch Caravan Mover ? 

christian138 wrote:

Powr Touch Caravan Mover ?

iain cooper wrote:

the best long term solution would be to spend some time and money and alter the drive profile if possible to minimise the change in gradient....................... ??

Iain

Sorry but we have done that already, and the service strip crossing to the road.. and what a palaver that was!

Already have a Powertouch mover on the van, and can drive the van up backwards with the jockey as low as possible, but takes ages as it is a long drive (about 30m) so was wanting to pull it up.

Have spoken to LR technical today and they wouldn't recommend a Dixon Bate adjustable on a FL2 as it could overload the tow bracket mounting points....bummer

Oh well back to my 7.2m remote control box on wheels solution (albeit very slow)

Bill Turner wrote:

See www.powrwheel.com

Bill Turner.

surely it should have terrain response and HDC if it is to be used with a LR  At work
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"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

If you have another car with a towing bracket on that you don't use for towing anymore, you could put a drop plate on it and use that car to pull your caravan up the drive. That would leave your FL2 with the correct height tow ball on for normal road driving.
http://www.towsure.com/category/6467-Towball_Drop_Plates

waaxh03