Hi folks, new to this site and this is my first post, we've just purchased a 2008 bailey peagent 6 berth van fitted with an alko stabiliser hitch, I was a bit taken aback when we collected it to find it had a 13 pin socket instead of what I thought would be two seperate sockets, anyway the fella there gave us a 7 to 13 pin adapter, but said that the hitch wouldn't work, so what is the score with this hitch stabiliser thing and do I need to re wire a 13 pin or will my current 7 pin do
Many thank
Bobby
Do you mean the two 7 pin plugs on the caravan have been changed to the currant 13 pin type?
If so you can indeed get an adaptor or simply change your two sockets on the car to the 13 pin type
Hitch won't work? It will require an extended neck ALKO tow ball on your car any tow ball fitters would be able to carry this work out for you But the socket/plug/s have nothing to do with the hitch..
Yes this van has a single 13 pin socket but I thought I would have a double one, apparently this hitch needs power which isn't supplied though the 7-13 pin adapter, why do I need to change my tow ball, as I can't see anything wrong with my current one. Excuse my ignorance, new to caravan ing as always camped. Not new to towing, currently lorry driver
Are you talking about the hitch, or is it that the van has had Alko ATC fitted, as that needs power to operate.The Alko hitch stabilizer does not need power.
The ALKO stabiliser hitch requires an extended neck tow ball for the stabiliser bit to fit over it or it may come adrift
I am at a loss to know why your hitch would need power
or has it had ATC fitted?
Hi, I would be tempted to get 13pin socket fitted to car to match the caravan. have known people to have trouble with the adapter leads due to weight of adapter/lead socket moving about and causing bad connections on the 13 pins.
The fella at the dealers where we picked it up gave us the adapter, but said without the 13 pin socket hard wired into the car the stabiliser wouldn't work, I have the normal handle that locks the van to my disco, then there's a big red handle that goes down aswell got a little red button on it with a green strip that appears to show it's locked on apparently
Quote: Originally posted by Bobster73 on 01/8/2014
The fella at the dealers where we picked it up gave us the adapter, but said without the 13 pin socket hard wired into the car the stabiliser wouldn't work, I have the normal handle that locks the van to my disco, then there's a big red handle that goes down aswell got a little red button on it with a green strip that appears to show it's locked on apparently
again the stabiliser requires no power to make it work..
Lovely job Thankyou, so the 13 pin is basically for the battery, fridge and reversing lights, all of which for the immediate short term I can live without
Sorted many thanks
As well is two words!
How does a sage know everything about everything? or does he? or does he just think he does?
Remember, if you buy something you bought it, not brought it.
You stabiliser hitch needs no power at all to do its job, it's mechanical only. You do need to ensure your tow ball is the extended ball type, and you need to remove ALL the paint from the ball. If you haven't and you've used it it's probably buggered and you'll need to replace the friction pads.
The AL-KO ATC stabiliser is a different thing. It's a bit like ABS on a car and very good, but it needs power and it needs a 13 pin system to get the power. If it has no power you can still use the hitch stabiliser with the big red handle but the ATC won't work and that would be a shame, cos you might need it one day. You can still tow though.
------------- Camping Gear expands so as to fill the space available for its transportation.
If you have managed to get paint on the friction pads this will clean it off and saves replacing the pads.
------------- XVI yes?
As well is two words!
How does a sage know everything about everything? or does he? or does he just think he does?
Remember, if you buy something you bought it, not brought it.
Many thanks I now know what I need, it is an atc but I can tow it without the atc active and no there wasn't any paint on the tow ball. I will sort out something with regards to the tow elec sockets but for the time being I can use it with no huge safety issues, many thanks
Bobster