I thinking of buying a second hand caravan but at the moment don't have a tow bar fitted to my car. My question is what's the difference between an Alko tow ball and a standard one? Will an ordinary tow hitch fit on an Alko tow ball or are they supposed to be matched.
The Alko tow ball has an extended neck below the ball,a standard hitch can be used on it but an Alko hotch cannot be used on a ball without this extended neck
In a word yes. If you fit a conventional trailer hitch to an alko ball then no issue. If you have an alko hitch then you should also have an alko ball.
If you have the plate type towhbar then there are two types of towball that you can bolt on. A standard and an ALKO. the Alko is taller and has more room under the ball. This allows more articulation of the hitch. They are interchangeable and the same size but a standard ball does not allow the hitch to move as alko would like it to.
If you have a swan neck bar or a detachable then they are virtually all alko friendly and suitable for standard trailer hitch as well.
Not all swan neck/detachable towbars are compatible with Alko couplings, although those that are will say so in the description. My swan neck coupling has been turned to a smaller diameter under the actual ball during manufacture to facilitate an Alko coupling.