Could you send a link if possible of the 'discussion' on the CC web site please...?
Just done a search there myself and can't find anything there...
There have been recurring threads, just two examples found by a search:
http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/community/discussions/club-talk/caravanning-events-and-announcements/CAMPERVANS-BAD-PITCHING/rt/72689/?p=4
Have a look for floor damage and damp in the corner with the damaged leg.
you will need a motor mover so you can pitch nose in or you will be parked awning to awning not ideal when on sites with smaller pitches.
if you then use the mover to park nose in your lounge area will have a very restricted view if up against a hedge.
Unless you are on a pitch that is large enough to pitch anyway you want, motor mover again essential
------------- alpiner
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Quote: Originally posted by GCMS2012 on 28/4/2015You poking me with a stick to 'think' about going for it...? Only problem I can see with it though is, one of the legs on the A frame at the front has a slight bend in it. I think he's turned too tight at some point...
Is it possible for it to be 'pulled out'??
Metal sections lose a lot of their strength if they 'kink" but the A frame is generally in tension so unless it is a really serious bend with creases in the top and bottom sections I wouldn't be concerned.
Loads will predict doom and gloom though.
I have used a block of timber on the other side, a bottle jack and a toffee hammer on a 2500kg car trailer to straighten an A bar leg without any issues.
You could a,so talk to Alko as they are bolted up and it may even be easily replaceable if it worries you or her.
Had my 2006 Knaus 470 only a few months and used it just once but it is pretty well designed and built.
Are you saying the actual A frame part of the chassis behind the hitch is bent? If that is the case I would avoid. It sounds like its been hit & possibly distorted chassis & bodywork, the caravan may even visibly 'crab' when towed. If you mean a corner steady leg is bent, then corner steadies are standard items you can buy a new one from £30 upwards depending on type.
Quote: Originally posted by GCMS2012 on 28/4/2015
You poking me with a stick to 'think' about going for it...?
Only problem I can see with it though is, one of the legs on the A frame at the front has a slight bend in it. I think he's turned too tight at some point...
Is it possible for it to be 'pulled out'??
This happens and as long as the steadies still work it is no detriment. If you really want to sort it out then it is an easy job to buy a new steady and replace it. I have two on mine that would do with changing but they work so I will leave them alone.
------------- Bill
For a licence dated 1997 or later you must add together the plated max weight of the caravan and trailer, if the total is 3500 or less you can tow it. You may even tow a caravan with a MAM greater than the cars unladen mass the restriction was removed in 2013
Quote: Originally posted by GCMS2012 on 29/4/2015
It's not the steady leg part.
It's the part of the a frame between the hitch and where it disappears under the front of the van....
Walk away with a twisted chassis you have to ask how it happened and what its effect is.
------------- Bill
For a licence dated 1997 or later you must add together the plated max weight of the caravan and trailer, if the total is 3500 or less you can tow it. You may even tow a caravan with a MAM greater than the cars unladen mass the restriction was removed in 2013
As others are saying, walk away very positively. This does not occur without serious trauma and with nasty loading at other places than where you presently see the consequences.
You won't bend the chassis by turning too tight. If you got car at 90deg to caravan & made contact you would damage car not caravan chassis. To bend chassis as described would have require traffic accident at some speed. Chassis rail is usually one piece from hitch to rear.
If it is an Al-Ko chassis:
With all the Al-Ko chassis I have had the "A" frame has been bolted to the forward section of the main Chassis rails. With my existing van changing it would be a practical DIY job for me.
But it would be very expensive to change, and the impact or twisting motion when the damage happened could have damaged the body seals, without doubt walk away
Sounds like a jackknife accident to me.
Quote: Originally posted by alpiner on 30/4/2015
But it would be very expensive to change, and the impact or twisting motion when the damage happened could have damaged the body seals, without doubt walk away
Sounds like a jackknife accident to me.
Yes I agree on both points and firmly on the latter where to bend it other bits were highly stressed and the trauma they went through could have its hidden issues.
Just the statement that the "A" frame is part of the main chassis rails right through to the rear, has been in all my vans an untrue situation. They all have been bolted on subsections of a chassis system, and in theory replaceable.