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Hi all

as a newbie to caravaning i have the task of towing and as i have never done this before apart from a trailer tent i am a little nervous .  The caravan is a 90's fleetwood colchester 2 berth and although it is only 650kg unlaiden i want to put a stabiliser on and was wondering if the alko stabiliser is a little over kill.  After looking at the fitting instructions my son who is a mechanic will be able to fit it.  Just wondering if anyone would be able to help with this one as i dont want to spend £250 on an alko if a stabiliser for £100 would do the job with a small caravan.

many thanks

Kev

I think I agree with David above it seems a lot of money to spend. Whilst my last 3 vans have had the Al-Ko hitch stabilisers the vans before had a spring style one which seemed almost as good. The advantage of the Al-Ko is that its part and parcel of the van. If you do find a secondhand Al-Ko it may well need new discs which can work out pretty expensive depending on model, its just something else to take into concsideration.

David

I would have said that either stabliser would do, its just that the Alko is som much easier to use.

try ebay

hi this has come up loads and loads on here, id not bother with any stabilizer till youve towed it without first, just make sure you load correctly and take it steady and youl be fine, i found that first  couple of times i towed ours i hated it, swaying and bobbleing about on the road, i was only able to travel at 35mph and if went over this it was awful, anyway when we came home i got on here and asked questions, got very very good help, as always, and was advised to make sure we loaded caravan correctly and tyres on van and car were correct pressure and hey presto all was fantastic, went 80 odd miles on next trip and not a sway or bobble in sight. must admit and still stuck aprox 40/45mph but it was ace, didnt even realise van was on back when we got going, so dont jump in buying things till youve got used to the towing without any gadgets as they dont stop anything happening they mask it and then all else happens too quick for a novice tower to correct!! so keep your money in your pocket go for few test drives and get your self sorted first, then once your confident a bit more youl not even need anything but open roads and sites booked,

ENJOY!!!!!!!!

http://www.waudbys.co.uk/products/details/986.html

3004 triple pack £229

I ordered onle last year and it also comes with the extended towball and safety ball. Really good value

Thanks everyone for your replys, it certainly gives me food for thought. As i only collect the van this week it gives me chance to have a propper think on what to do, or which option to take. Just cant wait to get out on the road with our new (to us) van and enjoy but i also want to be safe so im off now to look for correct loading of a van on this excellent site

thanks all again

Kev

Thanks everyone for your replys, it certainly gives me food for thought. As i only collect the van this week it gives me chance to have a propper think on what to do, or which option to take. Just cant wait to get out on the road with our new (to us) van and enjoy but i also want to be safe so im off now to look for correct loading of a van on this excellent site

thanks all again

Kev