Aussie Tow Ball / Tongue weights ?

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Don't worry about it just use your common sense and get amongst it :Y: if you are trying to get within specs and find everything is a contradiction what ever you read to raise any contradiction there's a sure fire fix to all it if you stack the fridge properly and leave the food at home :beer:
 
Aussiedigs said:
Forget the towball rating. Is there a brand on the towbar? Id be researching who made bars for your particular vehicle. Ask Mitsubishi. They should be able provide some info on brand etc then contact the manufacturer if Mitsubishi cant provide a rating. If you cant come up with anything, id prob work off around a 150kg. Keep heavy gear rearward to maintain 150kg or less. Your bar would have to be at least this.

Good Idea, I just looked it up and it was made by a company called Witter and It is rated at the Truck max towing weight and the Nose/Ball weight is 115kgs / 253.5 Lbs, which is a fair ol lump.
 
The reason why tow ball weight should be 10 percent or more never less is this keeps the van / trailer stable and is less likely to get the sway death wobbles up, so loading the van / trailer is very important .
 
robmoto said:
The reason why tow ball weight should be 10 percent or more never less is this keeps the van / trailer stable and is less likely to get the sway death wobbles up, so loading the van / trailer is very important .

Yeah well that's how I have always done it and always believed but over here in the nanny state they tend to keep making Laws that go beyond common sense, either way I am not happy about the fact that Ball weights here are so Low because that is asking for trouble,

Where it all goes stupidly wrong is I have hired Car trailers that have a ball weight of over 150kgs even when empty and Horse Boxes that I could not even lift when empty But using the 5 and 10% Rule allows a person to Tow them Safely, But going by Tow ball weight as a guide just does not work and the amount of car and caravan combo's I see going up the highway swaying like crazy is that common here I can't count the times that I have not been able to pass them in fear of getting side swiped, :eek: :eek: :eek: :skull:
 
Interesting arguments all round, now I'm going to throw in an element that has not been discussed but is fairly critical to the stability of the tow tug; the weight distribution ration between the front and back axles. Most cars work on a 60% front 40% rear approx ratio, putting it simply, this maintains quality steering.

The rear axle is not only accepting the tow ball weight x the distance behind the rear axle (principal of moments) but also acting as a pivot point so the more load behind, the lighter the steering and the more uncontrollable the tug could potentially become, particularly on dirt roads.

A couple of years ago I tested this and the difference was dramatic. Vehicle was a 3l Patrol towing a camper trailer with a ball load of 250kg. Back of the Patrol wasn't overly full as we had to leave space for Rigby the wonder Dog.

For black top driving I had a set of Hayman Reece load levelers and it was a dream to drive, but they had to come off for dirt and steering lightened a fair bit. Did a test, levelers on for a dirt stint and steering really bit in, took them off on the black top and it was nasty, light and twitchy on the wet road. The patrol had upgraded suspension so could handle the weight, but this made no difference to the driveability!

10 - 15% for caravan stability yes, that's a no brainer, but working out the car geometry is a whole different ball game. Uprated springs, airbags etc help the vehicle cope with the additional loads, BUT they do absolutely nothing of the driving dynamics, that is all about the weight distribution.
 
Dihusky, totally agree with what you just said, just as a coincidence I had a 3 litre patrol with those inner air bags inside the coils just to keep the patrol level with some gear throne in the back of it , but then I would put the 18 foot six van on that had 4 wheel independent coil spring with shocks a Windsor statesman royal road van so it had to sit level to keep all the wheels weighted correctly even, so I purchased a Hayman and Reace load levelars and adjustable height tow ball set up to keep the van level.
So the point here is 225kilo was the minimum ball weight 10 percent of the van ,now with stabalisers on this puts more downward preasure on the the ball and coupling itself how can someone measure the extra LOL, but I tell you what as you implied they are worth there weight in gold.
 
No need to measure or calculate as Hayman Reece weight distribution hitch doesn't alter ball weight?
( This is not my opinion, see Hayman Reece website and it clearly states this )
Air bags are but a substitute for weak springs
They also can cause chassis damage as can create a load point that the chassis was not originally designed for :awful: Monocoque vehicles probably even more so as you don't even have a chassis to start with Not so critical perhaps on coil suspension application as mount / load point is usually coil tower. But on leaf spring suspension the hanger points on chassis are a long way from being over diff housing. Personally having witnessed the damage they can cause, I wouldn't fit air bags to my vehicle even if they were free Solution is buy springs strong enough to support the load being carried :Y:

Apology for edits but understand how technically correct one needs to be when placing a post :)
 
They use the same set up we all do like
McHitch = https://www.mchitch.com.au/
or
Cruisemaster = https://cruisemaster.com.au/couplings/

anything but the cheap tregg copies all the imports use like these

1562632876_capture.jpg
 
One of the best Tow hitches ever made is the British NATO Pintle Hitch made by Dixon & Bate, it can be locked in it's normal position for road use or unlocked for off road use where it has 360* rotation, This is what I will be adding to my Truck when I can, it has a Ball weight of 350kgs and a 4.08T load rating,

1562633050_pintle.jpg
 
That would be a nice hitch but,
If it does not have the Australian Safety Standards logo
or compliance on it,
Good Bye insurance.
I use the 10% rule plus do not tow any thing over 60%
of the tugs total loaded weight.
Prado loaded is 2.4 tonnes.
Avan Loaded is 1400 Kilo's.
 
Tathradj said:
That would be a nice hitch but,
If it does not have the Australian Safety Standards logo
or compliance on it,
Good Bye insurance.
I use the 10% rule plus do not tow any thing over 60%
of the tugs total loaded weight.
Prado loaded is 2.4 tonnes.
Avan Loaded is 1400 Kilo's.

2.4 ton that's pretty close to my Shogun/Challenger, which is 2510 Laden and 1810 un-laden,

You should be able to buy them in Aus because Australia is part of NATO and these Hitches are supplied and fitted to all Military Defenders and 90% of Aussie Military Trucks.

Because I am having trouble finding an off road trailer here I might go for one of the Military Trailers because they come with 16" wheels and huge springs and when level the Towing Ring that fits in that Hitch is 26"+ off the Ground which is Ideal for off road travel, :Y:
 
Ridge Runner said:
You should be able to buy them in Aus because Australia is part of NATO and these Hitches are supplied and fitted to all Military Defenders and 90% of Aussie Military Trucks.

Because I am having trouble finding an off road trailer here I might go for one of the Military Trailers because they come with 16" wheels and huge springs and when level the Towing Ring that fits in that Hitch is 26"+ off the Ground which is Ideal for off road travel, :Y:

Those hitches were standard additions to the Perenties, coupling for the No5 trailers. But the Perentie chassis was designed to mount them, very different to a standard hitch. The Tow ring mounting point on a Patrol would probably be a suitable mounting point, don't know what other 4x4s have these though.

RR, check out Australian Frontline Machinery auctions for ex military trailers, come up pretty much every month, one starting around the country in a couple of days. Probably find both No5s and Haulmark dual axle trailers, though the Haulmarks command a good price.
 
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