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Eriba stuff ......FOR THE NEXT 5 CATEGORIES PLEASE BE PRECISE BY GIVING FULL DETAILS OF THE TYPE OF ERIBA/TOW CAR/AWNING YOU HAVE TO HELP US ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS. � Anything Eriba-related �

Towball height problem

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Towball height problem

in Anything Eriba-related Mon Jul 08, 2019 9:30 pm
by Wendron (deleted)

Hi does anyone else tow their Eriba with a
Hyundai Tucson and if so have you experience any difficulty with the
height of the tow ball ? Any help advice would be appreciated.

Hyundai Tucson pushing Guy Diamond our 2005 Troll 530gt

RE: Towball height problem

in Anything Eriba-related Mon Jul 08, 2019 9:38 pm
by eribaMotters •

| 5.590 Posts

Towball height is not an uncommon problem. See here:-
"The EC Directive 94/20/EC (The standard that all towbars are designed to) states that the tow ball height should be between 350 and 420mm from the ground with the vehicle in a 'laden' state"
I'm guessing your car appears to sit high. This is probably down to two factors. To get your car in a fully "laden state" is very difficult. Also your 2005 van will have settled on it's suspension and be sitting a little low.

Colin

Audi A3 1.5 petrol _ ex 430, 552, camplet trailer tent, 310, now a nice white 2017 430.

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RE: Towball height problem

in Anything Eriba-related Mon Jul 08, 2019 10:25 pm
by Wendron (deleted)

Hi Colin
Up till now we have towed our van with a Renault Trafic
with no problems at all. You are correct when you say it�s difficult to tow it laden as we put most things in the vehicle. We
put 4 people in the car an 28 kg Iif weight in the boot and it still sat at 450 +
Scratching our head as to what to do as we just paid a fortune to have this
fitted. We have taken it up with the manufacturers so hoping for a solution as not happy as it is

Hyundai Tucson pushing Guy Diamond our 2005 Troll 530gt

RE: Towball height problem

in Anything Eriba-related Tue Jul 09, 2019 8:52 am
by eribaMotters •

| 5.590 Posts

I wish you luck in your quest. In 2004 I went through exactly the same thing with a new VW Touran and my 2001 Triton. I had thought it possible to replace the swan-neck component of the tow bar with a different unit to lower the height. This is a no-go as the tow-bar set-up would no longer be "Type approved" and as such illegal. If your experience turns out like mine you will find the car will settle over the next year or so.

The only option I can see would to replace the complete unit with one of the now old fashioned bolt on/flange type set-ups with a drop plate as seen on commercial vehicles. If you could prove to the manufacturer that it is not reasonably possible to get the van down to the 350/420 height limit then you might have a slim chance. In order to do so I'm guessing you would have to load the vehicle with about 700kg to get it to it's maximum weight. If you did manage this you could then argue it would not be good practice to run at maximum with a van on the back, even though the vehicle is designed to be capable of this.

Colin

Audi A3 1.5 petrol _ ex 430, 552, camplet trailer tent, 310, now a nice white 2017 430.

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RE: Towball height problem

in Anything Eriba-related Tue Jul 09, 2019 2:39 pm
by Wendron (deleted)

How did you get over your problem Colin?

Hyundai Tucson pushing Guy Diamond our 2005 Troll 530gt

RE: Towball height problem

in Anything Eriba-related Tue Jul 09, 2019 4:19 pm
by eribaMotters •

| 5.590 Posts

The car did eventually settle a little, and I bought a newer van a few years later it was virtually level.

Colin

Audi A3 1.5 petrol _ ex 430, 552, camplet trailer tent, 310, now a nice white 2017 430.

RE: Towball height problem

in Anything Eriba-related Tue Jul 09, 2019 4:41 pm
by Wendron (deleted)

Did you carry on towing with the an rocket launching (trying to be upset about it) ?

Hyundai Tucson pushing Guy Diamond our 2005 Troll 530gt

RE: Towball height problem

in Anything Eriba-related Tue Jul 09, 2019 6:21 pm
by eribaMotters •

| 5.590 Posts

I continued nose up and annoyed. I seem to recall empty the centre of the ball was about 450/480mm, but it was a long time ago. The attached photo was taken in 2005, by which time a fully loaded car for 4 weeks in France was sitting lower but if you look very closely the van was still slightly nose up but perfectly acceptable.
2005.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)

Colin

Audi A3 1.5 petrol _ ex 430, 552, camplet trailer tent, 310, now a nice white 2017 430.

Last edited Tue Jul 09, 2019 6:22 pm | Scroll up

RE: Towball height problem

in Anything Eriba-related Tue Jul 09, 2019 7:16 pm
by Wendron (deleted)

Did you carry on towing with the van rocket launching (trying to be upset about it) ?

Hyundai Tucson pushing Guy Diamond our 2005 Troll 530gt

#10

RE: Towball height problem

in Anything Eriba-related Tue Jul 09, 2019 7:16 pm
by Eribanut •

| 2.026 Posts

Quote: eribaMotters wrote in post #8
I continued nose up and annoyed. I seem to recall empty the centre of the ball was about 450/480mm, but it was a long time ago. The attached photo was taken in 2005, by which time a fully loaded car for 4 weeks in France was sitting lower but if you look very closely the van was still slightly nose up but perfectly acceptable.

Colin

Splitting hairs there a bit Colin !

But notice in the photo your outside hatch was hinged from the top! Not seen that before. The 3 Eribas we had all were hinged from the bottom !

Sermo datur cunctis; animi sapientia paucis
Tempus fugit; carpe diem

Last edited Tue Jul 09, 2019 7:32 pm | Scroll up

#11

RE: Towball height problem

in Anything Eriba-related Tue Jul 09, 2019 7:43 pm
by eribaMotters •

| 5.590 Posts

Mike,
of the 4 Eribas I've owned it is the only van with top hinged locker. A quick search of vans for sale shows this seems to be common for a 2001 van. I imagine the hinging idea changed as bottom hinging means you could have a small table if a strap or stay was attached.

Colin

Audi A3 1.5 petrol _ ex 430, 552, camplet trailer tent, 310, now a nice white 2017 430.

Eribanut likes this post!

Last edited Tue Jul 09, 2019 8:23 pm | Scroll up

#12

RE: Towball height problem

in Anything Eriba-related Thu Jul 18, 2019 5:47 pm
by Eribanut •

| 2.026 Posts

Quote: eribaMotters wrote in post #2
Towball height is not an uncommon problem. See here:-
"The EC Directive 94/20/EC (The standard that all towbars are designed to) states that the tow ball height should be between 350 and 420mm from the ground with the vehicle in a 'laden' state"
I'm guessing your car appears to sit high. This is probably down to two factors. To get your car in a fully "laden state" is very difficult. Also your 2005 van will have settled on it's suspension and be sitting a little low.

Colin

Talking with Ron at the meet about his tow height problem and having a detachable swan neck tow bar as well I have noticed my situation when hitched up is nose up. Measured from floor to centre of tow ball came to 460mm

. I have self levelling rear suspension on my Kia so would assume the ride height will be the same laden or unladen. Have contacted Kia distributor from who I purchased the car for their comments/solution. In ideal world the Eriba should be in slightly nose down position for greater stability.

Sermo datur cunctis; animi sapientia paucis
Tempus fugit; carpe diem

#13

RE: Towball height problem

in Anything Eriba-related Tue Jul 30, 2019 6:42 pm
by Eribanut •

| 2.026 Posts

Quote: Eribanut wrote in post #12
Quote: eribaMotters wrote in post #2
Towball height is not an uncommon problem. See here:-
"The EC Directive 94/20/EC (The standard that all towbars are designed to) states that the tow ball height should be between 350 and 420mm from the ground with the vehicle in a 'laden' state"
I'm guessing your car appears to sit high. This is probably down to two factors. To get your car in a fully "laden state" is very difficult. Also your 2005 van will have settled on it's suspension and be sitting a little low.

Colin

Talking with Ron at the meet about his tow height problem and having a detachable swan neck tow bar as well I have noticed my situation when hitched up is nose up. Measured from floor to centre of tow ball came to 460mm. I have self levelling rear suspension on my Kia so would assume the ride height will be the same laden or unladen. Have contacted Kia distributor from who I purchased the car for their comments/solution. In ideal world the Eriba should be in slightly nose down position for greater stability.

Strangely I have sent 3 emails to Hawkins Motors and also a phone call. Manager was busy but would get back to me, but yet to receive a reply!! I fired off an email to Westfalia who manufacture the tow bar to Kia and received this reply,

Hello Mike

The height guidance is for when the vehicle is when the vehicle is in its fully laden state. The exception to this is when a vehicle manufacturer states where the centre of the towball is in relation to a given mounting point. This can sometimes be outside of the scope of the directive but in the UK the VCA interpretation is that the ball should be where the vehicle manufacturer states.

You almost certainly have the correct towball but you will need to add additional weight to your vehicle to lower the rear end to a height that is suitable for your trailer.

I hope this helps

Kind regards

Jim Bedford
Regional Market Leader

As the Kia has self levelling suspension I will have to load both the rear of car and ensure noseweight is near maximum to achieve level/nosedown situation. Have not experienced any problems with towing so not too concerned.

Sermo datur cunctis; animi sapientia paucis
Tempus fugit; carpe diem

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#14

RE: Towball height problem

in Anything Eriba-related Tue Jul 30, 2019 7:22 pm
by eribaMotters •

| 5.590 Posts

Nothing that 500kg of pasties, San Miguel and red wine boxes can't sort out.

Colin

Audi A3 1.5 petrol _ ex 430, 552, camplet trailer tent, 310, now a nice white 2017 430.

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#15

RE: Towball height problem

in Anything Eriba-related Mon Aug 05, 2019 1:51 pm
by Saundersd (deleted)

We had the same problem with our Skoda yeti and it�s manufacturer approved Thule detachable tow bar. Someone on a campsite in Brighton pointed out that there were three other yetis on site and their tow balls were all lower than mine. They had Brinks tow bars so I got the company that fitted mine to change it for a Brinks and problem solved. Thule were less than helpful and couldn�t explain why their tow ball was actually higher than the EU directive said it should be

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