Just getting ready for my first trip out and first job is to clean the tow ball and friction pads. I have an Alko AKS 3004 stabiliser. About this time of year I take the friction pads right out and always find a glaze which is relatively easy to scratch off and finish off with fine emery>

Reading the Alko instruction manual, they do not recommend trying to clean the pads so I thought for once in 6 years I would buy some new pads.

Blooming near £60 for a full set I nearly had a fit. They are only bits of plastic.

What do other members do? Even though I clean my tow ball thoroughly at every hitch up, the pads still need de-scaling after a year. £60 a year

There must be hundreds of thousands of friction pads that never see the light of day Ray. I've replaced one set backaways, because they were worn down, but I've never deglazed them because the glaze comes back first trip out and you're actually bringing forward the day when £60 expenditure becomes necessary. And knowing caravan bit makers, if they could see a way to make a buck they'd make cleaning mandatory. They haven't so they obviously feel it's not necessary, otherwise they'd be all over it. So save your £60, do what AlKo say and have a nice cup of tea, a biscuit and a sit down instead.

If the wear indicator on the AKS3004 is showing within its max/min limits then there should be no need to replace the pads.

A quick rub with fine emery and a squirt of brake cleaner is normally all that's required.

It's the side pads which provide the stabiliser's friction on the towball - the front and rear pads just centralise the ball so don't normally wear as much.

To check pad wear (with hitch connected to towball) push the handle down and when you feel some resistance check where the arrows are. If they're below the recessed area or within it the side pads are fine. If they're above it, the pads are worn and must be replaced.

To check the front/rear pads look at the front of the stabiliser handle. If you see the green plastic segment below the red one (not the button on the front of the hitch), the front and rear pads are fine.

If you see only the red segment, they are worn and new ones are needed.

So what I gather is that the glaze is normal and just needs roughening up a bit which is probably what I'm doing anyway.
The wear indicators front and back, side to side , are all in spec so I don't need new pads.
I was thrown by the glaze which seems quite hard to remove without taking the pad out. I'll see how I go this year with just brake cleaner wiping then.

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Put ‘em in a drill and spin them against a piece of fine grade emery paper.

Good idea Frantone.
How often do you do that? Annually perhaps or on demand when the creaking starts?

How about the front and back pads, much trickier shape.

What we need is an abrasive 49mm dia ball on a stick to poke it up there now and again.

Wenn Sie hier auf Links zu eBay klicken und einen Kauf tätigen, kann dies dazu führen, dass diese Website eine Provision erhält.

An ebay link from Colin in another post has what appears to be a genuine ALKO set for about £29 (further down the page).

Werbung: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164110230569?...pid=23032171084

Thanks Stevejoyce, but that link is only for the side pads.

A full set includes two side pads, a rear and a front pad. Also includes a selection of shims and the plastic caps that need to prised out to gain access to the side pads.

The side pads control side to side movement and the front/rear pads control vertical movement.

So that's about £29 x 2.

I think that's outrageous as the pads are only some sort of plastic.

These pads are for front/rear gripping of the towball and "are designed to apply pressure on the towball when coupled up, to suppress small movements, for a smoother towing experience"

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The side pads reduce sway and yaw

Rgds

Zut alors! - Missed that one: sorry.

I've no experience of older towbars am afraid (only started towing last year):)