Trouble unhitching with Winterhoff 3000 stabiliser

[Clive Nicholas]

Does anyone else use one of these stabilisers/hitches. If so, do you also
experience problems unhitching it from the towball ?

On my recent trip I spent over an hour trying to release the hitch from the
ball... very embarrassing. Also I ended up driving the jockey whell into the
soft ground as it attempted to lift both caravan and car .... eventually
wrecking the jockey wheel.

Does anyone out there know the secret of easy disconnection ???

Thanks,

Clive

[Mike Taylor]

Yes we sort of had the same problem untill we realised and got the knack of
how to do it
Raise the handle until the stabiliser releases (easy part)
Then when winding jockey wheel pull the stabiliser handle towards the van
(ie along its length away from the head. not up or down just straight)
doesnt need a lot of pressure if you get it right, then the hitch comes free
easily. Try it
I suspect you like us tried lifting, pushing, kicking, winding jockey wheel
into ground etc. Anything but the correct way. None of those work but when
you get it right it is really easy and just remember it for the next time.
Only had ours since March and like it a lot

[Paul]

I've had the winterhoff hitch on my old van with the button on the side and
used pull the handle up to release the pressure on the pads then wobble the
handle side to side as I wound down the jockey wheel, it never failed to
come off.

The new van has the later winterhoff and you pull the handle up then towards
the van to release it as well as wobbling it and now there is a rubber boot
bit to get in the way as well.

Paul

"Clive Nicholas" <Clive.N...@tiscali.co.uk> wrote in message
news:3eddc...@mk-nntp-2.news.uk.tiscali.com...

[Clive Nicholas]

Thanks Mike for the good advice.
I'm pleased to hear that its not faulty and we can just aquire the 'knack'

Cheers,

Clive

"Mike Taylor" <MikeT@(Removethis)tylershill.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in
message news:bbkne3$3nb$1...@news7.svr.pol.co.uk...

[Lenny]

Yep there is definitely a knack to it, also found its near impossible
to unhitch if the car is on higher ground than the van we got suck
last year in Spain., car was in the entrance to a site on a very
narrow lane needed to unhitch to get out, the road was about 5 -6"
lower than the entrance, winding jocky wheel up diden't held that just
put more pressure on the hitch got there in the end gathered quite a
crowd of helpers.

Lenny

[Clive Nicholas]

I'm surprised Lenny that you state that you had problems with the car on
higher ground to the van.
I had now got it clear in my mind that the problem occurred when the overrun
mechanism on the van was compressed .... i.e if the van was on higher ground
than the car.... the van pressing forwards on the car.
Indeed, this was the official response from the Winterhoff website. .... but
what you are suggesting is that there is also a problem if the car still has
a lot of pulling tension on the stabiliser/hitch i.e. in the opposite
direction !!

Its worth mentioning that in the June edition of the "Caravan Life" magazine
they highlighted the same problem unhitching a Winterhoff stabiliser in the
review of the Compass Omega 524 van.... so its a common problem

I will certainly try out all the scenarios when I am able to.... but at the
moment I'm afraid I've broken my left arm in two places and so its encased
in plaster. Not due to the stabiliser I might add... but to performing a
free-fall from a bicycle !!

For your info I have pasted the response to my e-mail to Winterhoff on the
bottom of this letter:

Dear Mr. Nicholas,
thank you for your e-mail and your good and bad news concerning the
stabiliser
WS 3000. We are glad to hear that you are very satisfied with the
stabilising
effect. Concerning your problem of disconnection, we think this is a general
point which may appear with any stabilising coupling, not only the WS 3000.
As we mention under point 3.4 in the operating manual: "When uncoupling, the
overrun device must be released i.e. the bellow is stretched". Did you
consider this?
Please try again, when the overrung device is released.
Also please inform us if this solves your problem, ok?

kind regards
WINTERHOFF GMBH
Sigrid Winterhoff
6.6.2003

"Lenny" <le...@lanXweb.org.uk> wrote in message
news:ndg3evch3ngh2g0cn...@4ax.com...

[Lenny]

On Sun, 8 Jun 2003 21:32:12 +0100, "Clive Nicholas"
<Clive.N...@tiscali.co.uk> wrote:

Hi Clive,

>I'm surprised Lenny that you state that you had problems with the car on
>higher ground to the van.
>I had now got it clear in my mind that the problem occurred when the overrun
>mechanism on the van was compressed .... i.e if the van was on higher ground
>than the car.... the van pressing forwards on the car.
>Indeed, this was the official response from the Winterhoff website. .... but
>what you are suggesting is that there is also a problem if the car still has
>a lot of pulling tension on the stabiliser/hitch i.e. in the opposite
>direction !!

I was refering to the car being higher ground than the van with car &
van on level ground not a slope (road & drveway were at different
levels), however thinking back I had been reversing at the time so it
was probably due to the compession on the coupling like you say.
Does explain that sometime its easy to un-hitch & others a right pig,
I'll make sure I pull forward a bit after reversing from now on.

>
>I will certainly try out all the scenarios when I am able to.... but at the
>moment I'm afraid I've broken my left arm in two places and so its encased
>in plaster. Not due to the stabiliser I might add... but to performing a
>free-fall from a bicycle !!

Sorry to here that, trust you didn't damage the bike.

Lenny