KEEP ON TRUCKIN’
Just like your car, your caravan needs maintenance, even if you don’t spend hours in peak traffic with it every day. And you can actually do a lot of the work yourself.
Every car owner knows the drill, because it happens every 10 000 km or 20 000 km – or 30 000 km, for some lucky ones! First, you have to call your boss and explain why you’re going to be late for work today...
Then you have to ask a buddy or a family member to give you a lift from the mechanic’s workshop to your office. Then the same buddy or family member has to pick you up from work again, so that you can go an fetch your car. And after all of that, you have to cough up a lot of money to pay for something you could’ve done yourself, if only you had the time and patience. Yep, we’re talking about a service.
KNOW THY ENEMY
Things always work better if you’ve read the instructions. So before you start removing one screw after another, only to see what it looks like when your own caravan overtakes your car halfway through the Du Toitskloof Pass on your next holiday, first make sure you understand exactly how things work. And while you’re at it, start at the front of your caravan.
DO THIS
(see sketch on page 50) Unscrew the bolt 2 and remove it. Lift the handle 3 and take it off. Pull the shaft 15 out from underneath the handle. Put a bit of grease on it. Put the shaft back in its place. Screw the handle back on.
The tow bar tango The rubber boot, also called a gaiter, 5 protects the shaft 4 against dust. As your vehicle moves forward and stops, the shaft moves forwards and backwards and the gaiter expands and contracts like a concertina. The first signs of wear and tear are small cracks in the ridges of the gaiter.
DO THIS
WITH THE STEEL COUPLING HEAD Unscrew the two nuts next to the gaiter. Pull the head forward and remove it completely. Remove the broken gaiter. Stick the new one over. Screw the head back in place.
WITH THE CAST-IRON COUPLING HEAD Unscrew the entire body casting 6 from the shaft. Unscrew damper’s 10 locking bolt 12 . You have to do this from the bottom of the bracket 11 that keeps the damper in place. Loosen the bolt 7 that sits parallel to the shaft (between the damper and the shaft) to reach the set of half-moon washers 9 at the back. Remove the half-moon washers at the back. Tap the entire coupling block 6 with a hammer so that it shifts approximately 2,5 cm in the direction of the caravan. Remove the front half-moon washers 13 . Remove the shaft completely. Take the damaged gaiter off and replace it with the new one. Squeeze the shaft back through the hole in the casting 6 , through the rubber washer 8 and lastly the damper bracket 11. Put the front half-moon washers 13 back in place. Shift the casting 6 back to the front. Put the rear half-moon washers 9 back in place. Fasten the remaining nuts so the damper 10 and casting 6 are back in place.
GREASE FOR PEACE
The shaft fits through two round openings in the body casting, which should be well lubricated. If they get rusty or clogged, it might mess with your caravan’s ability to brake.
DO THIS
Make sure the handbrake is properly
engaged before you start. Press the shaft to the back. Check if there’s grease on the back of the shaft. If the lubricant looks relatively clean, everything’s fine. If the shaft is dry or clogged, it’s time for some new grease. Squirt the new grease into the grease nipples 14 on top of the A-frame. The one hole is right behind the rubber gaiter and the other right at the back on the A-frame.
WHAT’S THAT SOUND?
If the coupling makes a knocking sound (like metal on metal) when you pull away or stop, it’s either the rubber washer 8 around the shaft that’s kaput, or the damper has given up the ghost. (Provided that the brakes are adjusted correctly and in good working order.)
To get to the washer, you have to remove the whole coupling shaft (in the same way as when you replace the rubber gaiter on the cast-iron coupling head).
To replace the damper, you need to loosen the nuts at the front and back.
FRACTIONS COUNT
If there is too much slack between the shaft and the body casting, the casting might be worn. The margin between the shaft and the body should only be 0,2 mm, so if you feel movement when you shake the coupling head to the sides, you’ll need to take your caravan to the workshop.
SHOULD I GREASE THE TOW BALL?
No. The tow ball on your car’s tow bar is not supposed to be greased. In the long run, grease has the opposite effect to what you intended. When you drive on gravel road, dust and sand collect on the lubricant. This forms a sandy and grinding paste between the tow bar and coupling head.
If that high-pitched “chir-chir” from the tow bar bothers you while you’re on the road, rather cover the ball with a plastic bag, hitch your caravan and tear away the excess plastic left around the connection. The bag works as a “temporary lubricant” that will gradually disintegrate by the time you reach your destination.
WHERE DOES THIS GO?
Your towing bracket needs a service at least once a year. It’s even better if you at least check it before and after every long trip.
If you service it yourself, make sure you screw everything back together tightly and that every little part that came off goes back in. It would be tough to explain to the insurance company why your caravan followed a different route to the coast than you and your family did...
SHOPPING LIST
A can of grease
Rubber gaiter
Rubber washer
Damper