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Dalek63
Joined: 15 Aug 2009
Posts: 490
Location: North Cornwall
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 Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 3:00 pm Post subject: Ball hitch types |
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I have been offered a caravan with a small ball hitch fitting, the side unscrews and the ball fits into it. the owner tells me its a 25mm ball. As this is a pretty old hitch I was thinking it must be imperial, not metric. Any ideas?
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I can resist anything except temptation ! ( Oscar Wilde)
"Don't try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." ( Mark Twain)
http://www.period-classic-caravan-club.co.uk/ |
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Uncle Alec
Joined: 14 Jan 2008
Posts: 734
Location: Manchester
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| Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 5:09 pm Post subject: |
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| My Wessex Craftsman had a 1½" ball and hitch, but it was a conventional B&B-type in appearance. |
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alan 869
Joined: 07 Mar 2011
Posts: 388
Location: Linköping Sweden
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| Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 6:13 pm Post subject: |
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When I was a member of the Historical Caravan Club, Shirley, their historian, did a very good article on different types of hitch. If you put up a couple of photos of your hitch I can have a look and see if it is amongst the ones in her article  |
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old van man
Joined: 24 Nov 2007
Posts: 384
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| Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 10:25 pm Post subject: |
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hi, this sounds like a leason hitch a common fitting on self build vans from the late 30s till the mid 50s the ball size will be 1 1/2 or later 1 3/4 i have both sizes should you need them 
however i recomend fitting a 50mm hitch lock , god forbide you brake down  the AA / RAC / GREEN FLAG wont recover you unless you have a 50mm hitch lock ! |
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Dalek63
Joined: 15 Aug 2009
Posts: 490
Location: North Cornwall
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| Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 9:23 am Post subject: |
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| old van man wrote: | hi, this sounds like a leason hitch a common fitting on self build vans from the late 30s till the mid 50s the ball size will be 1 1/2 or later 1 3/4 i have both sizes should you need them
however i recomend fitting a 50mm hitch lock , god forbide you brake down the AA / RAC / GREEN FLAG wont recover you unless you have a 50mm hitch lock ! |
I know the recovery people wont pick your caravan up without a 50mm ball. I changed the hitch on our Car Cruiser to 50mm, using an older cast iron 50mm hitch. So it still looks original. But would love to keep the Leason as it looks so good. I'm thinking about makeing a shaft with a 50mm hitch on it i can swop over with the original if we break down, so we could still tow with the Leason. If I can manage to do that, i'll need one of your balls,   So PM me and let me know how much you want for one.
_________________
I can resist anything except temptation ! ( Oscar Wilde)
"Don't try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." ( Mark Twain)
http://www.period-classic-caravan-club.co.uk/ |
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alan 869
Joined: 07 Mar 2011
Posts: 388
Location: Linköping Sweden
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| Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 10:53 am Post subject: |
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Well as you now know that it is a Leason then you won´t need the article. Hows about a couple of pics?
I have a van from 1949 that has an unusual hitch that takes a 43mm ball. Had an arm made up that will bolt onto any usual flange bracket. This is bolted on as per usual and at the end of the arm there is a hole which takes the standard 50mm ball with screw fitting under. Had 2 of these balls lathed down to 43mm from 50mm. That way I keep the old (interesting) hitch and it can be towed by anything with the standard bolt holes on the towbar. |
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Dalek63
Joined: 15 Aug 2009
Posts: 490
Location: North Cornwall
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| Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 11:20 am Post subject: |
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| alan 869 wrote: | Well as you now know that it is a Leason then you won´t need the article. Hows about a couple of pics?
I have a van from 1949 that has an unusual hitch that takes a 43mm ball. Had an arm made up that will bolt onto any usual flange bracket. This is bolted on as per usual and at the end of the arm there is a hole which takes the standard 50mm ball with screw fitting under. Had 2 of these balls lathed down to 43mm from 50mm. That way I keep the old (interesting) hitch and it can be towed by anything with the standard bolt holes on the towbar. |
I did find the article online in the HCC website and it shows the sort of ball hitch also on here is a Leason list with the hitch listed.
http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/vintage_trailers.htm
Will get some photo's on as soon as I can
_________________
I can resist anything except temptation ! ( Oscar Wilde)
"Don't try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." ( Mark Twain)
http://www.period-classic-caravan-club.co.uk/ |
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alan 869
Joined: 07 Mar 2011
Posts: 388
Location: Linköping Sweden
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| Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 12:50 pm Post subject: |
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| I hadn´t seen that, thanks. I´ve got a couple of catalogues like the Leasons one. Not 30s but well 50s. Will have to dig them out. Will try and do some pics of the bar arrangement with the 43mm ball. |
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Dalek63
Joined: 15 Aug 2009
Posts: 490
Location: North Cornwall
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| Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 8:07 am Post subject: |
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| alan 869 wrote: | | I hadn´t seen that, thanks. I´ve got a couple of catalogues like the Leasons one. Not 30s but well 50s. Will have to dig them out. Will try and do some pics of the bar arrangement with the 43mm ball. |
Thanks will look forward to seeing that.
_________________
I can resist anything except temptation ! ( Oscar Wilde)
"Don't try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." ( Mark Twain)
http://www.period-classic-caravan-club.co.uk/ |
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alan 869
Joined: 07 Mar 2011
Posts: 388
Location: Linköping Sweden
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| Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 12:11 pm Post subject: |
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Okay a few fotos. The bar I had made up. Standard bolt holes on one end for any tow bar. Machined ball on the other. 43mm from 50mm. 50mm ball next to it. It fits on the Land Rover just right but will go on my other cars aswell.
[img] [/img]
[img] [/img]
[img] [/img]
A coulple of the 43mm hitch from 1949
[img] [/img]
[img] [/img]
[img] [/img] |
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Dalek63
Joined: 15 Aug 2009
Posts: 490
Location: North Cornwall
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| Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 12:52 pm Post subject: |
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I just had a word with Greenflag and they said I could put my 43mm ball hitch on any of their recovery lorries and they would tow home our vintage caravan. so thats reasuring. Also if they couldn't do that they would put the caravan on a trailer or lorry and get it home that way. So seems that they at least are ok with vintage hitches. We got their cover through our membership of the Caravan club. Very cheap and will take us home from anywhere in the UK
_________________
I can resist anything except temptation ! ( Oscar Wilde)
"Don't try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." ( Mark Twain)
http://www.period-classic-caravan-club.co.uk/ |
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alan 869
Joined: 07 Mar 2011
Posts: 388
Location: Linköping Sweden
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| Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 2:28 pm Post subject: |
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One good thing about having an unusual hitch on a van is that it´s not readily stealable and a bit hard for -relatives- to borrow  |
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MartinC
Joined: 27 Jun 2009
Posts: 97
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| Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 5:37 pm Post subject: |
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A word on this subject. Our Carrissima uses a 1 1/2" ball and we've experienced this very problem.
Our tow car suffered from terminal engine failure on the motorway when pulling the van. I called the AA and explained about the hitch and the fact that the car could not be repaired, we would need the car transporting and the caravan towing but the hitch is non-standard.
All this information was totally ignored and a little van sent out. It had a fancy modern hitch that we could not swap. He radio'd back and went away.
Eventually a recovery truck arrived for the car, despite the 1st person informing HQ that two would be required, one for the car, one for the van.
The driver had been told nothing of the issue at all.
I did suggest that we swap the ball on the truck for mine so that the caravan could be towed behind. We couldn't do this because neither he, or I, had a spanner to swap them! His recovery truck carried no tools.
The upshot was my wife went in the truck with our car on the back and I had to wait at the services with a lone caravan until a second truck arrived to take us too. Not good.
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1937 Standard Flying Twelve
1942 Bedford OYD
1947 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty-Special
1954 Hillman Minx
1956 Austin A30
1957 Vauxhall Victor Super
1960 Car Cruiser Carousel caravan
1962 Car Cruiser Carissima caravan |
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Uncle Alec
Joined: 14 Jan 2008
Posts: 734
Location: Manchester
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| Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 5:51 pm Post subject: |
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Being one to use any situation for comic effect, I was pleased when many years ago Mayday recovery insurance declined to take me on because of the 1½" tow hitch on the Wessex; my two roadgoing Rileys were both equipped with the 1½" ball.
For years I took great delight in telling the (usually young female) call centre operators touting for my insurance business that I had once been declined insurance because of the size of my balls. |
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MartinC
Joined: 27 Jun 2009
Posts: 97
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| Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 6:08 pm Post subject: |
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_________________
1937 Standard Flying Twelve
1942 Bedford OYD
1947 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty-Special
1954 Hillman Minx
1956 Austin A30
1957 Vauxhall Victor Super
1960 Car Cruiser Carousel caravan
1962 Car Cruiser Carissima caravan |
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