question about drawbars

I guess a lot depends on the van itself... I'm no expert but I would be inclined to run the drawbar back to the spring hanger on each side and weld it to the hanger also, reinforcing the hanger itself... If it's a heavy van, perhaps a center bar also running as far back as is practical, it adds stability and is a great place to put the jockey wheel...

Why not go ask an engineer/Caravan,Trailer manufacturer.

.

Why wouldn't you duplicate what is already there? That is a generally accepted "engineering best practice". You need to make sure that the drawbar is secured to a few points on each side and the welding is of an acceptable standard. If you are not a competent welder my suggestion would be to employ one.

My experiences have shown that a longer drawbar does generally makes it easier to reverse the trailer, and as your bulk load is further rearward, the ball weight should reduce slightly.

I would take it back as far as possible and strengthen where you can. A lower tie rail is common for strength too.

I came across this camper a few years ago. The guy obviously needed a better draw-bar. (Amongst other things)



Regards

Derek

HI Rumpig,

I'd also check with your Registration department as they would probably have the specifications. I recently registered an unregistered van in Queensland and as well as obtaining a road worthy and gas certificate I had to physically take van to the Motor Registry inspection depot where they measured all sorts of distances - front of drawbar to first axle, second axle, overhand last axle to rear of van, width etc etc. Presumably there are standards which must be complied with. If you are making it different to original design I would check with them else you may have trouble if it wasn't compliant and had an accident etc. It seems like the simplest way is to just duplicate old drawbar.
Cheers,
Glen

thanks for your comments so far,
the drawbar will be connected to the chassis in 3 different places as it goes back under the van (chassis will be a big rectangle, with a few spreaders inbetween), so connection of the 2 won't be a problem at all. as for laws relating to what i can do, i've found a couple of sites that help me out with those. just trying to research more about drawbars themselves. the comment relating to a engineer makes sense, but being a self employed tradie i find it hard to get time away from work during the week, this being the reason i'm after any good website links to help me out.

cheers.
RUMPIG

We do this kind of job regularly and for the most part we just duplicate although sometimes we add 300 or 600 mm to the overall drawbar length. A stress rail is almost a must these days, we won't do the job if the customer won't pony up for the extra cost.

As for axle positioning, you are governed by the mudguards unless you are going to do major structural and cosmetic modifications.

I suggest you get her weighed so that you can determine the ball weight ratio, don't forget to add luggage/water etc to your final figure. Also, measure from the tip of each axle spindle to the ball coupling, this will tell you if the original chassis/axles are square and true (you would be amazed how many are not). This will give you a reference guide for the new chassis.

Finally, I see cracked and bent chassis all the time. Correct welding/gusseting is a must.

Every job is different, some need a new 'A' bar, some need the whole shooting match, some need raising. Rotted floor ply also throws a spanner in the works. We only quote after a detailed inspection but to give you a very rough ballpark - somewhere between $1000 and $4500.

BTW, I'm one of the grunts in the workshop, the blue-bloods in the office do the quoting.

The stress bar runs from just behind the coupler to underneath the van, both sides of the 'A' frame underneath. What it does is it turns your drawbar into a stress truss so that it does not bend.

If I get a spare minute tomorrow night I'll post a pic.

Here is a good shot borrowed from another website. Grey-Nomad

Shows the strengthening truss rail and you can also see how far back they have taken the A frame.



Regards

Derek.