Corinium Towbar

Hi all, another Corinium question; Antoine fitted a Towbar to a Corinium on the 4tonne Alko chassis upgrade?

It's an important question for me because it has to be the non swan neck type I.e. Std detachable tow ball!

Some doubt has arisen as to whether a Towbar can be fitted to this chassis! I doubt it's correct but I'm doing my best to confirm before I purchase.

Ray

Hi Ray

Yes you can get a tow bar to fit the alko chassis Armitages.Towtal and PWS are juat afew companies that offer bespoke tow  bars hope this helps you

Dave

Cheers Dave, I've been seeking clarification on it through my dealer, he seems very positive on the the question too 

Ray

You will see on the Daimler plate on my van below heir is a max Gross Train Weight of 5880kg  HOWEVER on the AS conversion plate there is no GTW specified.  That is because the conversion is NOT type approved to tow and cant (shouldn't) have a tow bar fitted.

Can any Corinium owner lets us know what is on his AS plate - should be inside front passenger door on Peugeot (drivers door on Mercs).

Very interesting Peter.

Thanks Ray

Peter#1, interesting.

Haven't noticed that plate on my slightly earlier Gloucester, will look when next at van. The handbook quotes GTW @ 5880kg. I have a towbar on tow my trailered Smart.
I notice that the current Bourton H/B on line shows GTW - N/A as does the 2016 Malvern H/B. The Corinium H/B does quote GTW 6000kg for the 4000kg chassis.

PLOUGHLIN wrote:Peter#1, interesting.

Haven't noticed that plate on my slightly earlier Gloucester, will look when next at van. The handbook quotes GTW @ 5880kg. I have a towbar on tow my trailered Smart.
I notice that the current Bourton H/B on line shows GTW - N/A as does the 2016 Malvern H/B. The Corinium H/B does quote GTW 6000kg for the 4000kg chassis.

According to information from AS that I have seen but don't have a copy, the Gloucester is not type approved for towing. If you are its obviously practically possible but may be an insurance issue. Do you refer to the AS or Merc handbook? If AS then you should be ok.

Both Handbooks quote GTW 5880 kg.


EU Type approval was not mandatory until 29 Apr 2011 for new designs, 29 April for all designs, which may explain the difference?

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vca/vehicletype/motor-caravans.asp

Yes, both my handbooks also give the Gross Train Mass as 5880 however it is not included in the EC Certificate of Conformity, extract above.  It is my understanding that the 'plate' is the legal status.  Any idea when you will be able to check your plate?

PS My Malvern type approval was issued 14/01/2011

Might be able to look tomorrow.

I don't have a CoC for my Gloucester, at leas tnot in the documents I was given when I bought it 2nd hand. Did your's come with the van or did you get it after from AS?

I had to get the CoC from AS to prove the emission category to the Austrian authorities for Gobox hire as it is not on my V5. If you e-mail AS with your build number they should send it to you.

Thanks, might (?) do that.

Hot off the press, although below is about Mercedes chassis, I believe it also applies to some Peugeot eg the Broadway FB:

We are not type approved for towing on any of our models based on the Mercedes Sprinter chassis. This is due to difficulty on some models with fitting around tanks, spare wheel etc. This is why the Auto-Sleepers weight plate does not give a figure and the Certificate of Conformity says n/a (not applicable) The figure in the Auto-Sleepers handbook is a mistake I’m afraid.

The base vehicle is actually capable of towing a 2000 kg trailer (in terms of engine and brake performance), as shown by the Mercedes plate and their handbook.

A towbar cannot be legally fitted to a type approved vehicle because there is no gross train weight shown on the weight plate. However, post registration, the solution is to have a supplementary weight plate made up by one of the companies who specialize in vehicle weight changes.

One such, is SvTech Ltd, who will issue you with a supplementary weight plate showing the GTW of 5880 kg and a certificate to send to DVLA to have the registration document altered.

Contact Gareth Marsh, the Sales Manager, at gareth@svtech.co.uk or phone 01772 621800 and they will talk you through the process.

Hot off the press, although below is about Mercedes chassis, I believe it also applies to some Peugeot eg the Broadway FB:


This is very interesting and an important point that clearly has the ...potential ...to put owners at risk of prosecution..perhaps more so under certain accident scenarios and in foreign countries!


Since the post refers to the Corinium FB, it the above a typo? Re: Broadway?


Nevertheless I clearly need to check!


Thanks Ray

Peter #1, that could be a problem for me, and many others with MB chassis vans.

Does this apply to All MB chassis ever made by AS, or only since type approval became mandatory. Who at AS did you contact, so I can contact specifically about my Gloucester.

Went to the van this morning, I do have an AS weight plate but it is different to Peter#1's. It doesn't have the EU type Approval notation at the top, just says Stage 2 and does give a GTW @ 5880kg. I guess mine is just prior to when AS decided to apply Type Approval ahead of the mandatory date.

AS's statement that no MB chassis are legal for towing doesn't appear strictly correct, only their Type Approval Chassis.



I am happy that I am legal. Shame Peter#1's and others don't have the TA towing.

How, AS labelling has changed, my van is uprated to 3300 and it's only a silver label stuck next to the original van rating under the bonnet. I have a towbar fitted just to rack the bikes.

Hi, I'm still waiting for clarification on the Corinium 4tonne chassis Towbar...
Can I ask; are there any Corinium owners out there who have actually had a Towbar fitted?

Ray

As said above, what does your weight plate say, does it have a GTW figure?

Peter, I don't have the vehicle yet....I'm trying to find out if a Towbar can be fitted before I commit to purchase.....

The issue has been that some Alko guy told me that the Corinium could not have a Towbar fitted without considerable modification....

I can't take the chance with out knowing for sure what exactly he meant!!!

I'm in contact with Autosleeper......they tell me that the vehicle IS rated to tow, however.....given the question raised by Alko....I do need to affirm the point....

Ray

Right, having a GTW is the first hurdle, finding someone who makes a Type Approved tow bar is the next.

Have you spoken to any of hte suppliers mentioned in Davey's post above, or to Warling Engineering. If any one has fitted a Corinium it will be one of them.

Yes I have Peter, however; I cannot get a specific reply on the question of 
A: the 4 tonneChassis
B: the fitting of the old type towball....I.e. NON swan neck

I need this type of Towbar because I tow a hydra trail motorcycle trailer....it does not use a towball but rather a trailer specific bracket!!

The issue seems to be related to the new (last year) introduction of the Corinium range...the chassis is particular to the Corinium 4 Tonne option!

I feel reasonably sure that I'm asking the question unnecessarily, however: if I do not ask and there is a fitting issue post purchase; you understand I'm sure, there's no one else to blame but myself!

Thanks for your reply Peter much appreciated.

Ray

I don't blame you for wanting to get confirmation before you commit. Hope it can be sorted.

Have you spoken to Al-Ko? They make tow bars for their chassis.

http://www.al-ko.co.uk/assets/amc-brochure/files/assets/downloads/page0014.pdf

Hi Peter, I've looked at that web page, thanks...again nothing that indicates the type of tow bar I require or anything pertaining to the 4 tonne chassis!

I'm waiting for Autosleeper to come back to me on the "correct" contact...it's been approaching 2 weeks since I asked about it!

Ray

I haven't read the entire thread Ray, but a call to Watling Towbars might be useful.

They are a well respected company, and are known for refusing to fit a towbar if it's likely to be unsafe or illegal. Just the sort of reassurance you are looking for.