Jockey wheel woes

[tvan09]

Yes fit for purpose Disco, if your tug is within TT't tongue height spec, and it the van sits perfectly level when attached to the tug you should be able to deploy the jockey wheel easily at near level sites. A two percent deployment success rate renders the jockey wheel not fit for purpose

[jimat]

Yes fit for purpose Disco, if your tug is within TT't tongue height spec, and it the van sits perfectly level when attached to the tug you should be able to deploy the jockey wheel easily at near level sites. A two percent deployment success rate renders the jockey wheel not fit for purpose

I reckon that getting the jockey wheel at the right height for all possible tugs would be near on impossible. Surely as owners we need to take some responsibility for setting the tow bar to the appropriate height. Looks like we have some backyard lawyers on this forum which is a shame.

[Rainsey]

Hmm... I might be a bit blond but if the Topaz or Tvan comes out of the factory and the jockey wheel is wound down or up to make the draw bar perfectly level, would all Topaz's or Tvan thus not have the jockey wheel at approximately the same height.

Thus would it not be the hitch on the towing vehicle that needs to be adjusted in height?

I actually have a 2013 Murraunji Tvan and I have the opposite problem, I cannot get enough length out of the jockey wheel.

Cheers

Rainsey


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[Harry Lissimore]

I'm a bit confused about all this.  I can't see what the towing vehicle has to do with the jockey wheel height.  Doesn't it depend on the diameter or more specifically the radius of the Topaz wheel, or axle, to ground.  The topaz must be level when towing, so on flat ground and level, the Topaz front coupling would have to be a certain height above the ground to be level, so the jockey wheel would have to be shorter to be able to be deployed. The smaller the Topaz wheels (lower the axle is to the ground), the shorter the jockey wheel has to be to be deployed. The necessary jockey wheel height would be a proportion of the height of the axle above the ground.  Having calculated the jockey wheel height required to just deploy when the Topaz is level, then it could be made shorter by lets say 50 mm to account for undulating ground and that's the minimum jockey wheel height.  The only other thing to account for is the drop in the vehicle towing height at the towball when the ball wt is added to the vehicle (and that will depend on types of springs, airbags after market suspension).  Say the car drops 100 mm with the ball weight added (which I would say would be way above the ideal drop), then take another 100 mm off the jockey wheel and that's the minimum height it should be.  The vehicle doesn't matter, just the tow hitch needs to be the right height to keep the Topaz level when towing.

[peter_mcc]

I'm a bit confused about all this.  I can't see what the towing vehicle has to do with the jockey wheel height. ... The vehicle doesn't matter, just the tow hitch needs to be the right height to keep the Topaz level when towing.

On one level I totally agree - the vehicle tow hitch needs to be the right height. The problem start when the vehicle tow hitch is too low so that the Topaz (or Tvan) isn't level when it is on the vehicle. Then the factory jockey wheel is too long and can't be used. You could say that people need higher hitches or you could say that Track Trailer need lower jockey wheels...

[Rainsey]

On one level I totally agree - the vehicle tow hitch needs to be the right height. The problem start when the vehicle tow hitch is too low so that the Topaz (or Tvan) isn't level when it is on the vehicle. Then the factory jockey wheel is too long and can't be used. You could say that people need higher hitches or you could say that Track Trailer need lower jockey wheels...

Yeah, but, if the hitch is too low thus not permitting the Jockey wheel to be used, would the whole camper not slope down when it is on the vehicle.




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[Harry Lissimore]

Exactly Rainsey. The tow hitch height  (with and without the ball wt added to it) is important and should be adjusted accordingly to keep the Topaz level (which is a function of the wheel size), and the jockey wheel adjusted to that.  It's not a vehicle thing, its a Topaz thing!  In my opinion, all Topaz Jockey wheels are set too high to start with and should be adjusted to the Topaz wheel size with a lot of latitude for uneven ground and the vehicle drop when the ball wt is added to the towing tongue.  Seems simple to me!

[tastrax]

How about we start from a 'standards perspective' and see which thing is wrong

https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/.../38e68a92-8b24-4483-b080-898e679d0662

5.2.3.2. For MA and MB group vehicles fitted with a 50 mm 'Ball Coupling' the
height to centre of the ball determined in the laden condition must be
between 350 and 420 mm.

So what is the height of the tow ball on the car ?
and what is the height of the van fitting at the lowest jockeywheel setting

I have no idea but I think thats a good place to start ......

[tastrax]

I should add that these discussions have been going on for years....

http://caravanersforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=1395

[weonatvan]

I actually have a 2013 Murraunji Tvan and I have the opposite problem, I cannot get enough length out of the jockey wheel.

Yep, this is also my issue as I have 33" rubber and spacers on top of the coil springs. [emoji12]  But that's not the fault of the jockey wheel supplied with the van.

IMHO if a jockey wheel is capable of lifting and lowering the drawbar a minimum of 100mm either side of level on a standard van then it is fit for purpose. [emoji106]

If a peep has an issue with their tug being outside these parameters then I can only conclude that their tug is NOT "fit for purpose" to tow a TT van, and NOT the other way round. Shimple. [emoji848]Hehehe [emoji104][emoji85][emoji86][emoji87]


"You don't know what you don't know"

Cheers dave

[Frankrhona]

This is what I have on the Tvan, fixes all the problems for $45.00!

From all this discussion it appears Track should consider the $45.00 option as standard. The real problem is none of us are towing our Tvan or Topaz with a standard Commodore or Falcon with roughly the same towball height. We all have a variety of 4WD's with varying degrees of lift, towbar assembly's and rear door limitations leading to a range of towball heights that exceed the "normal' range of a fixed length jockey wheel. Why spend Big$$$ adjusting your vehicle height when there is a $45 Jockey wheel fix?
The Tvan or Topaz does not have to be level to tow it. I just looks better, you sleep better and most importantly, your cup of tea does not slide off when it is level!
Cheers,
Andrew

[MYT150]

Made this would solve the problem

http://www.rhinohitch.com/

Looks interesting but not sure how it would go off road.

[mal1958]

Made this would solve the problem

http://www.rhinohitch.com/

Looks interesting but not sure how it would go off road.

My goodness what an over kill ....

Just go to a tow bar manufacturer and get a replacement tongue that sets the hitch at the correct height.

Not hard to do and not very expensive.

If you are in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, I recommend Boronia towbars.

http://www.btatowingequipment.com.au

No affiliation etc, but happy customer.

Cheers Mal.


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[Rob M]

Great discussions and so many solutions. However, at the end of the day Track has accepted that there is an issue with the Jockey Wheel being too long and fix it with no cost to the owner.

[Cruiser 105Tvan]

Great outcome all round.
Well done.