 | Home > Camping, Caravanning and Holidays > Innovative tow bar damper smoothes trailer travel |
 
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| Supacat Member Since: 16 Oct 2012 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 11018   
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https://www.fwi.co.uk/machinery/farm-maint...ler-travel
Not sure if everyone can read the story so: "Andrew Burt’s tow-bar damper took second place in the simple category of the Farmers Weekly Inventions Competitions. Fed up with the bumpy ride when towing trailers behind his double-cab pickup, Mr Burt went in search of a solution. Andrew Burt's tow-bar damperAndrew Burt’s tow-bar damper He experimented with different truck and trailer combinations, but came to the conclusion the problem is down to the fact a pickup’s hitch is positioned a long way from the rear axle. This creates a lot of suspension movement, which is exacerbated when there is no weight on board. To solve the problem, he came up with the idea of a damped hitch that isolates the movement of the drawbar from the towing vehicle.  His creation uses a short parallel linkage, which allows the hitch to move up and down, without pushing it too far from the back of the truck. It also has rubber dampers incorporated into the pivot points to cushion the ride and take out the jolting and jarring. These cylindrical dampers work in a similar way to those on cultivator disc carriers. Although the concept is relatively simple, Mr Burt says a huge amount of time went into sorting the geometry and finding a rubber compound that gave the ideal level of damping. It was built in his farm workshop and took about four months to complete." Click image to enlarge Not sure if it is commercially available or needs any type approval... |
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29th Feb 2020 1:55pm |
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| discomog Member Since: 09 May 2015 Location: Notts/Lincs Border Posts: 2526 
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I saw it in Farmers Weekly last week and thought exactly the same as Blackwolf. Defender 90XS SW
Mini Countryman Cooper S Morgan Plus 8 |
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29th Feb 2020 4:54pm |
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| Supacat Member Since: 16 Oct 2012 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 11018
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Click image to enlarge Never seen one of these in the flesh, but struggling to see the similarly in their designs? |
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29th Feb 2020 8:15pm |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17378 
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They both allow the coupling to "float" vertically. The DB one operates along similar lines to a conventional suspension damper with a damped sliding mechanism, the new one has a torsional damper linkage.
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29th Feb 2020 10:02pm |
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| ickle Member Since: 22 Jul 2010 Location: South Vendee Posts: 1782  
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Is it because the farmers are becoming wimps with their air conditioned, automatic, cruise controlled tractors with air ride seats? A rattly trailer on the back of their leather clad 4 door pick up obviously upsets their frapomochachinos in the warmed cupholders!
Man up, get an old Defender with an Ifor on the back, never sure where the noises are coming from anyway  |
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1st Mar 2020 8:50am |
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| ARC99 Member Since: 19 Feb 2013 Location: North Yorkshire Posts: 1831 
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It looks similar to a South African one that was produces maybe 15 to 20 years ago which also incorporated a stabiliser for towing caravans. It sold quite well on direct import from S.A. through a company in the south of England IIRC , the EU got wind of them and banned the importation and use of them without even testing them to protect EU manufactures.
It basically restricted the "bounce" by the use us rubber dampers, it also prevented the slab side of a trailer causing the "tail to wag the dog" (caravan speak for caravan sway causing the towing vehicle sway) by use of free sideways movement under pressure dampened by rubber dampers, it was only about and inch each way from the centre. They were efficient if a little frightening seeing the caravan sway slightly and not feeling it in the tow vehicle. I remember towing a large twin axel caravan behind a mk1 Disco on the A38 approaching Ashburton when the bow waves and suction from several HGV's hit the caravan which started the sway violently I didn't feel a thing in the disco. Don't make old people mad. We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to  us off.
Richard |
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1st Mar 2020 9:24am |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17378
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The old DB Shoclink was (and remains) popular with those who tow caravans, especially behind leaf=spring vehicles, because if you don't use one eventually the "A"-frame will suffer from fatigue failure and break off the caravan, which tends to spoil your holiday. It was never really established whether you needed one with a coil=sprung vehicle, but given that most caravans make wet paper look strong it always seemed a good idea to me.
The idea was always to protect the trailer, rather than the tow vehicle. |
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1st Mar 2020 12:07pm |
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