Is there a standard height for a pintle hitch?

[Debs.]

Hiya everyone!
My young-nephew has started a small business doing 'landscaping/groundworks' jobbing and renting out his mini-digger.

He has bought this modified S/H Land Rover 90 (with large wheels and raised suspension components) and also an Ifor Williams plant trailer for hauling the digger.

The Landy doesn`t presently have a tow hitch and having had an electric rear winch previously fitted (and now removed) there`s a very large hole in the rear cross-member (now simply covered by a riveted-on piece of chequer-plate) where a roller-fairlead was once located.....although, because of the former winch`s fitment; there is lots of really sturdy structure behind the cross-member to work with!
I`ve said to my nephew that 'aunty-Deb.' will contribute 'practically' to his new enterprise by fabricating and fitting a pintle towing-hitch and associated chassis-bracketry to this Landy.

I`m still at the thinking/planning stage, but not being able to have the trailer to hand (as it`s based 45 miles away) I wondered if there`s an 'industry standard' height for (non-NATO) ring/pintle hitch eyes?

 

[pidgeon chit welder]

you should really have the tow height as per manufacurers spec for the towing vehicle so as to give the correct angles of thrust etc when braking due to the weight transfer acting along the chassis in the most /best plane.

Get it too low and a trailer will press down on braking ( unbraked trailer ) this will tend to lift the front of the car. Too hight and the trailer will tend to want to lift the back of the tow vehicle.

In my Kia hand book it gives the optimum tow ball height when under the preferred nose weight.

The modified higher suspension and large wheels may make it difficult to get the correct and insurable towing set up .

 

[pedrobedro]

Home made tow bars are not strictly legal, they should be from a legitimate manufacturer such as Witter so be careful how you go about fabricating it. Height is not really a problem as there are drop plates available to tailor the height to your requirements.

 

[mike os]

ie make it look old & like it has always been there

 

[awemawson]

I think the only sensible option for a Landrover is a Dixon Bate style tow hook, where the height is adjustable over a wide range and the actual coupling element can be interchanged beween pintle and 50mm ball very easily. They cost about £100 new. I have one I removed from my Defender a few years back to you can have for £30 plus postage, but frankly you'd do better to buy a new one thus getting all the bolts and brackets.

 

[michael1703]

how good is your mig? i'd prefer doing a hitch with something with a lot of amps

any hobby mig less than 200 amps wont be up to it

 

[stormin]

Home made tow bars are not strictly legal, they should be from a legitimate manufacturer such as Witter so be careful how you go about fabricating it. Height is not really a problem as there are drop plates available to tailor the height to your requirements.

Maybe not legal on modern stuff, I think after 2002ish but stuff made last century isn't generally a problem.

I'd go with replacing the crossmember with a new pattern part, it'll make the Land Rover more saleable in the future. You can then fit a genuine Land Rover or similar tow bracket with braces back to the lashing eye point on the chassis.

The standard Land Rover tow brackets come with a variety of holes for tow hitch height variation. You only need a couple of spanners to adjust them and if your using the same trailer all the time can leave it were it is.

The Dixon Bate adjustable hitches tend to rattle a lot after a while, but probable wouldn't be notice over other noise if you are using the ring and pin rather than ball.

 

[pedrobedro]

1st August 1998 is the start point but if a towbar is not type approved for a vehicle involved in an accident and is deemed to have contributed to it's cause it can be an excuse not to pay out a claim on the insurance.

 

[tomsutton529]

Hi, Been lurking on here for ages and finaly found some where to contribute some useful knowledge.

I dont think there is any legal requirement on the height of tow-bars as the trailers do vary in the height, Compare a sankey to a car transporter to get the idea of what I mean..

Dont bother with the ones you adjust on a plate via two bolts, they get full of **** and the day you need to adjust it for something in a hurry or an emergency you will end up spending the next week sorting the bolts out... From my experience of landrovering I cant recommend the type of towing hitch bellow.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LAND-ROVER-DEFENDER-90-ADJUSTABLE-TOW-BAR-TD5-TDCI-/260589340119?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3cac55c5d7#ht_531wt_1137

No bolts just a pin, One minute you can be pulling out a tree and the next its adjusted to take a trailer.

It may only fit on the standard cross member but if your making one im sure you will get on fine.

 

[clem dog]

@ michael, id imagine Debs will be using that beast of a quasiarc so no shortage of power there!
Clem

 

[Debs.]

@ michael, id imagine Debs will be using that beast of a quasiarc so no shortage of power there!
Clem

Indeed, I never need any excuse to use my 'Quasi'; it makes even really-big jobs so easy and lays such nice welds.....for, as old as it is; it`s a welder that always makes me smile and want to work.

I`ve found a variety of Series-Landy towing bits: a forged pintle/pin hitch unit, a monster drop plate (which I 'fabbed' from 15mm plate some years ago) and various cross member spacer-plates and assorted Defender-Landy rear end brackets in my parts bins, so I`m sure I can make something which is (both) safe and legal......just the height above ground 'thing' required to get me off the drawing board now!

 

[Uniqueusername]

Ifor williams trailers always used to be designed for an 18" hitch centre height.
BUT-
This is when loaded !!

He needs to load up the landie with all his crap, then a bit more and a few cans of fuel and a wet dog
Now load up the digger and spare buckets on the trailer.
The front and rear tyres OF THE TRAILER should all be bulging equally (taking similar load) and there should be roughly 100kg downward load on the hitch which should now be at about 18" and the landie shouldn't be noticeably "powerboating"

Get all this right and your expensive trailer tyres will last longer, the landie won't be so tiring to drive and the ministry won't pull you at every chance they get.
BTW he also needs a tachograph fitting !!!!

 

[MrFluffy]

Do you want a pic of a standard defender towball frame? Ive got a factory one on my 90 I think so can snap it. It just looks like a big rectangular tube as a drop plate with two arms forward and multiple hole positions to get height adjustability

I have a rangy one kicking round in the workshop and it can be summarisied by "big slightly curved drop plate with two arms running forward to bolt on points on the chassis"...

 

[Debs.]

......Do you want a pic of a standard defender towball frame?......

Yes please; that`d be really helpful ......I had in my mind bracing the fabricated drop plate`s base to a point (forward) onto the chassis; so a snap of the cross-member/hitch attachment area and the lower bracing arms would be very helpful......Thank you.

 

[gordon stephenson]

If memory serves correctly the range rover chassis mounts are just a couple of tubes welded to the bottom of the chassis rails,don't know if they are also on some Land Rovers but if so, easy job.

Good luck Debs.

 

[SC_BK]

I read about a legal min/max height for towballs a few months ago, I just googled it and found this on another forum:




"EC directive 94/20 requires the centre of the ball, when the towing vehicle is fully laden to its gross vehicle weight, but without the caravan attached, to be between 350mm and 420mm from the ground (13 3/4" and 16 1/2" in old money).

Off road vehicles are exempt from the EC Directive in order to permit them to achieve the necessary ground clearance for off road use. Hence most are set higher than the standard. To overcome this a drop plate is required which must be type approved for the vehicle, which very few are."

http://www.caravantalk.org.uk/topic/5010-towball-height/

 

[MrFluffy]

My landy looks even grottier in photos now

Got to get stuck in and prep and paint this before its too late... But you can see what the arm does, just brace the bottom of the big lump of square tube.

Ive towed my massey tractor on a trailer behind this happily, afaik its stock land rover defender equipment.

 

[Debs.]

Thank you for the helpful pictures MrF; they confirm that I`m on the right track with my plans for using those weldment-brackets under the chassis rails (aft of the axle) to brace my drop plate.

 

[MrFluffy]

That's also how the tow ball on my range rover classic was. A drop plate with two arms off to those welded on brackets. Thats what the entire purpose of those tabs on the chassis is for. A land/range rover without a towbar is a bit chocolate fireguard/chelsea tractor, so LR stuck those tabs on as stock knowing they were selling a working vehicle not some converted car design.

Looking at this again and comparing it to the rangerover towbar I just found in the shed, and photo's of other defenders, Im not certain the square drop tube with welded on end reinforcing plates is standard, they tend to have a almost flat plate with just the ends folded round into a shallow U to give it some rigidity. But Im quite happy that someone decided to fit a forth bridge strength one instead and its a interesting way of making sure its strong enough
Worth remembering the swb 90 defender can legally tow 3.5 tonnes on that bar. So its got to be extra proper, as Im certain yours will be. Must order some new bump stops...