FFR Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 Hello all, Since last War and Peace, I have a nice MK3 Sankey bought at Witham's booth. I tow it from time to time with a NATO rotating hitch (MK3 eye is fixed, does not rotate) so everything goes calmly and peacefully. Now, the problem: NATO hitch has no EC Approval, so I'm considering the use of a (street legal) big towing jaw (which does not rotate) so, The question: Is possible to swap the fixed eye assembly by an older, rotating towing eye mechanism ? Many thanks in advance, Carlos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 NATO pintle will be EC regs exempt as it for military use, but there's loads out in the civilian world of LR's in near everyday use. IIRC the ring hitch mounting bolt holes are a common pattern to enable quick repairs if damaged, so a earlier rotating head should be fairly easy to fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 Hi if you swaped for an older unit you would have difficulty using the brakes as there is no rear actuator bar on the older ones. I beleive that Dixon Bate sell "New" Nato hitches I would think these would be euro approved so would ensure you would be "legal" I would give them a shout, they are not cheap but you would stay legal. http://www.dixonbate...PartNo=FV987958 I wouldn't tow with a fixed hitch as it's a heavy trailer and could eaisly end in tears. Jason. Just noticed although they are TUV approved they are not EU approved so don't listen to me...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FFR Posted May 17, 2010 Author Share Posted May 17, 2010 Hi Ralph and Jason, Yes, NATO pintle is bigger, better and safer... but nowadays (at least in ultra-modern Spain) its use by a civilian is officially considered an unsafe practice and you can ged fined for it. This evening I was looking at some photos of MKI rotating eye... and it is considerably longer than mine, so I would be in trouble re-locating the hydraulic master cylinder. I'm (just) 34, but I have the feeling that life was easier in the old times... Thank you, Carlos PD: my sankey: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 Hi Carlos, I am in the middle of converting my MK3 into an overland trailer (http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=49598,) which will go through Spain!!!! I did think of converting the hitch to a standard 50mm hitch with the brake unit built in brake unit this type of thing: but like the nato hitch. Jason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FFR Posted May 18, 2010 Author Share Posted May 18, 2010 Jason, I sent you a PM with my personal details (incuding GPS coordinates) just in case you have some troubles across Spain. Regards, Carlos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 18, 2010 Share Posted May 18, 2010 Cheers Carlos, got the message. Jason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted May 18, 2010 Share Posted May 18, 2010 As has been said, Dixon Bate supply the NATO hitch to utilities companies for non-military applications, therefore I would have thought it would have to have EU approval? Would it be worth contacting dixon bate directly to get them to confirm the situation?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FFR Posted May 18, 2010 Author Share Posted May 18, 2010 As has been said, Dixon Bate supply the NATO hitch to utilities companies for non-military applications, therefore I would have thought it would have to have EU approval? Would it be worth contacting dixon bate directly to get them to confirm the situation?? Hi Mark, Yes, I sent an email yesterday requesting some tech info and the status of the EC approval. I'm waiting for their reply. Carlos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Baldwin Posted May 18, 2010 Share Posted May 18, 2010 Contact Bradley Doublelock ref the hitch options. They should be able to help with something like this. http://www.bradleydoublelock.co.uk/product.php?prod_id=480 FWIW. Bradley own Dixon Bate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted May 18, 2010 Share Posted May 18, 2010 Contact Bradley Doublelock ref the hitch options. They should be able to help with something like this. http://www.bradleydoublelock.co.uk/product.php?prod_id=480 FWIW. Bradley own Dixon Bate. I didn't know Dixon-Bate was part of the Bradley Group, just looked at the contact details for both & they are identical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMc Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 I didn't know Dixon-Bate was part of the Bradley Group, just looked at the contact details for both & they are identical. That's interesting news... http://www.bradleydoublelock.co.uk/article.php?article_id=130 "In August of 2009 Bradleys acquired the trading name and towing products portfolio of Dixon Bate Ltd. The addition of the Dixon Bate products to the existing Bradley products creates a unique range of quality British made towing products to meet the needs of the towing industry. The products on offer vary from the traditional Bradley towball and pin the E40TC, the renowned Dixon Bate 3500kg Universal coupling and their associated pin only variants, to the heavy duty 4 bolt fixing versions, versions for use with friction based stabilsers, shocklinks and the Dixon bate adjustable height couplings, the Bradley Autojaw, the Military towing pintles and many products approved for original equipment use by manufacturers such as Landrover. Contact the sales team at Bradleys on 01274 516760 for further info." The point they make about Dixon-Bate being Original Equipment suppliers to Land Rover, should help Carlos's case with the Spanish Authorities. The NATO Pintle is in the Civilian Parts Book as a Towing Option, Land Rover Part No. - NRC2051 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 The NATO Pintle is in the Civilian Parts Book as a Towing Option, Land Rover Part No. - NRC2051 parts page 1057 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Baldwin Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 We've been working closely with Bradley on a new project.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 We've been working closely with Bradley on a new project.... how long before we get to see the result ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FFR Posted May 20, 2010 Author Share Posted May 20, 2010 The point they make about Dixon-Bate being Original Equipment suppliers to Land Rover, should help Carlos's case with the Spanish Authorities. The NATO Pintle is in the Civilian Parts Book as a Towing Option, Land Rover Part No. - NRC2051 . Hi Paul, Yes, some years ago i helped a colleage in the process of registering an ex-military LR-Santana with historic plates, and the KEY way to keep the NATO hitch in the car was the fact that it appeared in the Land Rover Santana Optional Parts Catalog. Yes, it might sound funny for a Briton, but no matter how many thousand real photos you present of your ex-MoD car in action with the NATO hitch attached, that the only way to keep the hitch when we registered that landie with civilian-historic plates was showing that it was an original option. To make things worse, there are 50 Spanish provinces where you can register your car... and the way the legislation is applied is different enough to make you crazy ! Thank you, Carlos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FFR Posted May 20, 2010 Author Share Posted May 20, 2010 Contact Bradley Doublelock ref the hitch options. They should be able to help with something like this. http://www.bradleydoublelock.co.uk/product.php?prod_id=480 FWIW. Bradley own Dixon Bate. Hi Kev, They kindly sent me a copy of the TÜV document... unfortunately, it seems that there is not EC approval process planned as they key customer for this product really doesn't need them at all. Carlos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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