Tow balls being to high , fitting drop plates

Your caravan is within the 385mm to 455mm which is to EC directive for trailers

From my observations, drop plates are connected to substantial quantities of metalwork and the idea that they are subject to failure and therefore hazardous suggest to me 'nanny state' mindset. Surely in this day and age it is not beyond the wit of engineers to design towbar kit with drop-plates that meet any requisite safety requirements. ISTM that the legislation has approached this issue from the wrong direction. Not that any of this affects me now unless I feel the need to have a car on the back of my 6m MH.

Drop plates should only be used on towbar that have been tested with drop plates. If a drop plate is fitted to a towbar that is not designed for a drop plate the point at which the load is applied is changed. This can cause problems

taken from the Euro directive 

brink towbars which ford use do not test they towbars with drop plates or make drop plates they have stated this 

witter towbars  do not recommend them  and stated they where illegal on commercial vehicles after 2014

HSE gone daft again, bet your bottom dollar french units will take not one blind notice of it, like they do with every European directive from Brussels

There are drop plates and drop plates. As far as I remember the objection and restriction was on the box type ones with pin inserts allowing varying height by means of pins through the two sections. These were prone to failure, pins not fitted, weak sections etc. The plates that are usually 13mm laser cut steel that bolt to the bar and then you bolt the ball to the plate are more than robust. A 13mm steel plate is well capable of any of the energy of a caravan. I have no problem using these. There are dozens for sale on the web so someone is using them. The argument that this alters the dynamics does not hold water, the plate bolts where the ball would bolt and so the difference in forces is negligible.

Bending a stupid rule or towing nose high, its your choice. I would take the sensible option.

Being illegal is a little more than bending a stupid rule, Phish.

Drop plates have to be approved by the manufacturer of the towbar because they extend the cantilever length of the towbar itself, thereby increasing the bending moment and hence material stresses when the trailer is hitched. Where permitted, the manufacturer will specify the maximum allowable thickness of the drop plate (usually 15mm).

Having said that, a nose up attitude is not, in principle, a problem other than it reduces the ground clearance at the back of the caravan, which could, at worst, result in contact with speed bumps.

Your view of the effectiveness of the Clubs technical department seems to be repeated regularly. This is extremely disappointing because where else can we members go for effective expert impartial advice??

I am pretty sure Dixon Bate has recently been bought out by AL-KO.

You also need to be aware that some caravan manufacturers advise that their caravans are not suitable for towing behind commercial vehicles.  See photo of a screenshot from my 2016 Lunar handbook.

What construction materials are used in 2026 Lunar? Is it all carbon fibres? 

Fairy Dust and Unicorn Farts more likely!