Hitch Lock

CMart replied on 10/04/2016 10:37

Posted on 10/04/2016 10:37

Hi Everybody,  I bought an Alco Hitch Lock and read somewhere that it can be left fitted and locked while travelling.  Thats an attractive idea but cannot get confirmation of this.  Any thoughts please?

Colin

Nuggy replied on 10/04/2016 11:04

Posted on 10/04/2016 11:04

Bear in mind that in the rare event of an emergency, unhitching your van would take longer. If you stopped at motorway services it wouldn't take many seconds to fit it.

Pippah45 replied on 10/04/2016 11:12

Posted on 10/04/2016 11:12

I was told a definite NO to that in event of an accident the fire service will just chop the caravan off leaving a potentially very expensive repair.  In my own experience when the car caught fire I was relieved to be able to unhitched FAST.  I definitely won't do it.  It's quick enough to fit at a services if you need to leave unattended.

SteveL replied on 10/04/2016 14:13

Posted on 10/04/2016 14:13

With our first van we always used to travel with it on. However, when we picked up our latest van we were advised not to. As it is then much quicker to unhitch the van in an emergency. We never leave the van unattended when traveling, so it did not really serve a useful purpose. In the event we did both leave the van it would only take a few minutes to fit.

Wildwood replied on 10/04/2016 20:59

Posted on 10/04/2016 20:59

As you can see opnion is divided on this but the emergency services do not like it as it can cause problems in an emergency.

davehurst replied on 11/04/2016 16:58

Posted on 11/04/2016 16:58

I was contemplating trying it out with the HitchLock on but after reading about the possible problems with the emergency services i have had a change of mind so it's back to putting the hitch on every time we stop. Good post though.

Pippah45 replied on 11/04/2016 18:34

Posted on 11/04/2016 18:34

Wise move Dave it isn't worth the risk for a few seconds fitting and how often do you stop?  I only put the lock on if making a slow stop but I do have dogs who create a noise if anyone came close!

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