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Towing standard trailers

Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2018 6:00 pm
by towingpinz
So first post. I love this truck and everything about it but...

I bought this partly because of the 5 tonne towing limit. I run a caravan park in the UK and I need to shift the 6 tonne static caravans round the park every winter at very low speeds. I also need to move 3.5T trailers of stone around the Isle of Wight at road speeds.
Standard 4x4 and pickups handle the task fine but the Pinz hitch is so much higher I'm not sure how to have a standard hitch at a standard hight. I don't want to use a 10mm steal dropper plate as I have on certain other vehicles; on the back I worry that I might stress the drivetrain and on the front I might twist the pressed steel 'prow'.
I also have a 750kg trailer tent which needs to be towed from a ball hitch at standard hight.
The final push on the front hitch can often be very high stress and I don't want to damage a very rare and carefully engineered beast.

Re: Towing standard trailers

Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2018 2:34 pm
by towingpinz
Hello? Anyone?

Re: Towing standard trailers

Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2018 5:26 pm
by 4x4Pinz
You told us what you have, why you chose it and how you use it. What kind of a comment are you looking for?

Re: Towing standard trailers

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2018 2:47 am
by pinzi
Well about towing with a pinz shoudnt be a problem so i dont know what your question is about, and damaging something on the pinz....well they can handle quit some abuse :roll:

Re: Towing standard trailers

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2018 4:18 am
by towingpinz
Most trailers are much lower than the pinz hitch

The static caravans are heavier than the recommended towing limits

What's the best way of adapting the pinz so it can connect to something that's say 12-18" off the ground?

I've read alot of the forum posts, a few of which have advised against tying the pinz down on a trailer from the front hitch as it could twist. How then can I push a static caravan with a hitch 12" off the ground without worrying?

I hope that makes more sense.

This was the only thread I say with anything like what I'm looking for but it's still too high. It also doesn't address the front tow hitch.
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=11194&hilit=Towing&start=15

Re: Towing standard trailers

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2018 4:36 am
by Ian
I modified a Hayman Reese 50mm receiver, welding it to some 12mm plate and bolting it to the 3 bolts in place of the std hitch. For off road use I just have a short section of 50mm bar with a shackle through it for recoveries (an off the shelf part here in Oz)
For towing, Hayman Reese make a cast steel tow hitch, that drops down (adjustable) and lowers the tow ball considerably. This hitch is rated to 3.5 ton.
A simple pin and R clip holds them in place, so quick and easy to swap. I find the height fine for towing a tandem axle trailer I have.

I hadn't seen these hitches in the UK when I lived there, but they are everywhere here..

If you are thinking of putting a towbar on the front and dropping it down, You will need to look at bracing it, I believe, to somewhere where the front nose cone fixes near the diff. You may twist the nose cone otherwise.

Pinzies are great, and I hope you have a lot of fun with yours. At the risk of sounding negative, I think you'll find towing 3.5 tons at modern highway speeds just isn't going to happen. They are slow on the hills and unless your trailer has very good brakes, you'll need to go slow on the descents too. Still, on my one and only visit to the the IOW, it felt like a big retirement village anyway, maybe lack of speed is ok there... Good luck with it all.

Re: Towing standard trailers

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2018 12:18 pm
by towingpinz
Firstly speed, yes your right the IoW is full of very slow drivers. All the way from Edinburgh I was at the front of a long queue of cars, here I'm always catching up with them.

Hayman Reese seems to be an Oz thing so there's no real point me looking at that due to the shipping. I think getting some UK hitch and welding it to hefty steel may be the answer but I would like to brace it somehow, answers please.

Finally the front nose hitch; yes I was guessing I'd have to brace it but was hoping someone had done it and I could see how they did it.
I can't see anywhere sensible to brace it. This probably won't make much sense but bear with me. I can obviously make some sort of connection at the front hitch. I wondered if I could brace by putting a plate inbetween the 'nose cone' as we appear to be calling it and the front diff and welding supports from there. The only other place I could think of would be the body mounts as that would give some side to side support. Does this sound possible or am I asking for trouble putting fairly high forces through these points?

Re: Towing standard trailers

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2018 5:34 pm
by TechMOGogy
For the front bracing take a look at Bikmakr’s winch mount for some ideas
See here as an example (search Bikmakr for more)

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=9641&hilit=Bikmakr

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=11457&p=86069&hilit=Winch#p85814

Re: Towing standard trailers

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2018 5:42 pm
by 4x4Pinz
A drop hitch on the rest trail come with a 2" receiver has never been an issue but it seems you are concerned when pushing the trailers with the front. The pinz can handle pushing from the front as there are some equipped with snow plows and that would seen to be about the most abusive action you could do. I would look into how the plows are mounted and set s revive receiver up based on those braces. Unfortunately I do not have quality photos of a snow plow mount on a pinz.

Re: Towing standard trailers

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2018 5:45 pm
by 4x4Pinz
On the sav site they have a pinz with a front mount. No real good photos of it but might be enough to get an idea. If you talk to them they might be able to get better photos of how it is supported.
http://www.pinzgauer.com/vehiclelist.php?cat=1

Re: Towing standard trailers

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2018 7:44 pm
by pcolette
Here are a few photos of a 710M I owned a few years ago that had some extra bracing welded to the front undercarraige. I don't know the purpose other than that it had a winch mounted on the front.
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Re: Towing standard trailers

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2018 6:59 am
by towingpinz
Thanks everyone, brilliant info so far.

pcolette shows some great pictures of bracing welded onto the front bumper. I've read a couple of times trawling through the forum that you shouldn't weld between the chassis and the bumper as the bumper is mounted to the body and it increases vibrations and noise. Does that sound right to you guys?

What about the idea of using the outriggers on the chassis tube as braces? I'll take a photo if that makes no sense.

Re: Towing standard trailers

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2018 3:31 pm
by towingpinz
Still like to know the opinion on using the body mounts as braces, however...

I've read every post about snowploughs and found this page:
https://pinzforum.kiruna.de/viewtopic.php?t=5142
which has some pretty engineering on it. I'll be building something along those lines to sort the front tow hitch and I'll post pictures when I finally get round to it.

Re: Towing standard trailers

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2018 3:39 pm
by 4x4Pinz
To are correct one should not well past the body mounts. In the bracing of the front for the winches the braces should go to the tubing on the front and not the body or bumpers.

Don't know if I would support off the body mounting outriggers. Would not want to risk damaging body mounting points. I know some tie their trucks down using them. Just don't know what long term use would do to them.

The snow plow mounts have been proven to work with minimal damage to the truck so that is the direction I would go.

Re: Towing standard trailers

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2018 6:38 pm
by towingpinz
Snow plow mounts talk about a clamp on the centre tube behind the front diff, would anyone have photos of this or a UK stockist?