Towing and rear door clearance. new coupling

[denmonkey]

Hi all,



as many of you will know, towing with the pajero has some challenges with regards to being able to open the rear door when hitched up.




There are a few solutions like a extended hitch and the spare wheel lift.





The option I went with was the Alko 360 off road hitch.











I can, with due attention now hook up without whacking the spare wheel or the rear cover.



I went this route because it didn't only give me the rear door access but it also allows me better articulation when towing in off road scenarios (mild- onroad van) and when coming out of my steep driveway.



The tolerances are still pretty close for clearance but everything works as it should and makes the whole experience that much easier.












I can't tell you how much faffing about I've done trying different things before coming to this solution.

Mind you, every time I made a change to the van or Paj, I needed to start again.

Those adjustable hitches will only get you so far.



Whilst I only paid the princely sum of $45 for this one, I can whole-heartedly recommend this option to the problem


As always, here's a vid showing the install, with the clearance before and after and some challenges I found along the way.

https://youtu.be/VB3h-jrRe94

cheers Brett

[erad]

What about your trailer brake ever - it will still foul the door. I cut the top of the lever off and welded back in a lower position. Along with similar butchery to the caravan coupling handle, the door now clears everything.

[Ian H]

If you are hooked up, you don't need to engage the trailer brake ?

[erad]

"If you are hooked up, you don't need to engage the trailer brake ?"
True, but you need the brake on before you uncouple, and at times you need to get into the rear of the car. Easier to get the lever down out of the way.

[denmonkey]

true the brake lever does fowl the door but as mentioned it isn't up when the van is hooked up.
If I'm uncoupling and moving away from the van, I can wait for it to be off before accessing the rear door.

When I need it most, is after I've hooked up and realise I need to put something in or take something out of the back of the Paj.
So no handbrake issues there.

This works nicely for that.

I picked this up for $45 bucks and basically brand new.
Whilst I like to DIY as much as the next bloke , it was a not brainier at this price.

I am curious to get it out this weekend and see if it makes any difference to the handling and reversing.

[vladguan]

Can perhaps cut the handbrake lever in half and bolt on a hinge so that it is folded back on itself and can unfold to do up or ondo the handbrake.

[symo]

Here's my setup on my NX , factory towbar and no spare wheel lift.

Added a small section of icrecream bucket lid to be able to see where the towball is in the rear camera.



Worked out when the red line on the screen lines up with the pivot point of the coupling that its directly above the towball and have the coupling set at knee height so it can't hit the spare wheel / cover.
Single handed hookup so no directions needed from wife or kids.








Rear door can fully open when hitched. ( don't have a brake handle )

[vladguan]

Nicely done symo

[symo]

Nicely done symo

Thanks, another trick I found is you can go into the cars setup menu and adjust the position of the red line.

I moved it slightly further out to line up with the bike rack base on my other hitch which by total fluke also lines up with the pivot on the trailer coupling.

[erad]

I assume that you have a MMCS screen to adjust the red line on your reversing camera. With my NW GLX-R, I don't think I can do that. How did you adjust the line?

[symo]

I assume that you have a MMCS screen to adjust the red line on your reversing camera. With my NW GLX-R, I don't think I can do that. How did you adjust the line?

No , mine has the smartphone link display.

Start unit, hit screen off , press and hold top left until it beeps then press bottom right. Camera setup option is on the first screen.

[vladguan]

For those with MMCS V2, NW and MY15 NX, press the settings and map buttons together until the special settings screen appears. The lines and camera angle can be adjusted there. Note the camera angle is not a physical change.

[denmonkey]

I like that Symo.



My rear camera is one of those ones that sits atop the number plate, so it's central to the rear of the vehicle.

Since the paj is all but the same with as my van minus a bit, so long as I have the same overhang either side I'm good to go.

I do use the rear camera though to see how far back I need to go by just angling it down.

The coupling disappears, but like you it has the lines and I know ( or will . used to on the old one) where to stop to be in place.



I like the idea of the lid though, so you get an actual visual and a bit of noise when close.



A mate has your coupling on his camper trailer and I believe it's the newest one they offer.

I think I'd actually have a preference for one of those as backing into it wouldn't smash all the plastics as is the risk with min.