Many people think that the trailer coupling head and the drawbar are the same parts. This is a misconception as they are two separate parts of the trailer. Of course, this is not the fault of the average user as Internet portals often confuse the two concepts. In today’s blog post, we would like to clarify the concepts of the coupling head and the drawbar.
Trailer coupling head
The coupling head is the primary connection point between the vehicle and the trailer, allowing you to couple your trailer to the tow-bar of your car.
Operation of the trailer coupling head
Uncoupling:
Press the latch and pull the handle upwards. The coupling head will automatically stay unlocked as long as the wear indicator is in the read area, this is marked with a large X. It is important not to tow the trailer in this setting.
Coupling:
Place the coupling head (which needs to be in the unlocked position marked with an X) over the tow-bar of the towing vehicle and release it. If connected correctly, you will hear a short click. If the coupling head is correctly positioned, the wear indicator automatically jumps to the green area marked with a (+). If the wear indicator is in the red (-) area, the coupling head is not properly connected to the towing vehicle. In this case the trailer must not be towed.
Trailer drawbar
A layman searching for the word “drawbar” in the most popular search engines might easily think that the coupling head and the drawbar are the same parts. In reality, however, we call the drawbar overrun device.
A drawbar (overrun device) is typically fitted to heavy-duty trailers (e.g. caravans, horse trailers). The drawbar is the part between the coupling head and the tow-bar. This is probably why the concepts of the two parts have become confused. Incidentally, we install Autóflex-Knott coupling heads to our own overrun devices (drawbar), so we also have a constant supply of spare parts for these.
The importance of the drawbar (overrun device)
If the trailer is fitted with a drawbar, then when breaking the overrun device contributes to the stopping of the trailer not just the towing vehicle. This means that the vehicle remains efficient even with higher towed load.
If you are looking for quality coupling heads you can buy it from stock in our webshop, or you can order it at rendeles@autoflex.hu or inquire at our domestic sales line at +3676502058.