ALKO Shock Absorbers - Worthwhile ?

[JimandWendy]

My first post on this forum so be gentle.
I have an Heritage 560/4 and was wondering whether anyone had retro fitted ALKO shock absorbers and could comment on any improvement or otherwise.
Last year whilst touring in France we had to travel along a paricularly bumpy road for about 20 miles (it was a diversion, so not from choice) and when we arrived at our destination the front roof light surround was hanging down on one side. It doesn't seem to fit back all that well but hasn't fallen off since, and I assumed the bumpy road contributed to the problem.

[Ian Larder]

Hi, welcome to the Forum
We have a similar setup, 560/4 (2008) being pulled by a Discovery3. I self fitted (very easy) a set of Red Alko shock absorbers earlier this year after advice from other members, and now benifit from smooth running all the way, a very worthwhile investment (shop around and check Alko direct, they sometimes do special offers).
I would rank this mod high on my most useful upgrades. I also switched to CalorLite Gas bottles to help reduce the nose weight. I have self fitted an EGO Motormover (which i switched from my old unit) for help in manouvering in those tighter spots. My latest modification has been to change to an onboard Whale Aquasmart/Smartflo water pump (having blown 2 submersibles in a couple of months due to faulty pressure switch). Haven't been out with it yet since fitting, but when testing pressure and flow rate improvements were very impressive.
I would say go for it on the shock absorbers, good luck.

[JimandWendy]

Thanks for the swift reply Ian. We returned to caravanning after a gap of 20 years (kids long flown the nest now) and got our 560/4 about 18 months ago - it's a 2009 model, and we really love it. Only got the D4 in November and haven't towed with it yet but looking forward to that experience. As you too have got a Disco your comments about smooth running are very useful. We have a Reich mover fitted aft of the axle so will have no problem fitting the ALKO dampers - they seem to retail for about £70 per pair, but I did notice the ALKO special offer back in June at £50 delivered, so will keep an eye open for a repeat.

[Ian Larder]

You should have no problem towing with the D4, even in the D3 I have to keep looking in the mirror to make sure the vans still attached, with the extra power/torque afforded by the D4 the 560/4 will seem like a lightweight. I want to upgrade to a D4 next year (hopefully!) for the reasons above and the better fuel economy and lower road tax.
On the motormover/shock absorber issue, my EGO is fitted in front of the axle but still has plenty of room for the shocks (did I say you need the Red Octagon shocks, for the 560?). Once I got the wheels off it only took 10mins each side to fit (would have been less if father-in-law wasn't hovering and asking me what I was doing every couple of minutes).
We only got into caravanning about 2 years ago, bought a cheap Sterling Sprite Excel 2 berth which got us hooked. Then early last year we just missed out on buying a 560/4 2009 at a Lincoln dealership (literally by minutes), the wife (having spent hours/days/months researching) was convinced the 560/4 was the perfect layout for us, and after a late night searching t'internet found our 2008 van for private sale in the Beccles area (a 300miles round trip). So 48hrs later after the longest day trip ever, we were the proud owners of a mint/like new 2008 model (only runout 3 times previously since built, and fully loaded with awning. and all the extras including satellite dish/receiver/tv). I'd only ever towed the little Sprite about 4 times previously (and we only had a RAV4 SR180) so the 560/4 seemed like an artic trailer to me, especially as I hadn't mastered reversing then, what a trip back!
We love the 560, and hope to keep this one running for some years to come, as our trips with the three dogs (together with the extended family kids sometimes) have proved to be the best adventures yet.
Happy camping.

[JimandWendy]

My better half also decided we should have a 560/4 and we started looking in July 2010 but good examples were few and far between. I believe we saw the Beccles one advertised and almost went to view it - sounds like a good one. Instead we lined up 3 viewings over a 200 mile journey and took enough cash with us to buy the most expensive one; however one had already sold. We picked the 2009 model because it was immaculate and had a mover and they threw in a lot of other stuff because they were giving up caravanning (but no awning). So we stayed in a rough pub in Filey Yorkshire overnight (anxious about carrying such a lot of cash), and bought it the next morning. Not having towed for 20 years I was very apprehensive but brought it back 200 miles without a problem. I have to say it's a very long van for single axle but our Seat Alhambra at the time performed very well.