Rocky connection.

Whatever follows next can be applied to any car. Most of you probably have a Suzuki Sierra. The Susuki is a lot lighter than the Rocky which is 1475 Kg. empty.

The inner cable has the original fittings cut off and a loop on both ends. One end attached to the brake pedal and the other end to the cable which came from the overrider brake. For extra safety two wire rope clamps are used on each end.

Electrical.

In my case a towbar and electrical socket were already fitted so it was just a matter of connecting the wires from this and feed it to the front and attach it to another trailer socket. Otherwise just tap in to the corresponding wires. When you buy the sockets the colour code is on the packet. Use the special trailer wire which has the correct colour strands inside. I get really upset when in the case of the Rocky all the wires were white and you have to put the multimeter on every wire. When something does not work without the colour coding it is frustrating to work on.

        As you can see it has been modified a while ago. I should have painted it before taking the photo's

Safety concerns.

Queensland transport did not like the tow balls sticking out the front. I made a hardwood board which covers this up and attached it with aluminium brackets. Because it covered up the number plate this is fixed to the board.

Site created 3.3.2003

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The bus had a towbar fitted with the corresponding electrics. All that remained was making an extension lead, feed it through the A frame and have trailer plugs on each end. Now all the lights work in conjunction with the Mazda. The Mazda is 12 volt and can be connected as above. The Hino is 24 V and I made a trailer board like they use on tinnies and put 24V bulbs in.

Set up when driving Rocky. Brake cable fastened with rubber strap.

Extension made to chassis to accommodate tow ball.                                A Frame attached.

Here fitted with safety shield.

The specifications say that the connections have to be to a certain Australian standard. I could not find any info on this but figured that standard tow fittings had to be sufficient. So I decided to fit two tow balls on an extension I made to the Chassis. The part the tow balls fit in are 15 mm the rest 10mm mild steel. One bolt through the connection of the spring leaf and another two to threaded holes already in the chassis. All bolts high tensile. I have an oxy set at home and a stick welder. It was a tight fit which is good and this is solid as a rock. A plate on the front and round the edges to make it all safer. Even so the Dep. of Transport did not like it. An solid wooden board with rounded edges was added and can easily be removed. Because it sits in front of the number plate, the plate was screwed to the board.

Cable front chassis in Cable through bulkhead                                    Cable attachment.

The cable I used is a second hand handbrake cable from a car. It will be near impossible to find one which is the correct length. You need a cable which has a fitting on one end to be able to bolt it to the bulk head and the other end to secure it either to a bracket or in my case the cross chassis member. It is very important to obtain as straight a line as possible from the pedal to the overrider brake. In my case I had to weld an extra bracket to the brake pedal. I also drilled several holes in it so adjustments could be made. I also drilled a hole in the chassis cross member and cut the outer sleeve of the handbrake cable to size. The sleeve is bolted to the bulkhead and fixed with a plate to the cross member.

The inner cable has the original fittings cut off and a loop on both ends. One end attachd to the brake pedal and the other end to the cable which came from the overrider brake. For extra safety two wire rope clamps are used on each end.