Rear Door Clearance

[Crosslander]

Hi guys.

One of the things I have picked up from here is that the swinging rear doors on 4WD's can be an issue when the camper is hooked up to the towbar (ie so that you can fully open the door).

I will be upgrading to a bigger tow vehicle in the future so when I buy a camper can someone give me an idea of the sort of measurement I should be looking at to ensure what ever vehicle I buy (probably a pajero) I will be able to easily fully open the door??

[speewa158]

Mark@Port I have an NS Paj that dose the job very well . The rear door can be tricky to open with the CT on cause
of the treg hitch pin .
The CT has an extended A frame so l can open the door to the front tool box /stone guard , the snag is the
 height of the  draw pin sits .  l use a haymon reece step down hitch to adjust the tow height  .
So its not only the door lenght to consider its the hitch height as well . Not sure what your using , hope this helps

[watto11]

hey mate i have a NT pajero and i took into consideration of door opening when i modified my drawbar i tried to make sure i could at least open door enough to get fridge slide out as a minimum i believe u need approx 1.8m drawbar if u can but also need to consider towhitch and handbrake lever getting in the way as well as anything else u mount on the front i made a box for the drawbar but i plan on trying to keep that as all on drawbar i hope to make a stone guard under drawbar and plan on mounting spare wheel under front of trailer box to keep drawbar a bit freer for the door to swing
good luck.

watto

[Crosslander]

Thanks guys - so anyone able to throw me a few figures like..... look for x cm from towbar to toolbox and y cm from ground to highest point of drawer bar (eg handbrake or top of hitch?)

Sorry but it is a bit of a chicken and egg thing.... I look like getting my camper before I update to either a paj or older cruiser.... just trying to avoid draw bar mods down the track if it can be avoided.

Thanks again.

Mark.

[speewa158]

Mark  there are a few things to consider , how many travelers  If 2 then place your fridge on the floor behind the drivers seat with side door axcess . Or if you have more then placement can be very diffrant depending on the tug rig 

[Kimber]

Mark,

I`ll be surprised if anyone can give you useable clearance fiqures if you are unsure of what vehicle/trailer you will end up with.

I faced a similar problem having a Prado with barn door and went searching for a camper we liked knowing that rear door opening clearance would be a problem. Ended up with a short towbar Kimberly then proceeded to lower the hydraulic reservoir/handbrake plus modified the stone guard to a hinged assembly, resulted in plenty of clearance allowing us to fully open the rear door with camper hitched.

                              "Reckless enthusiasm always results in measured ingenuity"

 Leigh

[watto11]

When I hook trailer up in a few days I'll do some measurements up for the Pajero and post them they may come in handy

[Crosslander]

Thanks Watto. Much appreciated

[db]

When we ordered our trailer I measured up the the rear door clearance for our Pajero, it needs 1100 mm from the tow bar (distance from the tow ball to the end of the door when fully open).  We now have just enough room to clear the stone guard, a little short if the trailer is angled to passenger side (not usually a problem can still open the door enough to get everything).  Like speewa we had trouble with the door fouling on the treg hitch, the new trailer has a lower profile hitch (oz hitch) so it clears it no worries.