Thule Chariot hitch to Croozer Cargo/XLC Carry Van adapter

I own an old Croozer Cargo, which is now known as the XLC Carry Van ( https://www.xlc-parts.com/road/accessoires/lasten-transportanhaenger/1659/fahrradanhaenger-carry-van-bs-l03 ), because the new Croozer Cargo is a whole different design. I did not like the hitch on the Croozer Cargo, so I replaced it with a Weber hitch. To attach the Weber hitch I had to cut off the original part on the drawbar and drill a hole into it. This workes quite well for quite some time.

A couple of months ago, my wife and I got a Thule Chariot Cross child trailer. Thule has a its own hitch system with a ball head, which is also a pretty nice design, I think, but which is completley incompatible with the Weber hitch. So I looked around online and found out, that the ball head and the locking pin with the attachment can be purchased as spare parts. I ordered the ball head and the locking pin assembly group. So at the time of this writing and the time of my order, it was the time of the corona virus crisis (just in case someone reads this in a couple of years and wonders). Every seller online got flooded witch orders and the delivery companies almost drowned in shipping boxes. So it took almost two weeks for my parts to arrive.

I got a little impatient and thought, if I own a 3D printer, why not only print an adapter but the missing parts directly. So I designed a ball head, which you can see in the picture and the flexible part for the locking pin in Fusion 360 after measuring the original parts. You will need the original locking pin if you want to use the printed part. I printed the ball head in TPU with a 2 mm perimeters and 2 mm bottom and top layers in PETG. I did a short testdrive with a heavily loaded trailer and it did not break, but for security reasons I cannot recommend using it. After my ordered parts arrived, I used my printed adapter sleeve and the original parts from Thule.

Print Settings

Printer Brand:

Anycubic

Printer: All-metal Mega

Rafts:

No

Supports: No

Resolution:

0,2 mm/0,3 mm

Infill: 20%

Filament:

Das Filament / Anycubic PETG/TPU Black Notes:

For the adapter (Hülse v2.stl): I printed it in black PETG, but I think PLA will also work. Supports are not needed.

For the ballhead (Kugelkopf v1.stl):

Again I cannot recommend using this part for daily use. Better use the original parts. This part will get stressed a lot. I did a test with a higher temperature than usual for my PETG to increase the layer adhesion and 0,3 mm layer height. I used 2 mm wall thickness and the same for top and bottom layers to get a very strong part. It survived my short test drive with a heavily loaded trailer, but without further testing, I strongly advise NOT using this part. If your brave or dumb enough to do it nevertheless, don't come haunting me, if you killed yourself using this part.

For the locking pin flexible part (Sicherungsgummi v1.stl):

I used blak TPU from Anycubic with I think 80 Shore A hardness. This part turned out pretty well and if your original part fails, I think this can be a replacement. You will still need the steel locking pin for the hitch to work.

Post-Printing

Modify your towbar

You will have to shorten the towbar and cut off the original hitch. After that drill a 7mm hole through the towbar, 35 mm apart from the previously made cut.

Prepare your printed parts

Remove stringing, esp. from the TPU part, and attach the locking pin.

Attach the ball head and the locking pin

Put the sleeve and the ballhead (or the printed ball head if you have a really strong death wish) into the towbar, and secure it with an M6 screw and a self securing nut. Put the TPU part over the screw first.

Category: Sport & Outdoors