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Directive 94/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (repealed)Show full title
Directive 94/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 1994 relating to the mechanical coupling devices of motor vehicles and their trailers and their attachment to those vehicles (repealed)
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4.3. Drawbar couplings and draw beams
4.3.1.An endurance test must be performed on a test specimen. The coupling device must be equipped with all the fixings needed to attach it to the vehicle. Any intermediate devices fitted between the drawbar couplings and the vehicle frame (i. e. drawbeams) must be tested with the same forces as the coupling. When testing drawbeams intended for standard drawbar couplings, the vertical load shall be applied at a longitudinal distance from the vertical plane of the fixing points that is equal to the position of the corresponding standard coupling.
4.3.2. Drawbar couplings for hinged drawbars (S=0)
The dynamic tests must be performed with a horizontal alternating force of Fhw = 0,6 D acting in a line parallel to the ground and in the longitudinal median plane of the towing vehicle passing through the centre of the coupling pin.
4.3.3. Drawbar couplings for use with centre-axle trailers (S > 0).
4.3.3.1. Centre-axle trailer masses up to and including 3,5 tonnes
Drawbar couplings for use with centre-axle trailers up to and including a mass of 3,5 tonnes must be tested in the same way as coupling balls and towing brackets described in Section 4.1 of this Annex.
4.3.3.2. Centre-axle trailer masses exceeding 3,5 tonnes
The test loads are applied to the specimen in the horizontal and vertical directions in an asynchronous endurance test. The horizontal line of action must be parallel to the ground in the longitudinal median plane of the towing vehicle and pass through the centre of the coupling pin. The vertical line of action must be perpendicular to the ground in the longitudinal median plane of the towing vehicle and pass through the centre of the coupling pin (see Figure 28).
The fixing arrangements for the drawbar coupling and the drawbar eye on the test bed shall be those intended for its attachment to the vehicle in accordance with the manufacturer's fitting instructions.
The following test loads shall be applied to the coupling point
The test force is the geometrical sum of the vertical and the horizontal components. This can be achieved by the test bed configuration shown in Figure 28. The vertical and the horizontal components shall be sinusoidal in shape and shall be applied asynchronously, where the difference of their frequencies shall be between 1 and 3 %, so that resulting test forces in all directions are created.
4.3.4. Static test on coupling pin locking device
With drawbar couplings it is also necessary to test the closure and any locking devices by means of a static force of 0,25 D acting in the direction of opening. The test must not cause the closure to open and it must not cause any damage. A test force of 0,1 D is sufficient in the case of cylindrical coupling pins.
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