back into RVing New tow bars and tracking indicators will help drivers Dave Halliday Contributing Writer RICK Parent believes firmly that RVing should be fun. “IF it’s not fun, you don’t want to be doing it,” said the owner of Towriffic International Inc., an Edmonton. business that develops products for the recreational vehicle industry. There are a variety of situa- tions that can take the fun out of RVing —driving tensely for hours because you can't see how the car you’re towing behind your motorhome is tracking, or fretting about the difficulty of hitching the car ‘to the motothome when you're ready to move to your next destination. _ Or maybe you’re worried that the tow bar hitch will pop off when you go through a dip as you enter or leave the camp- ground. Those kind of nagging doubts can destroy the sense - ; of relaxation and freedom that Ving i is supposed to bring. - =: Two products that Parent has designed can bring some relief and put the fun back in RVing. They are tow bars with a Flex Joint coupling and wack- ing indicators that Jet you know how well the towed unit is following the tow vehicle. The tow bars designed by Parent have several features that make them easy to hook up and unhitch. The Flex Joint eliminates the problem of having the coupler pop off the tow ball when the tow ae goes through a sh: The tow ap ” manufac- tured by Demco of Boyden, Iowa, are called ~—stthe Aluminator and the Excali- Bar. With a 2,250-kilogram (5,000-pound) tow rating, the Alurninator is built: mostly of aluminum, as the name implies, but incorporates some steel. The Excali-Bar, on the other hand, is constructed of steel and stainless steel and is rated for 3,600 kilograms (8,000 pounds). The Flex Joint fits directly into the receiver, eliminating the need for use of the ball coupler. NEW tow bars designed by Edmonton's Rick Parent have several features that make thern easy to hook up and unhitch. The Flex Joint eliminates the problem of having the coupler pop off the tow bail when the tow vehicle goes through a sharp dip. The tow bars are equipped with safety and lighting cables. The arms of the tow bars telescope, making hitching and unhooking much easier than it would be with a con- ventional tow bar. The telescoping feature means that precise alignment no longer is critical when hooking up. Releasing the lock collar on one arm of the tow bar makes it easier to get the vehicle hooked up since unequal length arms allow for an off- centre connection. Then the towed vehicle is put into reverse to pull the Nissan’s new designing Alisa Priddle - Contritnsting Writer _ THOERE weren’t many ~ women.in car design when Diane Allen became infatuated with the field. . '’ Today, the. 39-year-old - Detroit native is still a bit of an anomaly, heading one of the Nissan design’ studios in San Diego. Allen never considered car design when she enrolled at Wayne State University to study product design: anything from computers to vacuum -. cleaners. Then she saw the :~’ work being done at the Centre for Creative Studies at the College of Art and Design in _ Detroit, one of the best trans- ‘portation design programs in outhe ‘world, and swit switched gears and schools. “1 took it seriously. 1 really wanted to make it in cars. It’s the three-diniensional element. ’ They are so emotional’and pas- sionate, yet functional; a real marriage of design and busi- ness,” Allen graduated in 1984 and was hired by Nissan. Her first project was to work on the Nissan Quest minivan. “When I started, there were not many women in car design,” she said. About five years ago, she became chief of the Red Studio, responsible for exterior design. She knows of no other woman in a similar position. She feels she brings a “strong sense of teamwork, making everyone feel they have something invested in the pro- ject. It’s high on my list. It helps bring the product up if people feel a personal sense of investment. They will take a risk and do better work if they feel they are an integral part of ‘ aalecshealtenierel - Sekeneienientenieslententenieetedtentante | ee ee. ” AUTOMOTIVE! Complete Automotive Repairs, - - Maintenance & Service Any Nechanical Werk with this ad * Expires April 30, 2000 i ¢ 296 PEMBERTON, NORTH VANCOUVER, B. c. 987-1525 ! the process.” As a designer, her focus is on the torality of the car. All the elements “should speak the same language . . . It can’t just look great. Ie can be beautiful, but it must also be smart when the beauty wears off,” said Allen, who was lead designer arms into the locked position. The same feature can be handy when unhooking since one side of the tow bar may bind if, for example, the vehi- cles are turning. Releasing the lock collar will remove the pressure and make it possible to unhitch. The tow bars can be outit- ted with a shield 10 protect the towed vehicles from fiying rocks and debris. To use the tow bars, a base plate must be installed on the vehicle. The tow bar connects to the base plate which stays on the vehicle at all times. women for the Frontier pickup and just finished the design for the 2001 Sentra, which was designed to be serious and sub- stantial, as opposed to cute, She is currently working on the much-anticipated Z sports — Windsor Star Photo supplied NISSAN’S Diane Allen is one of a new breed of auto- mobile design leaders — female. . 7X Tomo SERVICES © The tracking indicators consist of arms with coloured markers on the ends that make them easy to see. One set of indicators is fas- tened to the rear of the motorhome or fifth-wheel trailer, while the other set mounts on the rear of the towed unit. - By looking in motorhome’s mirrors, the driver can see what the towed unit is doing by how it’s tracking. The driver can see how the towed unit is tracking by not- ing how the indicators overlap when looking in the mirrors. If the image is the same in both mirrors, everything is OK, but when it’s not, the dri- ver may need to step and check the situation. @ For more information on the tow bars or the tracking indicators, cali ABC Hitch i Fe Edmonton at 780-440-1661. —— Edmonton Journal Women mentors counteract ‘beys club’ From page 28 . Marketing and Sales Management Program. Susan Unger is chief information officer for DaimlerChrysler globally. In Canada, Jody Ness heads brand management for Jeep. Margaret McGrath become president of paint supplier PPG of Canada in 1997, a huge leap from an earlier posting in Brazil when she couldn’t go on business trips until the boss’s wife and to travel with a woman executive. Rodica Baranescu, chief engineer for Navistar Internationa! in Chicago, is the first woman president of pave permission for her bus- Attention All Minivan | caer TRANSMISSION SINCE 1902 Difticulty Driving In One sr More pet Car Sounds Like it’s Running, But won't Move? j Leaking | Red Fluid? Harsh Shifting? Hesitation? the Society of Automotive Engineers and the Chatham, Ont., Navistar plant is man- aged by Ann Hennigan. There are an increasing number of women engineers and designers like Diane Allen of Nissan designing sports cars and trucks. Many high-profile women are reaching out through mentoring _ pro- grams and speaking engage- ments to encourage more women to pursue automo- tive careers. “It shows there is less of a boys nerwork club at the top, that top positions are more attainable and there’ is a sense women are not spinning their wheels,” Fochuk-Barey. — Windsor Star HM Replace the Pan Gasket and Fluid © Adhest the Bands & Linkage | Must te prescoted at time of sala, Limit ono coupon per cestomnes. This & 2 prevective maintenance servies for nvasi domestic & imported cars. Wyou ii adready haw bransrelssion problems, ack abost our other sandcos., Fite Extra | 860 West 15th St. 987-8687. North Vancouver (Beside Broco Auto Glass) | Independently Owned & Operated « Hours: Mon.-Fri 8-6, Sat 8-1 j ON GE Ee Ee es ee ee ee said | ae oe A Ww ad