Front Towing Cover & Stabillity

[DevonshireDave]

I recently bought a front towing cover for our new Coachman VIP and our first outing with it fitted was this Easter. I made sure everything was fitted as directed and all the fastenings were nice and tight.
On towing to the site I noticed the van seemed very unsettled. On towing home without the cover fitted, the van seemed very stable dispite the wind and rain.
Has anyone else encountered any stability issues when towing with a front cover in place? I can understand that fitting a large piece of fabric to the front will do nothing for the aerodynamics of the van, but should it unsettle things to the point where it becomes noticeable?
I intend to try again with it when we go to Devon at the end of the month but if the results are the same, I'm afraid this will end up on a certain auction site!
Any feedback would be most welcome.

 

[Gafferbill]

What do you expect?

..............It was upset because it could not see where it was going

 

[DevonshireDave]

I did wonder!

 

[Lutz]

An interesting observation. It would be great if you could repeat the experiment on your way to Devon to see if the result is the same and report back to us.
The only conceivable explanation that I have is that the front cover may increase aerodynamic drag which, in turn, reduces noseweight at speed. We all know that low noseweight is conducive to instability. However, if this were the case, you should also notice a slight increase in fuel consumption when the cover is in place.
Please let us know of your findings.

 

[DevonshireDave]

Mmm, that's an interesting idea Lutz. It did feel as though there was a nose weight issue. It was quite uncomfortable albeit on A roads. I thought I'd weigh the nose weight on some bathroom scales to get it as accurate as possible, fit the cover and see how she feels. If I'm still not happy, I'll remove it at the first set of services.

 

[Lutz]

I'd just like to add that although the noseweight may have been spot on with the caravan standing still, it is possible that it reduces dramatically with increase in speed.

 

[Gafferbill]

To be more serious than my earlier post...........

I would expect that any difference the addition of a front cover would make would be immeasurable especially when no two journeys are the same in terms of other road and weather conditions.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Dave

Aerodynamics are extremely difficult to predict unless you can carry out some rather detailed tests. It is true that sometimes small change in the shape or position of a feature can make a big difference for high speed aircraft, but at the more normal towing speeds for caravans small changes to feature are unlikely to make a significant difference to towing stability.

Having looked at the design of the VIP towing covers, I can't really believe it changes the dynamics of the out fit very much. It closely follows the contours of the front of the caravan, and if anything it smooths out some of the features, which if anything I think is more likely to reduce drag rather than increase it.

Consequently if you experienced a less stable outfit on this journey, I think it more likely to be the result of something else that has changed (like nose weight or car loading).

If the cover does genuinely make a noticeable towing difference, then I have to suspect that the outfit is already to close to its safe towing limits, and you should be looking to make some other more important changes to bring the outfit into better towing shape with or without the cover.

 

[Lutz]

I must admit that I find Dave's experience surprising, too. I also think it is more likely that instability was caused by something which was not captured by his observations. That's why I've asked for a repeat of the test. However, if it does confirm his findings and other causes excluded, then the only reason I can think of is the one that I already mentioned.

 

[jerry1]

Empty post (likely not intentional - probably an Internet Explorer issue!)

 

[jerry1]

Empty post (likely not intentional - probably an Internet Explorer issue!)

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Jerry,

It seems you may be using Internet explorer IE9 which has known comparability problems with this and some other sites

Please check out this link which will tell you how to overcome the no visible post problems:-

http://www.practicalcaravan.com/forum/our-website/fao-internet-explorer-9-users

 

[jerry1]

i have a specialized cover fitted to a burstner belcanto and have no problems whatsoever it fits tight with no flapping and it does keep the muck and flys off the front no stability problems and can be fitted in 4 minutes and it does look very neat when fitted

 

[mullsy1]

Same here.Used one for a couple of years on long tugs and never experienced any probs

 

[DevonshireDave]

***Update***
Following the week down in Devon, the original issue would appear to have been a lack of noseweight. Before hitching up, I loaded the van with an indicated noseweight of 95kgs (on a milenco NWG) and the van towed like a dream with the front cover in place.
My only gripe is that the covers main sheet seems to be a couple of inches to narrow both sides. I may contact Specialised to see if this can be modified.
Thanks for all the posts.
Dave

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Dave,
Thanks for the update, and that the issue has been resolved. Happy and safe towing.

 

[Surfer]

We have just bought one of those specialised covers for the front of the caravan so thanks for the feedback.