HITCH SERVICING ?

[glowman]

Hi,

I just bought a secondhand 2000 Crusader ELDDIS, picked it up with my new Freelander 2 yesterday.

On the journey home I noticed that at 60MPH I got a fair amount of swaying, and pitching, both of which I was concerned as I was advised that Twin axle caravans were better to tow?

The Hitch has a Alko stabalizer fitted, which I under stand has jaws inside that grip the ball for stabilization Does this need to be serviced perhaps with new jaws?

Can anyone offer some help on these two problems

 

[Lutz]

A well-balanced outfit should be stable even without a stabiliser. The purpose of the stabiliser is only to increase the margin of safety. Therefore, if you experiencing stability problems, something is amiss elsewehere and you should not have to rely on the stabiliser to put that right. However, having said that, the brake pads within the stabiliser unit itself, are relatively easy to replace if they are worn or contaminated.

 

[Damian]

Unless the caravan has been towed for many miles, something like 30,000, then the hitch is probably OK, the only possible problems my be contamination.

I would suspect that the noseweight and /or loading was incorrect, did you measure the noseweight before setting off?

I would also, having read many comments about them, suspect it may be something to do with the car and the soft suspension.

In the event of the hitch needing service, it is not jaws you are looking at, simply friction pads.

I am presuming that the towball was perfectly clean and no paint or anything on it?

 

[glowman]

Unless the caravan has been towed for many miles, something like 30,000, then the hitch is probably OK, the only possible problems my be contamination.

I would suspect that the noseweight and /or loading was incorrect, did you measure the noseweight before setting off?

I would also, having read many comments about them, suspect it may be something to do with the car and the soft suspension.

In the event of the hitch needing service, it is not jaws you are looking at, simply friction pads.

I am presuming that the towball was perfectly clean and no paint or anything on it?

How do I find out what the nose weight should be ?

 

[Damian]

Terry, the car makers handbook will , or should, give you max towball limit in the technical section, on my car it is 85 kilos.

In the caravan Service Book, you should find a "Static Load on Coupling Head" figure, mine is 100kg.

The LOWER figure must not be exceeded, so I have to load the van in such a way as to give me no more than 85kg at the coupling head.

I am not absolutely certain, but I think almost all UK spec vans have a max coupling head limit of 100kg.

I suggest you look at the Caravan Club website and read the recommendations for how to load your van correctly, as a badly loaded van can easily get you into big trouble.

 

[Clive-Cardiff]

Hi Terry, I towed with a Freelander until recently and it was perfectly stable with a 1620kg van.

Did you remember to clean the grease and paint off the towball before conecting up?

As Lutz has pointed out the car/van outfit should be stabe even without a stabilizer so perhaps you should check your noseweight and try and get it to the maximum for yor car or van (whichever is lower). Dont adjust the noseweight by moving heavy items to the front or rear of the van.

 

[RobRoy]

Hi Terry,

If you had just picked up your Elddis the chances are it was completely empty - or near enough empty. That may well have been the cause of the pitching and swaying.

Rob S.

 

[RonD]

Terry,

You should only be doing 60mph on a dual carriageway or motorway. Other roads are 50mph max when towing unless a lower limit is in force, but you probably already know this?

Ron

 

[glowman]

Terry,

You should only be doing 60mph on a dual carriageway or motorway. Other roads are 50mph max when towing unless a lower limit is in force, but you probably already know this?

Ron

HiGuys,

Yep I would bet that Rob Roy hit it on the head, the van was empty.

Anyway thanks go to you all in your replys I think I have as much info that I need to cure the problem

thanks again for all your help

Terry