New member

[chez1]

Hi all,

well we have not got a van yet but are looking(please look at my next post in towing. we used to have a narrowboat and have now sold it but stil feel the need to travel so we are looking for a van, we will be towing it with a toyota 2.4 hilux surf( well we hope we will)

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Hi Chez, welcome to the forum. I, like you, had a boat. Mine was a cruiser on the Mon & Brec canal. We sold it after 6 years because the mooring and cruising licences were getting too expensive for how often we used the boat. I must admit that I still miss the boat though, if I had the money I would have both boat and caravan.

 

[ThePlotter]

Welcome at least with a van you can go faster than 4mph!

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Welcome at least with a van you can go faster than 4mph!

My van doesn't move Plotter, we put the steadies down when in ours :O)

 

[chez1]

We miss our boating days to, but on to things new now and we are going to pick up our van (caravan tomorrow)very excited.

 

[Phil_374313347]

We miss our boating days to, but on to things new now and we are going to pick up our van (caravan tomorrow)very excited.

Hey Chez

What are you getting.....which make / model

If you are new you may require a little guidance..

Give us a shout any questions should be able to be covered by the wealth of experience on this site..

Phil

 

[Phil_374313347]

Hey Chez (sorry pressed comment rather that reply) - here it is...

What are you getting.....which make / model

If you are new you may require a little guidance..

Give us a shout any questions should be able to be covered by the wealth of experience on this site..

Phil

 

[chez1]

Hey Chez (sorry pressed comment rather that reply) - here it is...

What are you getting.....which make / model

If you are new you may require a little guidance..

Give us a shout any questions should be able to be covered by the wealth of experience on this site..

Phil

Hi Phil, we are getting a Abbey Spectrum 26 Feet year 2000 we rae hoping to tow it with our hilux surf 2.4 auto and although i have towed befor it was atleast 10 years ago,and was with a manual so towing with a auto is somthing i would like a bit of advice about.

 

[chez1]

Hi Phil, we are getting a Abbey Spectrum 26 Feet year 2000 we rae hoping to tow it with our hilux surf 2.4 auto and although i have towed befor it was atleast 10 years ago,and was with a manual so towing with a auto is somthing i would like a bit of advice about.

 

[Phil_374313347]

Absolutely no problem

I have a Bailey Senator Wyoming (twin axle) 1700KG and quite long at 7.99metres

We tow with a Discovery ES automatic.

Your outfit seems quite compatible.

Advice....

Make sure your auto gearbox oil is nice and cherry red.. not brown and slushy. and your tyres are correctly inflated (including car)

Your four wheel drive will pull you out of most situations (ie getting stuck) I can't quite remember if you have a separate low drive with diff lock. If so you can use your low drive for positioning your van without worrying that you are burning out your gearbox. Don't use diff lock under any normal conditions as you will get axle wined up.

You can also use your gear selector to lock the torque converter if you are finding your gearbox hunting between gears. So if you are doing a steady 40 or similar and your car is trying to change to the next gear you can select 3rd (or which ever is appropriate) to save your gearbox from getting too hot.

Take it steady and you will get the feel of it after a while.

CC do towing courses so being a member of one of the major clubs can be an advantage. and quite importantly how you load your van will have a great effect on your towing. (plenty of advice regarding that on this site)

Good Luck

Phil

 

[Parksy]

Hi Chez

I would endorse everything that Phil says regarding towing with an auto gearbox. We have an ancient (but still shiny) mitsubishi Pajero auto and I would never go back to a manual gearbox. If when you are towing you notice a burnt sort of smell it means that your auto transmission fluid needs replacing. I do mine every year at the start of the season. After draining the atf I note how much comes out, replace that amount, then do it again a fortnight later to remove the dirty at fluid from the torque converter.

Good Luck with the new caravan

 

[chez1]

Thanks for your advice, the car was only serviced two days ago, i have checked the fluid and it still a red colour but i dont think they changed it at the service, so i will have to take a chance as we are setting of at 6 in the morning.