Nissan Pathfinder towball height

[Markhill]

Hi I have a new Nissan Pathfinder and found that it tows with the nose too high is there anyway of getting the towball lowered as i nearly lost control at 50mph on the motorway. I believe it is a problem that has been asked before but I cannot find any resolution.

Hope someone can help.

 

[Sproket]

Thiis might sort it for you

I tow with a Isuzu Denver Rodeo & have now got a shocklink with a adaptor plate fitted, it allows you to adjust the height of the towball, if the truck is fully loaded I can lift it up a touch or lower it when towing empty, it has made it a more comfortable tow.
It would depend on what sort of tow bar that you have fitted as they will only fit onto one with a four bolt fixing.......

Have you measured the height of your towball ? when empty ? & when the tug is fully loaded ?
Have you got a stabilizer fitted ?

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Mark,
I suspect the Pathfinder is exempt from the hitch height regulations of 350 to 420mm ground to centre of ball measured when hitched up. but they will still be subject to only having type approved towing hitches fitted.

You may be able to have a drop plate fitted but do check with an approved fitter.

Whether the angle of the caravan is affecting its stability is unclear, but I do wonder if there is a problem with your nose weight. However you should also bear in mind that there is nothing that say's all caravans of the right size must match with cars and tow safely at any speed. some combinations that might appear to be satisfactory on paper may turn out to be poor.

 

[Lutz]

The height of the towball should have no effect on stability so long as the noseweight has been adjusted accordingly. Noseweight should always be measured with the caravan standing at the same attitude as when hitched up. If that is done, one should not have a problem. It would, however, be incorrect to measure the noseweight with the caravan level and then hitch up to a higher towball.

 

[Martin24]

Must admit on first trip out with the defender it looks a little bit nose up on it's lowest height setting but had jiggle with weight in the van chucking a bit more stuff forward, no of course I haven't actually checked it, and still looks a bit nose up but is absolutely solid as a rock, therefore I would agree that the angle may not be the only factor at work here.

 

[Gafferbill]

Hi and welcome to the forum...............
I use a drop down plate on my Nissan Terrano as I like my caravan to be level.
Your Pathfinder should be able to have this type of plate fitted but you cannot fit them to certain types of towbar so check with supplier before purchase.

You can buy different drop heights from this supplier for example.......
http://www.towsure.com/search/drop+down+plate

 

[AndyC]

I had the same issue when using my 110 defender it has a 2" lift on the springs and by god was the noise too high and the van was really unstable. I have now fitted a adjustable drop plate and can get the tow ball down to a reasonable height now. I did some checking and it seems if you have Noise Up the wind gets under the van and has to escape out the sides and of course this does not happen evenly thus causing swayting at speed. I also had to fit a 2" drop plate on the back of my range rover and this has made a huge difference.

Happy towing

 

[Lutz]

I did some checking and it seems if you have Noise Up the wind gets under the van and has to escape out the sides and of course this does not happen evenly thus causing swayting at speed.

A nose up attitude, in itself, does not cause instability. Being nothing more than a big box on wheels, a caravan does not act like an aerofoil, at least not at the sort of speeds encountered when towing. Any instability occurs because the noseweight was probably adjusted with the caravan standing level. As soon as it is hitched up to a vehicle with a higher towball, thus raising the front end, the noseweight is reduced, possibily to a dangerously low value. Noseweight should therefore always be adjusted with the caravan standing at the same attitude as when it is hitched up to the car.