problem with snaking

[jennifer_374227268]

Hi, can someone give me some advise on snaking. First trip out with Frontera and Sterling Treker on way to site noticed slight snaking but i was going slow so it didnt bother me to much but on way home same thing happened again, We didn't have much in the caravan just usual stuff, no awning or outside seats because it was to cold. We loaded everything else as advised. I am worried now in case its the car and its not up to the job of towing.

Any advise would be much appreciated.

Keith & jenny

 

[tjambarker]

Where do I/we start? There are so many things that could be causing the problem. I'll put a list down which I would check in no particular order:

1. Noseweight, the ideal noseweight as recommended by the CC is 7% of the all up weight of the caravan. For the sake of argument we can assume that this is the MTPLM of the van.

2. Tyres, both the caravan and the towing vehicle. Have you checked them lately? Not just for pressure but for flat spots and bulges.

3. Suspension, again this could apply to both the van and the car.

4. Weight ratio

There is bound to be someone else along in a minute with a different thought, but if you want more guidance then post a reply and I'll try and help.

Tim

 

[Lutz]

The usual problem is not enough noseweight but from your description, you had that set up right. Other possible causes are:

1. Too low tyre pressure, especially on the rear wheels of the towcar and/or on the caravan (very likely if it's not the noseweight that's to blame).

2. Too much lateral compliance in the suspension of the towcar (not much you can do about that)

3. Large difference in load between left and right hand side of the caravan (uneven load distribution)

4. Towbar not rigid enough (unusual but known to occur with cheap towbars)

5. Ruts in road surface (also quite likely if you've never driven down that road before with the caravan - but of course, that would be a very local problem which you would not notice elsewhere)

 

[Lutz]

Oh, I forgot No. 6 - brakes binding on one side of the caravan (easy to check - one of the wheels will be appreciably warmer after a short run than the other)

 

[jennifer_374227268]

Where do I/we start? There are so many things that could be causing the problem. I'll put a list down which I would check in no particular order:

1. Noseweight, the ideal noseweight as recommended by the CC is 7% of the all up weight of the caravan. For the sake of argument we can assume that this is the MTPLM of the van.

2. Tyres, both the caravan and the towing vehicle. Have you checked them lately? Not just for pressure but for flat spots and bulges.

3. Suspension, again this could apply to both the van and the car.

4. Weight ratio

There is bound to be someone else along in a minute with a different thought, but if you want more guidance then post a reply and I'll try and help.

Tim

thanks for information. just wondering if the fact that the weight of car to caravan is running at about 94% would be the problem. ( checked it out on whattow car). Also if i was to get the suspension tightened and car mapped do you know if that would make any difference.

Keith

 

[Garfield]

My friend just swapped his LWB Frontera for a Toyota Lucida MPV import, I expected the MPV to be more stable but he said the Frontera was the better car and he is a NUTTER 70mph+ with the caravan on the back, assuming correct loading I would check tyre pressures and dampers

 

[tjambarker]

thanks for information. just wondering if the fact that the weight of car to caravan is running at about 94% would be the problem. ( checked it out on whattow car). Also if i was to get the suspension tightened and car mapped do you know if that would make any difference.

Keith

Hi Keith

All I would say on the weight ratio is drawn from my own experience and that is as the weight of the van increased in relationship to the car the "floatier" the van felt on the back. I towed my current Aventura with a Mondeo TDDi at about 91% and although the car pulled the van fine it just felt less stable than when it had towed my previous van at around 87%.

There could be a number of reasons for that not least of which that the noseweight was way out; the Mondeo could only handle 75kg and the book would say the optimum for the caravan should be around 95kg. Now I use my Freelander the whole thing feels fine.

In answer to the suspension question I used to tow with a Mitsubishi Carisma and I did use spring assisters on that and it certainly firmed up the back end of the car and the whole rig felt more stable. At the end of the day, however, I concluded that the car was really unsuitable for the job and changed it shortly afterwards.

Before I went out and spent huge volumes of money, however, I'd make sure of the weight figures. What we did for this was to weigh everything we put in the van and add that to the unladen weight of the caravan to establish exactly what the ratio is. Of course you could just take the whole rig to a weighbridge if you have one close by.

From this you'll be able to establish exactly the requirements for the noseweight and the ratio between the car and van. If nothing else you'll know exactly what the requirements are for any new purchase!

regards

Tim

 

[jennifer_374227268]

Thanks for all advise. just one more question, i have been trying to see if the noseweight is ok but not to sure what size of stick do you use or does it not matter. i have tried 13" and no matter where i move the stuff in side i can not get it right. beginning to think caravan not right for car. Car noseweight is 112kg and caravan fully loaded weighs 1700kg. Await all your helpfull advise.

Keith

 

[tjambarker]

Thanks for all advise. just one more question, i have been trying to see if the noseweight is ok but not to sure what size of stick do you use or does it not matter. i have tried 13" and no matter where i move the stuff in side i can not get it right. beginning to think caravan not right for car. Car noseweight is 112kg and caravan fully loaded weighs 1700kg. Await all your helpfull advise.

Keith

Hi Keith

The optimum noseweight for the van, using the 7% guidance advised by the CC, is 119kg. At 112kg your're about 6% down on the optimum.

I'm not sure I understand the problem with measuring the nosewieght of the van. Are you saying that with the corner steadies up and shifting everything out of the front locker you can't get the weight down to 112kg?

Tim

 

[Lutz]

Noseweight should always be measured with the caravan standing on level ground and with the coupling at the same height above the ground as it is when hitched up to the car.

The maximum permissible is the lower of the two figures specified for car and caravan, respectively. If the maximum for the car is 112kg and 150kg for the caravan, then 112kg will be your limit. However, in your case, 112kg should be perfectly adequate, even if it is less than 7% of the max. weight of the caravan. If you can't get the noseweight down to 112kg by moving the load around inside, you'll have no option but to add ballast behind the axles as a counterbalance until you achieve the permissible max. One can't say that the caravan is unsuitable for the Frontera (or vice versa).

 

[jennifer_374227268]

Noseweight should always be measured with the caravan standing on level ground and with the coupling at the same height above the ground as it is when hitched up to the car.

The maximum permissible is the lower of the two figures specified for car and caravan, respectively. If the maximum for the car is 112kg and 150kg for the caravan, then 112kg will be your limit. However, in your case, 112kg should be perfectly adequate, even if it is less than 7% of the max. weight of the caravan. If you can't get the noseweight down to 112kg by moving the load around inside, you'll have no option but to add ballast behind the axles as a counterbalance until you achieve the permissible max. One can't say that the caravan is unsuitable for the Frontera (or vice versa).

Thank you for all your help with this matter, i will give it a try now and see how i get on. Think we are worrying to much about this but first time with such a large caravan and when you hear about accidents because of badly matched or loaded caravans it doesn't help.

let you know how i get on.

keith

 

[joeby]

If its an Alko chasis the max nose weight is 100 Kg

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Jennifer,

There has been some good advice above, but it is important to realise that every car and caravan set up is unique, even if you had a friend with the same car and caravan there will differences between your two outfits.

The way you load distribute the load in the caravan will be different, and different driving styles.

So whilst gary reports that his friends Frontera is good, it just may be less good with your combination.

However the Frontera has many fans so it is capable of being an acceptable tow car, so it most likely comes down to loading, the condition of tyres, and driving style.

Whenever you begin to experience instability you must slow down, and if necessary stop to redistribute the load in the caravan and or car.

Do preserver and I am sure you will get it right in the end.

 

[jennifer_374227268]

Hi John, thanks for advise. We love our Frontera and even more the caravan so think its a case of loading more carefully cause we really dont want to have to change either.

We head away for easter so i'll let you know how that trip goes.

Jenny & keith

 

[Garfield]

My freind's caravan was nowhere near 1700kg

 

[craigmurray]

hi i used to have the same problem, i tow with a rangerover classic and pull a sterling elite trekker, the set with my rangerover wasnt as stable as wen i was towing with a defender 110...eventually i stripped my bulldog stabiliser down and cleaned it, shifted my gear inside the van to the front and hey presto stable as a rock....

 

[jennifer_374227268]

Hi craig, nice to know not just us with this problem, we getting ready to head off at weekend so we are going to use all the very helpful tips everyone had given us and hope for the best. let you know next week how we got on.

jennifer