So what's the height of your towbar...?

[SmnByt]

Mine is 16 inches, The Lunar Manual says that the ideal height for the van is also 16 inches,

However when hitched up on a level surface the van is slightly nose up.....

I thought nose up was bad???

 

[Gagakev]

Have you checked the nose weight of the van, if so are you anywhere near the limit?
Can you add some more weight to it? (Dont overload though)
Have you any weight in the rear of the tow vehicle? Any passengers in the rear?
Think regs somewhere say between 350mm and 420mm (16 inches = 40.6cm)

 

[ProfJohnL]

Have you checked the nose weight of the van, if so are you anywhere near the limit?
Can you add some more weight to it? (Dont overload though)
Have you any weight in the rear of the tow vehicle? Any passengers in the rear?
Think regs somewhere say between 350mm and 420mm (16 inches = 40.6cm)

Hello Kev,
Yes the EU regulation declare that for domestic cars the loaded height of the tow ball should lie between 350 and 420 mm from the floor to the centre of the towball. But some 4x4's are deemed to be not domestic and the regulation does not apply to them.

It is simply a tradition that most caravanners prefer their outfit to tow level to nose down. The degree of nose up would have to be very marked to make any significant difference to the aerodynamic forces acting on the outfit.

 

[SmnByt]

Last time the nose weight was 85kg, the max nose weight for the car is 140kg.
there was usual camping bits and bobs in the rear of the car nothing drastic, no rear passengers.

It's a landrover freelander, I was wondering if I should get a drop plate?

Or first just play around with loading the van different ways as I'm new to all this

 

[gary]

I would say it depends on how much you consider slight?
Personally I like to see mine slightly nose down, levels ok but I would do something about nose up.

Reason is, I had a shed load of stability problems with first van originally designed for taller crossplys and sat 30mm lower on radials, frankly it towed like a drunken pig, especially downhill.
Once sorted and now a tad nose down, a dream to tow in any conditions and that with only a 60kg nose weight for what was an 18ft van!

 

[Sproket]

Load the back of the tug up with shopping, fill up with fuel & remeasure the height, the back end of mine goes down about 50mm when fully loaded 😉 The suspension has got to give and also remember that you will also have a max of 100kg on the tow ball from the hitch.

 

[SmnByt]

I shall give that a go

 

[ProfJohnL]

..................
Once sorted and now a tad nose down, a dream to tow in any conditions and that with only a 60kg nose weight for what was an 18ft van!

Hello Gary,
Can you conclusively state the improved towing is due to now towing nose down?

Note for SmnByt,
Under EU regulations you can only fit components for towing (such as tow bars and balls that are type approved for the vehicle. I'm not sure if Freelanders are allowed drop plates. if not it would be illegal.

 

[SmnByt]

Thank you for the heads up ProfJohnL