Towing caravan uncomfortable - advice needed please.

[Wayne_374583296]

Hi,

I am brand new to towing a caravan and at the moment I'm towing it empty back and forth to my storage facility.

I have a Honda Accord saloon, 2.0 petrol. My caravan is an Elddis Hurricane 2 berth, weighing in at 975 unladen and 1100 MTPLM. My cars kerbweight is around 1450 and currently have no stabiliser fitted.

At the moment when towing, on a flat the car tows fine. But it's when you go over an uneven surface, or country road the car seems to bounce up and down over the rear end, quite uncomfortable at times. I've heard this referred to as "pitching" but unsure. It sort of feels like the car is being snagged back slightly when this happens.

I have the car tyres inflated to correct pressure for towing and the caravans tyres the same at 50 PSI. (sYs in the manual).

Is this normal with an empty van? I literally have an empty gas bottle and leisure battery over the nose. I did wonder if my cars suspension may be the issue as it's the Type-S accord with firmer suspension?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Philspadders]

when towing your car will feel different and bounce at the back end but without a stabiliser it will pitch more. Your car goes over a bump , then the van and the back end goes up and down and rolls and bounces. It can feel like your on a white water adventure, and just wait till you hit the speed bumps.

Also most vans suspension relies on the tyres and rubber bands on a trailing arm affair. There are no shock absorbers (although most new vans come with shockers).

Get a stabiliser, if you dont want to spend hundreds on a hitch stabiliser get a leafspring and friction disc type such as bulldog or scott, they are vry easy to fit and you will see a marked difference. The stabiliser will also make your towing safer but your van should also be well balanced.

 

[RickStevens]

I still consider myself to be new and inexperienced at towing, having only owned a caravan for a year. One of the first things I noticed when I started towing, is that every movement (I mean bumps, uneven surfaces etc) seem to be hugely amplified through the car when you have the caravan on the back.

For the first few times I towed, I found really uncomfortable, and it made me quite nervous.

You mentioned you've just been towing it to and from your storage, can I assume that its only a reasonably short journey?

I used to be really nervous towing for about the first 15 - 20 minutes of a journey, and then I seemed to get used to the extra sensations that towing a caravan generated. If you feel like you're on a roller coaster on certain roads due to uneven surfaces etc, just slow down a little and it may ease off a bit. You really need to play things by ear.

I've found that you start to adopt a different driving style when you're towing (anticipating the state of the roads, braking earlier etc) , I now quite like having a sort of amplified sensation, it reminds you that theres a bloody great lump directly behind you.

cheers

Rick

 

[Wayne_374583296]

Cheers guys!

Yeah it's only a 6 mile journey to and from the storage place.

I bought the van on eBay as our first, and towed it home 150 miles. On the motorway it was nice and calm, didn't really get any snaking either which surprised me, but as soon as I got it onto an A or B road and bumps/uneven surfaces were involved it felt like I had an elephant step onto my boot a few times.

I'm assuming with the nose weighed correctly and a few bits in the boot it may reduce the sensation too?

In regards to the stabiliser, I shall get myself the bar type, the Alko hitch won't fit onto my detach bar anyhow.

Thanks for the advice guys!

 

[TD42]

Hi Wayne,If you are towing empty,& only yourself in the car & your car has sports suspension I would suggest that there is no need to increase the tyre pressures.your are only adding 75kg to the load in the car if the nose weight on the van is set right(assuming car noseweight allowance is 75Kg)

Ther must be a problem with your tow ball if the ALKO stabilizer hitch will not fit.All tow balls are the same IE 50mm

& if yours is a detachable (swanneck type) you do not need an ALKO tow ball even

I'm assuming from your last post that the van has a stabilizer hitch allready??

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Wayne

As this is a new to you but second hand caravan are you sure it has been fully serviced in the last 12 months. Apart from servicing the running gear it is prudent imo to have the habitation items checked.

What year is the Hurricane.

I thought they used BPW chassis not AL-KO? If that is the case then you should be looking at the BPW stabiliser.

Loading is absolutely crucial to a safe tow . Plenty of how to load and set correct noseweights on this forum and indeed on the Caravan Club web site.

Have lots of fun.

Cheers

Dustydog

 

[JohnandNic]

Hi Wayne

As an inexperienced tower myself, about 12 trips, in the last year, I've found the van more skittish the less weight it;s carrying. We never put lots in the van but when moving it almost empty it feels less stable.

Just my feelin I'm sure some of the more exerienced here will have more helpful comments

enjoy

John and nic

 

[Philspadders]

"Ther must be a problem with your tow ball if the ALKO stabilizer hitch will not fit.All tow balls are the same IE 50mm"

This is NOT totally correct. The alko stabiliser hitch is designed to fit a 50mm dia ball but the design of the hitch is such that there needs to be extra clearance below the ball to allow the stabiliser to operate correctly.

Do NOT fit just any 50mm ball, fit one specifically designed to be used with the alko stabiliser.

A bar type stabiliser is cheap and just as effective than a built in hitch one but without the price tag.

 

[TD42]

"Ther must be a problem with your tow ball if the ALKO stabilizer hitch will not fit.All tow balls are the same IE 50mm"

This is NOT totally correct. The alko stabiliser hitch is designed to fit a 50mm dia ball but the design of the hitch is such that there needs to be extra clearance below the ball to allow the stabiliser to operate correctly.

Do NOT fit just any 50mm ball, fit one specifically designed to be used with the alko stabiliser.

A bar type stabiliser is cheap and just as effective than a built in hitch one but without the price tag.

You are correct phil but in waynes 2nd post he mentions his "detach bar" so I assume he meant a swanneck,which is 50mm & can be used with an ALKO or any other tow hitch (apart from pin & eye)

 

[Bannedtom]

Hi Wayne

There are no specifically designed towballs for the Alko stabiliser nor are there any towballs for the Winterhoff hitch.

So long as your towball is 50mm +/- 0.4mm then the stabiliser hitch will fit. Please also ensure that there is no grease or rust on the towball.

If you fit a standard height ball the stabiliser hitch will foul on the shoulder of the towball, there must be a minimum depth of 60mm from the centre of the ball to base of the neck.

Hope this helps

 

[Mel]

Sorry if I missed this Wayne, but have you checked the noseweight? Just because the van is empty doesn't mean the noseweight is OK. Some vans are nose heavy when empty or may be too light. Check the noseweight if you haven't already.

mel

 

[linda_374579170]

caravans r designed to have weight in them my hubby who has towed for over 25 yrs and works in the caravan industry always says a caravan towes best when loaded than empty

 

[Andrew23]

Hi Wayne

There are no specifically designed towballs for the Alko stabiliser nor are there any towballs for the Winterhoff hitch.

So long as your towball is 50mm +/- 0.4mm then the stabiliser hitch will fit. Please also ensure that there is no grease or rust on the towball.

If you fit a standard height ball the stabiliser hitch will foul on the shoulder of the towball, there must be a minimum depth of 60mm from the centre of the ball to base of the neck.

Hope this helps

Hi Tom,

Sorry but there are specific towballs for the Alko hitch. You can buy them at accessory shops (last one I bought was over

 

[Philspadders]

Hi Tom,

Sorry but there are specific towballs for the Alko hitch. You can buy them at accessory shops (last one I bought was over

 

[Andrew23]

Andrew, the distance between the stabiliser has no bearing on this really.

The tow ball must be desgigned to suit the alko stabiliser, and if you compare the tow hitch to a standard one you will notice that the shank under the ball is smaller in dia on the alko than on the std ball.

This is to allow the alko to move without the head hitting the shank of the tow ball bracket.

Hi Philspadders,

I know the shank is narrower so the Alko head can work properly. I was told that they also need more clearance from the bumper. If that's not the case then that's fine. My original point is that there are towballs sold specifically for AlKo hitch stabilisers.

Cheers.

Andrew.