Towing stability

[paul_5062156]

There is an article in Aprils edition of Practical caravan re - test on a Coachman Amara which states that the van was unstable when towing behind a focus c-max and a shogun 3.2.

I will be picking my new amara up 2/4/05 and am concerned about the towing ability of this van.

I would appreciate any comments from anyone who tows this van.

I currently own a Rialto 550/4 1999 and have had no problems towing with any of the cars that I have used.Currently I am towing with a Vauxhall Signim 2.2 DTI which should tow this van comfortably.

 

[Roz_5041467]

Like you, I also read the article and share your concerns. We are due to pick up our new Amara 450/2 on the 7th of April from Glossop Caravans.

We have changed our tow car to a VW Passat estate to account for the extra weight required. Now I am concerned that even this will not be enough.

I shall watch this space for further responses but in the meantime perhaps you could post your experience Paul after you have picked up on the 2nd. Sorry to use you as a guinea pig but I would be very interested in your comments. Good luck, Roz

 

[paul_5062156]

Hi Roz

I would like to reply with utmost delight at the way in which our new Coachman Amara towed(even empty).We took the long route home and there was little if any pitching and no swaying at all.

It is a weight off our minds and I am sure that when correctly loaded the van will still tow great.

Our vauxhall Signum 2.2 Dti is a perfect match and still felt great even with a heavier van on the rear.

We hope that you are as pleased with yours as we are with ours.

Paul & Suzanne Scales

Durham

 

[Roz_5041467]

HI Paul, I have been watching this space carefully to see how you got on and I am so releived. I ordered the van from the Manchester show in January and haven't seen it since. I keep looking at the booklet longingly and can't wait til Friday to pick it up. I am greatly releived, thanks. Best wishes, Roz

 

[paul_5062156]

Hi Roz

The only thing of concern that I have found is that there does not appear to be a water filter on the van.Apparently it does not need one but I still have reservations about the quality of taps on site and the possibility of particles etc getting through.

You may want to query this with your dealer.

The workmanship on the van is superb and it is a relief to know

that the van's appliances had been factory and dealer tested before pick up.

Regards

Paul

ps I like battery connectors - no more socket sets to put battery on/off !!

 

[Icemaker]

PAUL, i think the artical related to the amara 520/4, i had a 2002 pastich 520/4 and this van was an absolute nightmare when towed behind my landrover discovery. we contacted the ever helpfull trever baxter at coachman and he adviced me check my loadings and weights, we did this and found them all to be well within limits, we later found out that the tyre pressure had to be absolutely correct at 52psi, this corrected a good deal of the instability but the van still swayed alarmingly on occasions. we only kept the van 12 months and changed to a coachman vip520/4 and unbelievably we immediately had the same problems. since this was the second van to show this we decided it must be the discovery so we changed it for a ford galaxy, our first trip out was with the van empty so we had no loading problems but the van still was very unstable. we where now convinced that the vans where too long and heavy for a single axle and changed to a coachman laser 590/4 still with the galaxy and this van tows like a dream, no problems what so ever. you would have thought that my parents would have learnt from our problems but they changed theire coachman 460 vip 2 berth which towed very well to a pastich 530/4 just six month ago and guess what, it wags like a dogs tail behind theire rover 75 tourer. its such a shame since i firmly believe that coachman make the best vans you can buy, but i stand by my belief that they are just too long and heavy for a single axle.

 

[Roz_5041467]

PAUL, i think the artical related to the amara 520/4, i had a 2002 pastich 520/4 and this van was an absolute nightmare when towed behind my landrover discovery. we contacted the ever helpfull trever baxter at coachman and he adviced me check my loadings and weights, we did this and found them all to be well within limits, we later found out that the tyre pressure had to be absolutely correct at 52psi, this corrected a good deal of the instability but the van still swayed alarmingly on occasions. we only kept the van 12 months and changed to a coachman vip520/4 and unbelievably we immediately had the same problems. since this was the second van to show this we decided it must be the discovery so we changed it for a ford galaxy, our first trip out was with the van empty so we had no loading problems but the van still was very unstable. we where now convinced that the vans where too long and heavy for a single axle and changed to a coachman laser 590/4 still with the galaxy and this van tows like a dream, no problems what so ever. you would have thought that my parents would have learnt from our problems but they changed theire coachman 460 vip 2 berth which towed very well to a pastich 530/4 just six month ago and guess what, it wags like a dogs tail behind theire rover 75 tourer. its such a shame since i firmly believe that coachman make the best vans you can buy, but i stand by my belief that they are just too long and heavy for a single axle.

That's really interesting. Have you put this point of view to Coachman? I agree that this was the best van we saw at this price and we are delighted with it. Very glad however, that after reading of your concerns (and others) that we didn't go for the bigger van. Roz

 

[Icemaker]

PAUL, i think the artical related to the amara 520/4, i had a 2002 pastich 520/4 and this van was an absolute nightmare when towed behind my landrover discovery. we contacted the ever helpfull trever baxter at coachman and he adviced me check my loadings and weights, we did this and found them all to be well within limits, we later found out that the tyre pressure had to be absolutely correct at 52psi, this corrected a good deal of the instability but the van still swayed alarmingly on occasions. we only kept the van 12 months and changed to a coachman vip520/4 and unbelievably we immediately had the same problems. since this was the second van to show this we decided it must be the discovery so we changed it for a ford galaxy, our first trip out was with the van empty so we had no loading problems but the van still was very unstable. we where now convinced that the vans where too long and heavy for a single axle and changed to a coachman laser 590/4 still with the galaxy and this van tows like a dream, no problems what so ever. you would have thought that my parents would have learnt from our problems but they changed theire coachman 460 vip 2 berth which towed very well to a pastich 530/4 just six month ago and guess what, it wags like a dogs tail behind theire rover 75 tourer. its such a shame since i firmly believe that coachman make the best vans you can buy, but i stand by my belief that they are just too long and heavy for a single axle.

HI ROZ, yes i did contact coachman on a number of occasions but they insisted that the problems where down to loading etc. it is a real shame as we really like the coachman vans but we could not live with the constant worry of when the van was going to start misbehaving again. we have in the last two weeks taken the decision to sell our laser 590/4 as we have found it offers no benefit to us over the single axle pastiche520/4 (apart from stability)and we can not justify towing something so heavy when we do not need to. maybee coachman should consider removing the airconditioning which we have never used in this country to save some weight. i firmly believe you will not find a better built van than coachman and in one years time i'm confident that i will be able to return to this forum and tell everyone that i was right and my good lady and children where wrong in convincing me to change to an ace. or will i be eating humble pie??.

 

[Lutz]

A single axle caravan need not necessarily be unstable just because of its size or weight. If it doesn't have shock absorbers already, I would expect a significant improvement if they were fitted. Other reasons for poor stability could be a big difference in weight distribution between left and right hand side or unsuitable tyres with insufficient sidewall stiffness. It's unlikely that the chassis itself is to blame because most caravan manufacturers use proprietary chassis from Alko, BPW, etc. which have been tested and proved many times over.

 

[paul_5062156]

Thanks for your comments on towing stability lutz .I think you are right about the chassis i think it is all down to way you load your van

Thanks Paul

 

[Icemaker]

LUTZ, Whilst i understand what you have said both of my vans the pastiche and the vip whre bought new and both where sold within twelve months of being new so both had the manufacturers tyres fitted and both had alko hitch head stabilisers. the other van belonging to my parents is just 6 month old so again tyres are not a problem. as i stated above the vans where also unstable when empty so loading was not an issue, we are extremely carefull with weights and correct loading and have all been on the club towing course. it is a topic that comes up regularely on site with other coachman 520 or 530 owners and indeed with some owners of other vans of this length that only have one axle. It would appear very strange that as soon as i changed to a laser which is not too much longer than the pastiche 520/4 the problems disappeared completely, same equipment in the van same loading technique, only difference being this van has two axles to carry the weight. i have nothing against coachman having owned the three vans i mention and would not consider any other van if i had not had these problems. we have decided to swap our laser as we just can not justify swapping back to a 4x4 to get a good match (it is about 97% on my galaxy)the car and van tow very well but it is a lot of weight for not a lot more space. we are getting a glossop caravans ace celebration 590, its 2 foot longer 2inches wider and 200 kg lighter than the laser and becouse its new this year almost as well speced as the laser.

 

[paul_5062156]

Hi John, Phoned T baxter at coachman it went something like this.

after intros and details of van purchase i asked about van stability whilst towing ,amara,pastiche,vip,520,530/4,s back came his reply, to his and coachmans knowledge no problems with the above mentioned vans.Only to go on and say they had some problems with the twin axle models ref-told owners they must have the correct nose weight.

I just wonder how many coachman owners are out there having the same problems with stability.At the end of the day john it looks like i will have to suck it and see with my amara.If their are anymore coachman owners out there your comments will be more than welcome

Regards Paul

 

[woodbush]

i had amara 520/4 last year worst tower i ever had, quite frightening.

we use to empty all the upper lockers and place in boxes on the floor. all clothes out of the wardrobe and in clothes bags on the floor and this helped. needless to say i changed the van.

i tow with a 2002 shogun and check noseweight before every journey but i hated towing the amara. i now have a 2004 swift challenger, same size as the amara, but you wouldnt know the van was attached

 

[RayS]

Having some trouble understanding the problems with Coachman vans. I've had two - both Pastiche 520s - and not a moments trouble and no stabiliser on either. The coachman vans tend to be a bit heavier than some of the rivals so you need to watch the weights and towcar weights perhaps a bit more carefully.

Get the noseweight as high as you can within the limits of hitch and towcar, but in anycase make sure it's at least 5% of van fully laden weight ( and be honest about what you put in - I suspect many vans are a bit OTT in this repect )

"Marginal" combinations are always likely to be trouble sooner or later - an inconsiderate HGV or coach cutting you up on a windy day, for instance, so do the sums, load sensibly and all should be well.

 

[RayS]

PAUL, i think the artical related to the amara 520/4, i had a 2002 pastich 520/4 and this van was an absolute nightmare when towed behind my landrover discovery. we contacted the ever helpfull trever baxter at coachman and he adviced me check my loadings and weights, we did this and found them all to be well within limits, we later found out that the tyre pressure had to be absolutely correct at 52psi, this corrected a good deal of the instability but the van still swayed alarmingly on occasions. we only kept the van 12 months and changed to a coachman vip520/4 and unbelievably we immediately had the same problems. since this was the second van to show this we decided it must be the discovery so we changed it for a ford galaxy, our first trip out was with the van empty so we had no loading problems but the van still was very unstable. we where now convinced that the vans where too long and heavy for a single axle and changed to a coachman laser 590/4 still with the galaxy and this van tows like a dream, no problems what so ever. you would have thought that my parents would have learnt from our problems but they changed theire coachman 460 vip 2 berth which towed very well to a pastich 530/4 just six month ago and guess what, it wags like a dogs tail behind theire rover 75 tourer. its such a shame since i firmly believe that coachman make the best vans you can buy, but i stand by my belief that they are just too long and heavy for a single axle.

You quote tyre pressue at 52 psi. On my Pastiche 520, it quotes 4 bar and the servicing dealer has recently advised this should be increadsed to 4.2 bar or around 65 psi.

As posted elsewhere I have never had a moments trouble with two Pasiche 520/4s using discovery tdi and merc. 270 cdi to tow.

Suggest you also check tyres - some Coachman were fitten with Hankook which have a dubious record - some deforming and failing as soon as 2000 miles.

 

[Icemaker]

You quote tyre pressue at 52 psi. On my Pastiche 520, it quotes 4 bar and the servicing dealer has recently advised this should be increadsed to 4.2 bar or around 65 psi.

As posted elsewhere I have never had a moments trouble with two Pasiche 520/4s using discovery tdi and merc. 270 cdi to tow.

Suggest you also check tyres - some Coachman were fitten with Hankook which have a dubious record - some deforming and failing as soon as 2000 miles.

HELLO RAY, i sold the pastiche 18 month ago and the vip 6 month ago and bought a laser, i do remember the pastiche did have hancook tyres but i still have a copy of the hand book and it does state that the pressure should be 52 psi, this van was a 2002. my vip 520 was a 2003 model and although i no longer have the van or hand book i clearly remember the tyre pressure being 58 psi which is 6 psi higher than the pastich but i must admit the hand book was a photo copy as glossop caravans had lost the original, (the van was a demonstrater. maybee coachman have been steadily raising the pressure to cope with the heavier weights ?. believe it or not my laser which i have just sold had a recommended tyre pressure of 31 psi not far of half of the vip and the laser towed absolutely perfectely. i would have stayed with coachman for the rest of my caravanning life but the rest of the family want a change from the layouts that coachman offer so i have had to give in and buy an ace. i'm sure i can convince the family that this is a mistake over the next year and get myself another laser next year.

 

[paul_5062156]

Hi Ray just had a good weekend away up in sunny northumberland.

My coachman amara 520/4 towed like a dream pretty much fully laden ,tried out new awning apache 960 torino.Slightly apprehensive when we set of on friday ,checked nose weight 78kg ,tyre pressures 62psi,and sensibly loaded the van,there and back with no problems encountered.

You mentioned in your last post on this subject about the Hancook tyres- have you or anyone you know experienced problems with this tyre.

My van being an 04 is fitted with these tyres(something else to worry about!!!)Can only think if there was a problem - would Coachman fit these tyres to this van ?

Would appreciate any comments.

p.s spoke to people on site this weekend who have owned and still own Coachman vans and they had no problems to report - only rave reviews on the quality of their vans.

I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to my enquiries on towing stability and am quite happy with my new van and its towing ability(until Ray mentioned the tyres !!).

p.p.s Hi Roz - hope everything is going ok with you.

Paul

 

[paul_5062156]

P.P.S read June edition of p/c focus c/max coachman amara

do you think coachman have been kicking ass,totally different

to last months article.Sorry to go on about this but these are the articles that people possibly spend thousands of pounds on whether it be car or caravan and I just wonder whether the writers or testers are experienced enough before putting pen to paper to pass comment.

I hope that this does not offend anybody but I felt I had to get it off my chest because if I had read May's article on the Amara I would not have bought one there being a sale lost for Coachman.

This is why I started the debate off on towing stability because I had bought one and it crossed my mind to lose my

 

[Roz_5041467]

P.P.S read June edition of p/c focus c/max coachman amara

do you think coachman have been kicking ass,totally different

to last months article.Sorry to go on about this but these are the articles that people possibly spend thousands of pounds on whether it be car or caravan and I just wonder whether the writers or testers are experienced enough before putting pen to paper to pass comment.

I hope that this does not offend anybody but I felt I had to get it off my chest because if I had read May's article on the Amara I would not have bought one there being a sale lost for Coachman.

This is why I started the debate off on towing stability because I had bought one and it crossed my mind to lose my

 

[Roz_5041467]

Hi Ray just had a good weekend away up in sunny northumberland.

My coachman amara 520/4 towed like a dream pretty much fully laden ,tried out new awning apache 960 torino.Slightly apprehensive when we set of on friday ,checked nose weight 78kg ,tyre pressures 62psi,and sensibly loaded the van,there and back with no problems encountered.

You mentioned in your last post on this subject about the Hancook tyres- have you or anyone you know experienced problems with this tyre.

My van being an 04 is fitted with these tyres(something else to worry about!!!)Can only think if there was a problem - would Coachman fit these tyres to this van ?

Would appreciate any comments.

p.s spoke to people on site this weekend who have owned and still own Coachman vans and they had no problems to report - only rave reviews on the quality of their vans.

I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to my enquiries on towing stability and am quite happy with my new van and its towing ability(until Ray mentioned the tyres !!).

p.p.s Hi Roz - hope everything is going ok with you.

Paul

HI Paul, having a great time with the Amara. We have been out virtually every weekend since beginning of May and we are not experiencing any problems with towing stability. Our VW Passat tows it beautifully and even in relatively high winds and being passed by juggernauts, there is hardly a wobble.

We travelled to Caravan Club National Rally at Burghley Park last weekend and bought out all the trade stands so we were a bit worried on the way back as we had a fully laden car (three grandchildren) and van. Still no problem. Will not become complacent however, we will continue to load carefully, watch weight and keep within speed limits. I am trying to persuade hubby to go away this weekend but after he finally agreed, I found I had a load of work commitments so will have to wait for the weekend after! Roz