wobbly van

[angela999]

Hello there, can anyone advise? We have an 1989 Adria Tourer just home from a weekend away and noticed the van was very wobbly ! Have had a look at stablisers, can anyone tell me are they easy to fit and do you need a particular type.

Many thanks, Angela

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Angela

Was this your first trip with the Adria?

What's your weight ratio like?

Did you check your tyre pressures ( car and Adria) and nose weight?

A stabiliser doesn't cure an inherent problem , so it is best to sort the basics first.

Cheers

Alan

 

[angela999]

Hi Alan

this is my 5th trip it usualy handles better was not carring a lot of weight in the van or the car hand it was very easy to hook up was able to lift the caravan onto the towbar by hand as it is a very light van have not got a clue what the nose weight was the tyre pressures were correct for the car and van and my speed was under 60 mph

 

[audiorob]

Also check you side - side stowage. One of my most wobbly trips was when a fortnight's laundry was bagged up in the bottom of the wardrobe. Placing it central over the axle restored my confidence in a rock solid tow.

It's worth checking the noseweight with a dowel and bathroom scales to get an approximation. Adjust the front/back loading to meet the towball loading for your car.

 

[ColinA]

Was it windy angela. Also what type of roads were you driving on.

Colin.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Angela,

Mainly based on your comment that you could hand lift the caravan onto the tow ball, makes me very suspicious that the nose load was far too light.

The stability of an outfit is affected greatly if the nose load is insufficient, and the 'wobbling' could be symptomatic of that.

Do check you nose load and aim to have as close the maximum permitted.

We have had some strong winds over the last few days, again a light caravan may react more than fully load one.

If the nose load is ok, then you must look to other issues. Tyre pressures can be significant.

If all the normal 'consumer' checks seem to be ok, then I think it would be wise to have a caravan engineer check it over.

 

[Lutz]

As has already been suggested, the obviously very low noseweight is most likely to be the cause of its instability. Whereas UK 'vans often suffer from excessive noseweight, Continental caravans, like yours, often have inherently low noseweight when empty. Either way, you'll have to adjust to suit, if necessary, either by removing unnecessary weight up front (typically UK 'vans) or adding ballast ahead of the axle (typically Continental ones).

 

[COLIN_5095629]

it sounds like you didnot use a stabliser ,i did that only once on a 5 mile run, never again .last week on the a74 in strong winds my van was twichy ,without a stabliser i may have needed clean pants.as others have said the van should be loaded correctly as a stabliser can only do so much

 

[Pat_374304630]

Angela,

In answer to your question.Does your caravan have an al ko chassis,if so you can buy a combined hitch/stabliser which is relatively easy to fit.You would also need to change your towball.

If however its not an al ko chassis,then you can buy one where the main bracket fixes to the towball plate,you then attatch a small angle plate to the a frame( drilling the a frame is quite difficult,I've done it).The stabliser bar then slots into the bracket on the car and is then anchored into the bracket on the a frame.

However as previously stated loading the van correctly is critical.I hope that helps.

The latter can be bought second hand quite easily.

 

[Lutz]

One should NEVER drill the frame. Always use U-bolts to attach anything to the frame.