Towing biggish stuff.

[Samro]

Here is a pic taken today of my new T32 coupled up to our family caravan. I'm thinking that I need to review the height that the rear end is set at?
This is a shame because the KW V1 coil overs look perfect when not towing.
I am no stranger to towing and have towed tens of thousands of miles with the trusty Disco 4 and obviously expected the T6 to be severely less capable. Whilst the T6 is obviously not going to replace the might of the Discovery 4, I am gobsmacked at how capable the T6 proved to be, even with the suspension set up all wrong! The low end grunt of a 204 PS unit, that relies on its turbos for the grunt, is incredible and it is a surprise that there is so much pull as low rpm. (I did however quickly realise that "Tow Asssist" is a pointless gimmick, which I could do without!)

The reason for the post is to ask others that tow, how much they would worry about the look of the van. As I say, it handed pretty well and I'll be annoyed to lose the sporty low look that @BognorMotors achieved with the original set-up?

 

[Salty Spuds]

Have you checked the nose weight of the tintent?

 

[airhoguk]

We tow a Adria Tiber which is a single axle but similar weight to yours I think. Ours is a T32 lowered 40mm with a camper conversion and with 100kg on the nose we are level. Usually twin axles in my experience aren’t that far down on the nose but will also depend on how low your rear is normally and whether the towing hitch is pulling the front of the caravan down to engage the hitch correctly

 

[Samro]

Have you checked the nose weight of the tintent?

Yes. It is 104 kg and the van is loaded as much as poss at the rear! Can't reduce it much more!

 

[Samro]

Yes. It is 104 kg and the van is loaded as much as poss at the rear! Can't reduce it much more!

Thanks for your comments. Yes, our caravans are similar in size and it sounds like your ride height is better suited to towing.
I know that the new van was set up (at my request) to be low as possible for it to be well under height limits for local car parks, ferries, etc, but I'm now not sure if it is too low.
The point is that it handles fine and from the drivers seat i'm happy, but should I worry that it looks wrong?

 

[airhoguk]

If it’s handling okay then it will be fine. We’ve had a couple of twin axles and have all towed well. Just be careful on sites or anywhere there are speed humps as your jockey wheel is quite low and could clip the ramp.

 

[JOG]

Pic in field is van and caravan absolutely loaded to the max (and then a bit more) for a fortnight in Cornwall! Other pic is with a light load. Suspension set-up is the work of @CRS Performance - the van is our everyday family car, so we wanted to lose the crashy ride at the rear and wallowing on roundabouts. I had explained to Steve what sort of towing we did!

 

[Samro]

Pic in field is van and caravan absolutely loaded to the max (and then a bit more) for a fortnight in Cornwall! Other pic is with a light load. Suspension set-up is the work of @CRS Performance - the van is our everyday family car, so we wanted to lose the crashy ride at the rear and wallowing on roundabouts. I had explained to Steve what sort of towing we did!

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Hmm! I think I need to raise the rear 20mm-25mm.
The original photo was taken without being heavily loaded at all. Both gas cylinders are empty and just the normal inventory in the van.
I could add a load of weight in a heartbeat and most of that would be in the back of the van and not caravan.
Thinking a trip to my new mate @BognorMotors is on the cards!
Doesn't look so bad at a bit of an angle mind:

 

[Insert Coin]

I’ve got an Adria too, it’s a Missouri, single axle, but pretty much same weight and length.

My van is a T32 Kombi on B14’s with ride height at max, but they are still 50mm+ lower than standard.

100kg is max nose weight on a T6, assume 6.1 is the same, it’s also 100kg on the Westfalia removable tow bar.

Purely by luck, my tow hitch and coupling are at the exact same height, so when I drop the caravan onto the tow ball my backend doesn’t drop at all and the caravan is almost perfectly level.

Adria’s with ATC tow like a dream, I get a little bit of see-saw due to the single axle, but in crosswinds it’s rock solid.

 

[JOG]

I’ve got an Adria too, it’s a Missouri, single axle, but pretty much same weight and length.

My van is a T32 Kombi on B14’s with ride height at max, but they are still 50mm+ lower than standard.

100kg is max nose weight on a T6, assume 6.1 is the same, it’s also 100kg on the Westfalia removable tow bar.

Purely by luck, my tow hitch and coupling are at the exact same height, so when I drop the caravan onto the tow ball my backend doesn’t drop at all and the caravan is almost perfectly level.

Adria’s with ATC tow like a dream, I get a little bit of see-saw due to the single axle, but in crosswinds it’s rock solid.

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You could run a ruler across that the levels are so good. Other than the usual “bounciness” of a single axle, that looks like hassle-free towing!

Hmm! I think I need to raise the rear 20mm-25mm.
The original photo was taken without being heavily loaded at all. Both gas cylinders are empty and just the normal inventory in the van.
I could add a load of weight in a heartbeat and most of that would be in the back of the van and not caravan.
Thinking a trip to my new mate @BognorMotors is on the cards!
Doesn't look so bad at a bit of an angle mind:

View attachment 136759

And if you squint, you can’t see it at all!!!

I’ll get my coat!

 

[Firthster]

are you not abit nose heavy at 103kg?
I've always run ours at 75kg nose weight and tows lovly previous car (ford edge)
i honestly think you would look low at the back without the caravan on, as 100 kg nose weight is nothing to the payload only my 2p worth

 

[Samro]

are you not abit nose heavy at 103kg?
I've always run ours at 75kg nose weight and tows lovly previous car (ford edge)
i honestly think you would look low at the back without the caravan on, as 100 kg nose weight is nothing to the payload only my 2p worth

The 104kg referred to caused by the gas. When full, I carry 2 x 11 kg Glaslow bottles which when full add 22 kg to the nose weight when full.
(104kg is the absolute maximum and this reduces to 82kg when empty.)

We do have a nose weight of 104KG when full of gas and off for our annual "4 week European Summer Tour"! (This is with as much stuff as possible loaded in the rear of the van.)

That photo is taken with a nose weight of 82kg.

 

[Firthster]

2x11 22kg you must have some gear in the front locker for another 80kg to the nose weight,
im not trying to tell you how to suck eggs,
i move the awning about in the van to achieve the nose weight im after,
for me over 100kg nose weight is too much for the towball,
i always thought 85kg was max??

 

[dubber36]

I'm not keen on shifting the heavy items too far back to lighten the nose weight. That's when you can end up with the pendulum effect. When we towed a caravan with the Amarok, all the heavy stuff went in the bed of the truck, leaving the caravan as light as possible. Loading the heavy items in front of the vans rear axle might help.

 

[Samro]

2x11 22kg you must have some gear in the front locker for another 80kg to the nose weight,
im not trying to tell you how to suck eggs,
i move the awning about in the van to achieve the nose weight im after,
for me over 100kg nose weight is too much for the towball,
i always thought 85kg was max??

Reading this I am wondering if the gauge that I used is remotely accurate. (It is very heavy though, not least because we carry two awnings and the larger one lives in a locker at the front of the van as this is the only space suitable.) We try to keep all of the beds and floors clear when doing long distance tours with overnight stops as it makes overnight stops so much easier,. (Family of 5)
Also, carrying two batteries doesn't help, but I have never cared too much, due to having a mighty towing vehicle specifically selected for the job of towing stuff way heavier than the caravan.
I will check the weights when I next see the caravan (Its now in storage)

I have today measured how low my unladen van is. The measurement from the centre of the wheel to the top of the arches are 395mm at the front and 385mm at the rear.
I think i am right in saying that the van has been lowered between 70-85mm, which seems a lot. (But hey it looks awesome and drives great!) On the basis that the van drove great when i towed yesterday, my main issue are ground clearance on the jockey wheel and the fact that it just looks wrong!

If i would gain 30 mm on the ball height I'd be happy. The one fitted is factory fit removable, made by Westfalia I think. I wondered if i could find a new tow bar with a higher ball?

 

[Firthster]

cant agree more regards stuff at the back of the van.
i ment more over the axel than at the back.

 

[Rompa]

Here is our T6 with 80kg noseweight, 3050kg +2200kg. Lowered with H&R springs.

 

[Firthster]

totally agree with keeping the van clear inside, i put our awning under the double bed,
but im hoping everything goes in the boot so to speek,
disco 4s are great but just think you wont be thinking is it going to go pop.
i do think you need to lift it a tad for the caravan,

 

[Firthster]

Rompa that looks perfect how low are you regards lowering? im thinking 50mm

 

[Samro]

cant agree more regards stuff at the back of the van.
i ment more over the axel than at the back.

The joys of traveling with 3 girls and the wife means that all lockers are full to capacity when we are in full tour mode.

If I could load their clothes and general paraphernalia over the axles i may get that nose weight down! I could move the awning, but i don't think that this will make much difference as I think my tow will still look odd, as the compression on the rear suspension in the photo is probably less than you think. I think I just need to check the nose weight and a higher tow ball!