Came off one of my horse forums.
I have already suggested that its probably the tow bar height. But I wondered if any of you had any other suggestions. This is the post
I tow with my other half's Discovery van. He's a Land Rover nut who does a lot of off-roading so it's got all terrain tyres and a winch on the front. (I wonder if these might be relevant?)
When I tow my Ifor Williams 510 with it, normally with two big horses on it (about 1300 -1400kgs in total) if I go downhill, even a very slight slope at more than 50mph it starts to snake. I don't drive fast on the motorway and only go at 55mph to keep up with lorries to avoid them overtaking me as I think this keeps the traffic flowing better.
It's not snaking massively (It always stays within the lane I'm in) and I've always recovered it fairly quickly but it's very disconcerting and I'm beginning to lose faith with it. I've towed for many years without trouble and I'm always careful with tyre pressures on the trailer and the car (My other half is a traffic cop so is very hot on these things!) I've towed this trailer with other cars and other trailers with this car, but it seems to be a combination of this car and trailer that's causing the snaking. We've had the Discovery a year but I've not done much towing as my horse was on box rest for 6 months of the last year.
My OH is adamant there is nothing wrong with either his beloved Land Rover or the trailer and I'm being paranoid, but if I am, so is my passenger - we both know that it's happening!
I wonder if the big tyres, and the weight of the winch on the front is causing the back end and therefore the tow bar to be higher than it should be - lifting the front of the trailer too high and putting too much weight on the back axel of the trailer? It looks fairly level but it's all I can think of? The towbar is on its lowest setting, but it does seem higher than the one on my friend's disco.
Also after towing for about 45 minutes the ACE light comes on on the dashboard. It's been checked and the garage (landrover specialists) can't even find a reading on the computer to indicate the light's come on, let alone a fault. It always goes off if I turn off the engine and start again and then I have another 45minutes before it comes on.
I would normally ask my OH about these things as he's very knowledgeable being a traffic cop and land rover nut, but he's so dismissive when I try to tell him there's a problem and I'm sure there's something wrong. He's never with me when I have the horses on the trailer as he's allergic to them so he only has what I tell him to go on. I'm not a nervous driver and he knows that, but I'm getting nervous about towing on motorways now. Have you got any ideas what the problem could be?
I have wondered if it is just the weight of the horses but even with 1400kgs on a 1ton trailer, it should be well within the capabilities of the Discovery? I'm happy to drive more slowly if that's the answer (I now go down to 40 and 3rd gear at the top of a hill to avoid picking up speed, but I know this isn't really safe for a motorway!) and I don't want to ignore a serious problem if there is one. I appreciate it's difficult without seeing it but if you have any ideas about what I should be looking for, that would be a big help.
I have already suggested that its probably the tow bar height. But I wondered if any of you had any other suggestions. This is the post
I tow with my other half's Discovery van. He's a Land Rover nut who does a lot of off-roading so it's got all terrain tyres and a winch on the front. (I wonder if these might be relevant?)
When I tow my Ifor Williams 510 with it, normally with two big horses on it (about 1300 -1400kgs in total) if I go downhill, even a very slight slope at more than 50mph it starts to snake. I don't drive fast on the motorway and only go at 55mph to keep up with lorries to avoid them overtaking me as I think this keeps the traffic flowing better.
It's not snaking massively (It always stays within the lane I'm in) and I've always recovered it fairly quickly but it's very disconcerting and I'm beginning to lose faith with it. I've towed for many years without trouble and I'm always careful with tyre pressures on the trailer and the car (My other half is a traffic cop so is very hot on these things!) I've towed this trailer with other cars and other trailers with this car, but it seems to be a combination of this car and trailer that's causing the snaking. We've had the Discovery a year but I've not done much towing as my horse was on box rest for 6 months of the last year.
My OH is adamant there is nothing wrong with either his beloved Land Rover or the trailer and I'm being paranoid, but if I am, so is my passenger - we both know that it's happening!
I wonder if the big tyres, and the weight of the winch on the front is causing the back end and therefore the tow bar to be higher than it should be - lifting the front of the trailer too high and putting too much weight on the back axel of the trailer? It looks fairly level but it's all I can think of? The towbar is on its lowest setting, but it does seem higher than the one on my friend's disco.
Also after towing for about 45 minutes the ACE light comes on on the dashboard. It's been checked and the garage (landrover specialists) can't even find a reading on the computer to indicate the light's come on, let alone a fault. It always goes off if I turn off the engine and start again and then I have another 45minutes before it comes on.
I would normally ask my OH about these things as he's very knowledgeable being a traffic cop and land rover nut, but he's so dismissive when I try to tell him there's a problem and I'm sure there's something wrong. He's never with me when I have the horses on the trailer as he's allergic to them so he only has what I tell him to go on. I'm not a nervous driver and he knows that, but I'm getting nervous about towing on motorways now. Have you got any ideas what the problem could be?
I have wondered if it is just the weight of the horses but even with 1400kgs on a 1ton trailer, it should be well within the capabilities of the Discovery? I'm happy to drive more slowly if that's the answer (I now go down to 40 and 3rd gear at the top of a hill to avoid picking up speed, but I know this isn't really safe for a motorway!) and I don't want to ignore a serious problem if there is one. I appreciate it's difficult without seeing it but if you have any ideas about what I should be looking for, that would be a big help.
