Disco 2 TOWING ON AIR SPRINGS

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johnlad

Well-Known Member
Posts
5,560
Location
Blackpool
How many of you tow using the standard set up, rear air springs (no ace) and does it feel ok?
Reason I ask is mine feels unstable 30-50mph, and above that dangerous.
It feels as though the car is see-sawing, as though the air bags are inflating and deflating all the time, is that possible.

Its on new air bags, which stay inflated for days without use so no leaks, checked system using soapy water no leaks either., new ride height sensors.
new bushes and linkages all round, new shocks, new steering box etc,
Im at the point of ditching the air for conventional springs unless anyone can shed some light
 
what kind of trailer , ive a customer who tows a large 4 wheel trailer he had to fit a dixon-bate shocklink,its ok with
Its a twin wheel caravan, ive set nose weight correctly infact ive tried all sorts of nose weight permitations it makes no difference and caravan has anti snake hitch fitted
 
i dont know if what he found is similar to yours but he found trailer been 4 wheel ,at times supported the rear of truck and at times air was released to maintain ride height but system is no where near fast enough to repressurise db shocklink cured it
 
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Sound to me like the trailer i tow big trailers and caravans, i reach 70 now and then, dont even know they are on the back.
My Ifor twin has no anti snake, thats around 2 1/2 ton all up loaded never had a twitch.
But i did many years load a twin axle wrong and got into a very dangerous snake on A 38 with a 90 Defender i was very lucky not to end up inverted
Are you sure the motor is 100% ok
 
My mate borrowed my ifor flat bed and had the same issue, it was snaking but I think he had to much nose weight as he said he put the disco all the way to the front,

What's the hitch hight like? Does the caravan sit level?

What weight is in the disco? My transit van feels to bounce with the caravan on and my tools ect in as the van is fully loaded and on the max train weight with the caravan on aswell, only over bumps tho cruising down the motoway it's smooth as,
 
Sound to me like the trailer i tow big trailers and caravans, i reach 70 now and then, dont even know they are on the back.
My Ifor twin has no anti snake, thats around 2 1/2 ton all up loaded never had a twitch.
But i did many years load a twin axle wrong and got into a very dangerous snake on A 38 with a 90 Defender i was very lucky not to end up inverted
Are you sure the motor is 100% ok
I tow my ifor nearly every week, never had a problem empty of very full, my mates borrow it and have assorted of problems but I think it's how they have loaded it,

My dad loaded it 6" further back and it towed like a ****, my mates trailer the suspention units worn out and again it tows like a ****
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not talking of it snaking, it doesnt snake, it lifts front to back like a see saw,.
Disco is probably around 2.5 ton. Ive tried all different hitch heights, none make any difference, Im thinking its the air springs
 
not talking of it snaking, it doesnt snake, it lifts front to back like a see saw,.
Disco is probably around 2.5 ton. Ive tried all different hitch heights, none make any difference, Im thinking its the air springs
thats what mateys issue was,shocklink helped
 
mine has air no ace, i tow ifor williams 8ft tipper and a 14 ft flat, no way as good as my last discovery which had springs and ace,
but as i don't tow that far or regular with it i can live with it, but for a long way or regular i would have to change something!
so the answer is your right and not alone, keep us posted!
 
IMO would be a shame to convert to coils cos the dampers are not making theyr's jobs, the front springs are too soft or the air springs are old, or who knows what else, SLS was specially engineered to help when towing.... btw how old are the air springs, the front aprings and what kind of dampers do you have(i hope not terrafirma cos then IMO those are the problem)... the SLS will relevel after you hooked the trailer/caravan then it will not inflate/deflate on the road due to movements without additional load cos it's made to act with a certain delay to avoid that
 
IMO would be a shame to convert to coils cos the dampers are not making theyr's jobs, the front springs are too soft or the air springs are old, or who knows what else, SLS was specially engineered to help when towing.... btw how old are the air springs, the front aprings and what kind of dampers do you have(i hope not terrafirma cos then IMO those are the problem)... the SLS will relevel after you hooked the trailer/caravan then it will not inflate/deflate on the road due to movements without additional load cos it's made to act with a certain delay to avoid that
Jonlads springs are new as mine are 12months old, do you go on facts or are a daily tow'er. this is where it is noted the most! use!

ps, My Toyota will sit in front of the trailers more comfortably than the disco, and tows brilliantly, and it's only rear wheel drive but the high powered Hiace van
 
what does ''daily tower'' mean? ... i'm towing a 2t 1 axle simple trailer with a boat on it all summer(weekly or so) ... thouh i have ACE... even though i know how the SLS is supposed to work and IMO it should not do what was described
 
I tow a large boat and had the ACE removed a few years ago when the pipes burst.
Been on Air springs since new.
Never had a problem towing and can sit happily at 50 - 60mph on a dual carriageway.
 
what does ''daily tower'' mean? ... i'm towing a 2t 1 axle simple trailer with a boat on it all summer(weekly or so) ... thouh i have ACE... even though i know how the SLS is supposed to work and IMO it should not do what was described
double and triple axles can act differently ,the discovery i was talking about was new ,it was the dealers idea to fit a shocklink
 
i dont even know what a shocklink is but i'm sure it's a better ideea than bin the SLS as long as it's not 100% certain that the SLS is the cause
 
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