Tyre Pressures and Towing

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caravanlander

caravanlander

New Member
Posts
37
Location
Essex
Hi all

I don't seem to be able to search the forum at the moment so thought I would ask directly for peoples experiences. You can see what type of 'trailer' I pull with the Freelander :D and I am aware of a very slight 'shimmy' when being passed by other traffic on motorways whilst towing.

Now this is not alarming, or remotely unstable just a constant reminder that you have the 'van on the back, which I haven't had with other (otherwise inferior) towing vehicles. My first thought was that the tyre pressures might be a bit low, so having started with 30psi all round as advised in the book, I increased the rears to 32psi which did improve but not eliminate the issue.

For reference, the caravan is loaded as normal, with the weight predominantly over the axle. We have a nice healthy noseweight measured at 110kg and the tyres are 195/80 x 15 synchrones ala standard Land Rover fit.

As I said, this is not a big problem and is probably just a characteristic of the vehicle, but would be interested in other peoples tips or experiences. I am a bit nervous of going any higher with tyre pressures, as the car is probably not far off it's GVW and we do tow for a hundred miles at a time without stopping, so plenty of time for heat to build up.

Replies much appreciated.
 
Hi,

I tow a caravan with a 2000 XEDi, and pump up the rear tyres to 2.4 bar (34 psi). I have the exact same tyres as you. My noseweight is less than 90 kg... and should be kept less than that as reccomended by the caravan manufacturers (in South Africa). My van only weighs in at approx. 1000kg. In your case I would pump up the rear tyres to 34 or 36 psi and see if that makes a difference. I found that tyre pressure makes a difference (I recently had a slow puncture and felt the difference immediately).
 
I would personally reduce noseweight...although I think FL is weighted to 140kg, you should always go for whatever (car/towbar/hitch etc) is lowest and then keep safely within that....never been really scientific about things like this but have always found that if I cant lift it comfortably by the hitch then it is likely to cause problems with front of motor wandering....70-80kg max
 
Thanks for your replies. I think I will experiment a bit more with tyre pressures, as it's not something that causes a problem, just something that's there - the front of the car tracks straight and true regardless and iIve not encountered any instability.

Take on board your comments about noseweight - there are two schools of thought here with one camp suggesting it should be low and another saying go to max vehicle limit. I always try to load the van as sensibly as possible in the first instance and noseweight is what it is as a result. With this van the weight on the hitch is 100kg with the thing empty..... so 70 to 80 kg may be a bit optomistic.

Regards

Dave
 
Probably best to go for a lighter nose weight of around 50Kgs.
But more importantly think about how the van is loaded making sure you dont have too much weight at either extremities thats not just heavy objects going over the axles but the greater part of the payload.
Think of your van as a lever where the wheels act as the pivot and your load weight either end moving the lever. A 50kgs weight say 10feet from the pivot point can create 500 kgs force. So increase the weight and guess what?
 
I think you'll find the car more stable getting the nose weight nearer it's maximum. Is that your van in the picture? if so that must be rather close, if not over, your 100% limit?
 
I do worry about weights, which is why I checked at a local weighbridge - caravan (laden) is 1610kg, car (with me in it) is 1730kg. OK it's not 85% but it's not over 100% either and well within the Freelanders stated capabilities. I agree with your comment about noseweight which is another reason for choosing the Freelander with its generous 140kg limit.

I have to admit, that I sometimes wonder which is better, having a good working knowledge of safe loading and weight ratio's and trying to stick to it, or (as I see every bank holiday weekend), putting half the house in your (big) caravan and setting off in your Mondeo, with one end on the ground and the driven end pointing at the stars.....!:eek: :eek: :eek:
 
caravanlander said:
I do worry about weights, which is why I checked at a local weighbridge - caravan (laden) is 1610kg, car (with me in it) is 1730kg. OK it's not 85% but it's not over 100% either and well within the Freelanders stated capabilities. I agree with your comment about noseweight which is another reason for choosing the Freelander with its generous 140kg limit.

I have to admit, that I sometimes wonder which is better, having a good working knowledge of safe loading and weight ratio's and trying to stick to it, or (as I see every bank holiday weekend), putting half the house in your (big) caravan and setting off in your Mondeo, with one end on the ground and the driven end pointing at the stars.....!:eek: :eek: :eek:
Click to expand...

Wasn't trying to say you were over the limit, just that that may have also been a factor in the swaying you get when overtaking, I get the same.

The weight stated for our Freelander, although a 3 door, was 1555kg.

I did read somewhere that getting close to the noseweight limit is the way to go :).

Nice looking van by the way :D
 
you want to try to achive about 7% of the nose weight of the caravan not the car as your van will have a lower limit than the car . my at tyres have a max preshure of 42psi i run them at 39 psi all the time ,my vans mtplm is aprox 1500kg and i romp along my caravan max nose weight is 70kg i load it to 60ish + kg no problems but i do feel side winds .
 
caravanlander said:
Hi all

I don't seem to be able to search the forum at the moment so thought I would ask directly for peoples experiences. You can see what type of 'trailer' I pull with the Freelander :D and I am aware of a very slight 'shimmy' when being passed by other traffic on motorways whilst towing.

Now this is not alarming, or remotely unstable just a constant reminder that you have the 'van on the back, which I haven't had with other (otherwise inferior) towing vehicles. My first thought was that the tyre pressures might be a bit low, so having started with 30psi all round as advised in the book, I increased the rears to 32psi which did improve but not eliminate the issue.

For reference, the caravan is loaded as normal, with the weight predominantly over the axle. We have a nice healthy noseweight measured at 110kg and the tyres are 195/80 x 15 synchrones ala standard Land Rover fit.

As I said, this is not a big problem and is probably just a characteristic of the vehicle, but would be interested in other peoples tips or experiences. I am a bit nervous of going any higher with tyre pressures, as the car is probably not far off it's GVW and we do tow for a hundred miles at a time without stopping, so plenty of time for heat to build up.

Replies much appreciated.
Click to expand...

Your noseweight is approx 7%, which is the figure to aim for, so no problems there.

I had a slight instability and raised the rear tyre pressures from 30 to 38, but left the front at 30 and it helped quite a bit...

Have you tried cleaning your towball and replacing your hitch stabiliser pads? They wear over time and need replacing...

HTH

Cheers

d.
 
Thanks Snapper - a good suggestion I hadn't thought of. I will check the friction pads in the alko hitch, because we bought van secondhand so cannot vouch for their previous use.

I did have a fiddle around with the stuff in the van when I took it out again last week, moved some stuff forwards, measured noseweight - 120kg so OK there and pumped rear tyres up to 33psi (fronts still at 30psi as per manual) and I must say it towed very well for 300 miles with hardly any movement at all. So I might just have sorted it out.:D

Many thanks for everyones comments and suggestions.
 
I have to go rescue my Son-in-Laws caravan tomorrow as his Freelander has thrown a central prop joint of some sort and he's havng the prop taken off for 2wd to get it home,

I have a TD4 auto and it has towed my twin axle caravan no problem but I want to safe rather than sorry about tyre pressures.

I am told by Bell Engineering to up the rear tyre pressures by 5/6 psi to help keep the rear tyres rotating at the correct circumference and lessen the load on the VCU.

As it happens I have the tyres with the most tread on the rear anyway (about 5mm tread v 3mm tread front), so is the extra psi a wise thing to do?

Thanks

David
 
Yipes, I wouldn't want to tow a van that big and heavy behind a Freelander, my 1.3tonne van was not comfortable behind an Xtrail(Crap). The P38 on the other hand doesn't even notice and is fine with the digger on a trailer coming in a 2.5 tonnes.
Be very careful of weights and distribution if you come to France, the Gendarmes are getting very hot on overloaded rigs.
 
Last edited:
Definetly a good thing to up the rear tyre pressure for safety reasons when towing a caravan. With the extra weight of the caravan the rear end will be prone to swaying if the pressure is too low. I was too lazy to up the pressure on one occasion and nearly lost control going down a long steep decent when the caravan started swaying. I have never made the same mistake again. The larger and heavier the caravan, the more prone to swaying it is, especially down a hill or when overtaking. As a rule I tow at a maximum speed of 100 km/h.:)
 
My twin axle was empty when I towed it home from a dealer about 60 miles away. I hardly noticed it on the back but I don't think I would go too far with it loaded.

Thanks for the advice
 
David Drew said:
My twin axle was empty when I towed it home from a dealer about 60 miles away. I hardly noticed it on the back but I don't think I would go too far with it loaded.

Thanks for the advice
Click to expand...

As above, it is good to put extra pressure in the rear tyres. I don't know Freelander at all, but the towing pressures are given in the owners book for mine.
Proper tyre pressures alone will not prevent trailer swing though, that is almost always caused by the noseweight being too low, or negative.
 
Last edited:
Just a different option for you.
When I had my last set of tyres fitted (autoguard 615, 215 65 r16) I went for the nitrogen gas option.
The alloys are cleaned and then have a goo put around the edges, when the tyres are put on this creates a seal and are then filled with nitrogen gas which is inert, so the tyre pressure never rises or falls no matter how hot or cold the tyres are.
I tow an Elddis caravan which tops out around 1400kg. I used to have to go round checking tyre pressures and pumping them up etc, but no more:D
Now all i do is check the pressure is correct, 32psi all round on these tyres, get them topped up if necessary, which is very rarely and its free after youve paid the initial charge.
Towing has been a dream since, the car feels more planted somehow. Other than that I load as much as possible into the car to make it heavy and whats left over in the caravan, nose wieght around 90kg.
Hope this helps
Mike.
 
Skinny Mike said:
Just a different option for you.
When I had my last set of tyres fitted (autoguard 615, 215 65 r16) I went for the nitrogen gas option.
The alloys are cleaned and then have a goo put around the edges, when the tyres are put on this creates a seal and are then filled with nitrogen gas which is inert, so the tyre pressure never rises or falls no matter how hot or cold the tyres are.
I tow an Elddis caravan which tops out around 1400kg. I used to have to go round checking tyre pressures and pumping them up etc, but no more:D
Now all i do is check the pressure is correct, 32psi all round on these tyres, get them topped up if necessary, which is very rarely and its free after youve paid the initial charge.
Towing has been a dream since, the car feels more planted somehow. Other than that I load as much as possible into the car to make it heavy and whats left over in the caravan, nose wieght around 90kg.
Hope this helps
Mike.
Click to expand...

Nitrogen vs Air In Tires - Why Nitrogen in Tires - Popular Mechanics

Got to chuckle a bit about this;)
 
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