Hi hope someone can offer advice had a really bad snake problem on the A1 last week on way to scarbrough and the caravan felt ready to snake and unstable for the whole time I was on A1. Only way to make it feel safer was to try and keep speed at about 45 to 50 mph. I have a Fiat Stilo Multi Wagon Max tow weight 1300kgs towing a Alpine sprite max laden weight 900Kgs.
has anyone any advice on what pressure my caravan tyres should be, could this effect towing performance so much they are at about 30psi at minute.
I would guess they should be more than that, I run my 800kg Eriba with 155x13 tyres(I guess yours are similar size)at 38psi which sounds more like it.
Have you checked your nose weight?(ie load imposed on towbar by caravan)It should be the weight as stated in yours car's handbook(probabley stated as 'towbar download' or similar)I would guess between 50-70kg for your car.
30psi does seem low. We need more info on tyres & max psi on the tyres as well. Look at this link & then give us the info whats on your tyres. & did you put the max psi in your car.
What is size of tyre? try 45psi then, Quick & reasonably accurate way of checking your nose weight is to put jockey wheel onto bathroom scales(caravan unhitched & standing on wheels & jockey wheel only. Caravan should be level & standing on level hard ground.
If your driveway aint that use a supermkt carpark.
I would have thought your problem stems from the way you have loaded your luggage in the caravan. Assuming you have not developed a mchanical problem nose or tail weight can affect stability. Luggage should also be as low as possible, on or just in front of your caravan axle.
We've had two of the older Sprites and they were very stable when towing. I suspect it's the low tyre pressures, sort out those and the noseweight and it should be much better.
you state that it happened you where travelling downhill,did you let the speed build up what you need to to do is ease back on your speed down hill if neccassary put it in to a lower gear to hold the caravan back.
I reckon from your posts that the tyre pressure should be 38.5 p.s.i. (700kgs/450kgs actual x 60p.s.i.)
The correct pressure will make a difference to stability, but you really do need to check noseweight, car tyre pressures, and how you load your caravan etc.
I suggest you join the C.C., then read and digest their handbook on how to load a caravan. It's a big learning curve when you start caravanning.
Quote: Originally posted by lostandfound on 21/7/2009
the tyre pressure is quite critical as is your noseweight you must have at least 50 psi in the van tires and then load to match the noseweight
Definately not. It depends on the van and tyres. Ours have varied from 30psi to 54 psi. Too high a pressure will make the van bounce along and could cause a blow out.
------------- Caz
If you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, just keep going till you go round the bend.
Don`t forget to increase the tyre pressures in your towing vehicle as well - the pressures should be in your handbook, this can also make a huge difference to stability.
There is a grey art to loading a van. I found with my last car that it towed better with a light noseweight which goes against the norm. With the current car, the heavier the noseweight the better it tows. Many times with the previous car I have pulled over after a few miles and moved things about in the van.
Also worth mentioning, do not be tempted to fit a stabiliser to fix this as it won't fix it. What it will do is make it feel a little bit better until something happens then you get a serious snake that creeps up and surprises you.
If you do consider a stabiliser, get the stability sorted first, in which case, you probably won't want a stabiliser anyway.
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Topic: Snake problems
