Heavy towing with a D4.

[SteveL]

Hello all, we have recently purchased a lateish model Evernew caravan.
The "Royal Barge" is a tall heavy bugger and while it's all within the ball dowload and towing limits (barely), you know she is there, especially with the water tanks full.
No taps at our special spot.

We have previously owned and towed a little Ultimate, we haven't really had to think about which gear the Disco is in with the Ulti, just put her into "D", continued on useing the cruise control and not had any problems.
The Evernew van is a very different beast.
What I'm really wondering about is if I should tow in Sports mode which gives results in more revs, a lower gear( higher numerically), more fuel because of the higher revs ( I'm still not convinced about that actually, need a long trip to check), better control and engine braking because of better throttle response.
AND....auto transmission oil changes!
I've just had it done. Wow!
I wouldn't like to do that every 20K, but we did get a new metal sump pan.
What are the special areas needing attention when towing a heavy trailer?
I've read to make sure that the air bags are in good condition. Ok, how do I check that?
Thanks in advance, fabulous resource for a mug.
Regards
Steve L.

[ADMIRAL]

Hi Steve,

Tow in 'sportz' mode as it is easier on the vehicle. I think the other reasons while valid, are less important ! ( IMO )

The airbag condition can be checked by any competent LR service agent.

Spend some time ensuring your van to vehicle setup is towing level. Watch your overall van weight, and the front to back balance. You have to wary of adding a lot of weight anywhere in the van, particularly the front or rear extremities.

Remember your ball weight becomes part of your overall vehicle GVM. If you are unsure of how you are going weight wise, it is a good idea to take the loaded vehicle ( and that includes people and fuel ) and loaded van to a weighbridge, and get a weight check for peace of mind.

[Tombie]

I just did 2500km in 2.5 days to Melbourne and back to pick up our new-to-us cross over...

Sport mode is definitely the go, and then I just helped it on those forthcoming steep climbs by manually dropping it back as we got to the bottom.

Mines only the old 6 speed, but 5th, whilst slightly higher rpm was returning better fuel consumption than 6th

[jonesy63]

Steve - one more suggestion - don't use cruise control when towing up hills. You're more likely to get a "restricted performance" message - where the ECU sends the motor into "self preservation" mode - due to too high exhaust gas temperatures.
Cheers,
Rob

[cewilson]

After a few trips away you'll work out what type of terrain/weather conditions it struggles in. As a rule on the flat on a calm day just leave her in D on economy mode.

Once you start getting to hills or copping head winds, don't be scared to manually change a gear earlier than normal. In particular decent downhills change down manually and let the engine do the work rather than your brakes.

Lastly a lot of us sit around 95-100km/h which is pretty much the speed most semi's and b-doubles are going anyway. I'll quite often tuck behind one and say g'day on the UHF - makes life a lot easier and you aren't in a rush anyway!