Reply With Quoteeven an empty van can upset the weight and cause sway. may be shocks?
Fossicker
Hi all,
Have a bit of a problem. My Dad recently purchased a very nice 92 RRC Sherwood and a 26" caravan.
When he gets to about 70-80 KPH the van starts swaying badly, its not a load distribution problem as the van was empty and he tried towing van on a dirty Mitsubishi triton and it towed awesome up to 100KPH
He has tried turning hitch around so van is more level which helped, but still sways a bit. The Rangie has 2" lift and rear poly bags.
Also tried on my 84 Rangie with 2" lift and had same problem.
Any suggestions, and no he doesn't want to buy a Triton Yuck
Thanks
Master
even an empty van can upset the weight and cause sway. may be shocks?
Master
I used to get that towing with a RRC. Too loose at the back end. Only thing to do is fit an anti-sway hitch.
ForumSage
Check all the rear bushings and especially ball-joint for play. Does the tow hitch have play? Check the rear shocks are actually working too.
AT REST
Well, there's your problem, you're towing a short thick plank!Originally Posted by matty351
Seriously, if its a 26 foot van on tandem leaf springs it'll be awful behind anything without brick hard suspension. Every undulation transfers weight between its axles and alters the drawbar load. Tell him to get a van with better (load sharing) suspension, a single axle van, or a bus based camper.
Another possibility is that the brick shaped RRC is shedding air vortices that are playing havoc with a slab sided van. A pop top camper tows better!
Wizard
SupporterG`day ,
what`s the difference in ball height between the triton and the sherwood with the van ?
Do the Sherwood and van both sit flat or is one or the other/both angled , for or aft ?
Does the sherwood have air suspension height switches on the lower dash , to the right of the radio ?
Wizard
I'm 99% sure that the Sherwood is coils all round. EAS came afterwards in the 1993 model year. If so then I would strongly recommend using a proper weight distribution hitch, particularly with a van of that size.
x2 PLR's comments about everything sitting flat and level. Dropping the towball 50mm on my D2 to get my van sitting level made a significant difference in towing stability.
Cheers
Steve
ForumSage
How heavy is this van?
IMO you shouldn't need a weight distributing hitch or any of that. I've towed far more behind my 85 which has no sway bars and never hit sway.
I just noticed the 2" lift bit on both your rangies. There is at least part of your problem. Std tow-ball heights are around 450mm to the tongue. What does yours measure?
Fossicker
It towed fine behind a triton up to 110KPH, the sways start at 70 KPH behind the Rangie. Ball height was levelled out and improved it, but still gets the sways up.Well, there's your problem, you're towing a short thick plank!
Seriously, if its a 26 foot van on tandem leaf springs it'll be awful behind anything without brick hard suspension. Every undulation transfers weight between its axles and alters the drawbar load. Tell him to get a van with better (load sharing) suspension, a single axle van, or a bus based camper.
Another possibility is that the brick shaped RRC is shedding air vortices that are playing havoc with a slab sided van. A pop top camper tows better!
The Rangie, well both, we tried have coils, the Sherwood has ploy bays in the rear.
Master
Supporterhad a similar problem with my old 1990 rangie, I solved it initial with an anti sway bar, just a little friction plate on a couple or ball joints (think it was about $65 from a camping show) but after getting the ride height and weight distribution sorted (also fixing the suspension helped) it towed fine without it, I was changing the suspension anyway so I lifted the van to meet the car, 2 inch lift, but getting it level is the key as far as I could tell, and little changes make a big difference so try even a little height change, it might make the difference.
hope that helps
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