Mods for Towing a Caravan

Kev has pretty much written the manual for heavy towing with a TD5. Should have been included in the owner's manual & would have saved many transmission rebuilds.

I had a medium Bruce Davis chip in mine & I found that the torque dropped off drastically below 2000rpm. Along with 245/75 tyres, it made staying in the torque curve difficult while travelling at 100km/h.

That's all great advice. I tow 2-3T constantly, as I pull a car trailer for work. The number one thing I would say is EGT Gauge! Read the threads elsewhere on what temps the TD5 can handle. Designed to touch 750 briefly. Since putting my gauge in, I have come to realise that I was likely hitting high 700s and more. It really changes the way you drive especially when towing. Keeping the engine from getting too hot avoids so many common TD5 problems (exhaust manifold), gives you longer engine life and better fuel economy. Rear bags are a great idea too. Ive towed plenty without them and lost a lot of steering and braking due to the low back and high front. Overall though, I love the TD5 to tow with. There's not much else around that gives you such good economy, for the price.

Thank you Milton477 !

One more thing I'd like to add is about engine temperature.

We all know diesel engines don't like to run hot ... to which, my Nanocom runs windscreen mounted in instrument mode. I have the coolant alarm set to alarm at 95deg C.

IF the Nanocom alarms at 95deg C I'll sometimes let it ride to maybe 96 or 97 then start to back off the loud pedal ... it seems that holding the boost at around 1bar allows the engine temperature to drop fairly quickly even on hard steep uphill grades ... push the boost back to 1.1-1.2 and the temperature climbs fairly quickly .... normal flat open road temerature is around 88deg C.

My Td5 has never seen 100deg C. I run Nulon RED OAT, and try to run the coolant temp' in the raneg of 88-95 deg C ... Only doing a 5-7 deg C variation in temperature ... and I have been running the cooling system unpressurized for the last 5yrs without any issues.

Learning to be kind to your engine will go a long way to keeping it happy ... especially when towing !! Overheating is the No1 killer of these engines.

Pedro, this thread needs to be a D2 sticky or go to the good oil ... :)

would get a stage 2 remap from TD5inside and us 3rd gear not drive when towing. Ive got a 18 foot van ( poptop) and get 15 liters per 100Ks. Has heaps of grunt and also use a EGT guage to keep an eye on your exhaust gas temp while towing.

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Originally Posted by DiscoMick

Here are some of the things I have found important, so I hope they help.
My approach is not to stuff around with shortcuts, but to fix it right the first time, as it's cheaper in the long run.
Does yours have rear air suspension and does it keep it level when towing? If you don't have rear air get airbags in the rear springs. If you have it but it's not working properly get it fixed.
The auto and transfer case should be thoroughly serviced with fresh oil, make sure the filter inside the auto is replaced and if the gears are slipping get that fixed. An auto oil cooler is an excellent idea.
The cooling system will need a thorough test and don't hesitate to replace hoses or the core if it shows even the slightest problem, as it's cheap insurance.
You might want to get gauges fitted for engine and exhaust gas temperatures.
The brakes will be working harder so they need a thorough service. You will need a good brake controller such as Redarc or Tekonsha if you don't already have it. Get the van's brakes serviced too.
Are your wheel bearings, axles, flanges and CVs up to the extra load?
Only after all those are done would I start seeking more power. If the basics are not right then more power might just make the problems worse.
You might also consider a dual reversing camera with a second camera on the back of the van to make reversing easier.
Also, maybe a set of 6 tyre pressure warning system to warn about deflating tyres.
Do you have wider mirrors to see around the van?
As was said above, check you have a jack which can actually lift the van.
Towing puts extra pressure on tyres, so make sure they are up to the job.
BTW I didn't tow in third auto in our D1 but I did intervene more frequently to manually pull it down to avoid lugging. Find the sweet spot in the revs and use the shifter to keep in that range, I recommend.

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Thanks for all the information! Takes a while to sink in but great stuff thanks to all.
I decided to reply to this post more comprehensively as covers just about everything I think.
This is where I stand at the moment

I have rear suspension bags with new bags fitted and running level no dramas
Car has FSH from new and serviced by Landy specialist regularly, Gearbox and transfer case have been well looked after with new fluids etc.
Cooling system has all new fluids in runs fine so far but have not towed anything yet so will need to keep a close eye on that.
I don't have gauges for Engine or EGT just standard gauges.
Brakes are about to get all new hoses fitted, flush and new fluid in. Redarc Tow Pro Elite just fitted.
Wheel bearings, axles etc, no problems all seem fine but again something to watch.
I am getting new gearbox aux cooler fitted in the next week or so prior to towing
Caravan comes with reversing camera fitted just need to link to my car, I have rear camera on D2 with Wi-Fi transmitter to my iPhone for car
Wide mirrors taken care of.
The jack I will have to check when I get delivery of the van on 20th April. Good point, hadn't thought about it!
Tyres all good, no pressure indicators will consider this.

Oh and for the moment I am not doing any mods except gearbox aux cooler, keep standard for now.

Thanks again for all the information very much appreciated!!!