Thread: D4 sway when towing heavy caravans

Agree with most of what is being said here except (sorry) different pressures in front and rear tyres on the caravan. I tow with a D4 (2700kg) and have worked in the caravan industry for some years now and have never heard of this. Asking at work I'm told that this is actually something which most people would say could induce a sway!

My additions are to load only lightweight gear in the overhead cupboards. Load your heavy items over the axles low down. Match your tyre pressures to that figure which should be listed on your caravans compliance plate. (this, if present, will however give you the pressure at Tare weight so van empty of stuff and will need lifting to include your load). Disco pressures should be up to max load running (unless proceeding onto dirt roads when they should be reduced by a margin for puncture resistance - same as your caravan)..

Did you buy the van second hand? If so, I advise buyers to take it to a weighbridge when completely empty of all personal belongings, Water and Gas. (Tare condition) and weight it. Many previous owners add generators on the rear bumper along with extra water tanks grey water tanks etc which, unless the van is re engineered, weights changed by Manufacturer, new compliance plate obtained and blue slipped (NSW) will eat into your payload. So when you think you have the normal 400Kg of payload you don't and the van is suddenly overloaded.

Ball weight - if your van is 3000Kg then the recommended ball weight for a stable tow (obviously fully loaded now) is 270Kg - 300Kg. As previously mentioned a ball weight gauge can be purchased and used to check this weight easily. Your LR4 is OK for 350Kg and yes. Dont use anti sway. They are not just recommended but outlawed from LR.

Does your van have any added (since manufacture) weight on the rear bumper? This would be a no-no for some van designs. Rear end weight is popular but acts a s a pendulum weight on the rear which makes things sway. Here is a video I used to show my customers when they ask me to make the van with a lower ball weight Trailer weight distribution - YouTube

You mentioned that you towed in windy conditions and I'm sorry to say you should expect sway if very windy. There's nothing the trailer stability program can do to stop the wind blowing against 12 sq/M of caravan wall. Its just going to move and you would normally feel this.

If you have checked all of this and are happy then it could be down to caravan layout design (although Evernew know what they are doing) so I would look into this last. However, you might consider fitting an ESC kit to the van. Alko make one and these can be installed aftermarket for around $1300. Last resort as its a cost thing and may/may not help you.

Good luck

Really good question for the newbies like me. We have swapped over from the "other side" and are extremely happy with our decision. About to set up the D4 to tow a Trakmaster - 16'6" with dual axles. I have purchased an adjustable tongue but not yet fitted it. Hopefully the systems in place will handle all issues once the height is right. We have a tow ball scale so adjustment of weight should not be an issue. Thanks for raising the issue.

That's one of the best videos I've ever seen to explain trailer sway. Thankyou for posting it.

Originally Posted by DiscoChris

Attachment 136784Hello Guys,

I am new to this forum and I hope I am posting this query in the right forum.

I bought my LR D4 in 2012. I have had a lot of fun with it 4wd in the Victorian High Country, taking it across the Simpson Desert (twice) without issues.

I have recently ventured into caravanning having purchased our 2014 Evernew E900 in November last year. I am looking for feedback on towing.
In my first trip out to Barwon Heads, I experienced unnerving sway when I exceeded about 80/85kph. In my second trip out (to Moonambel), I rebalanced my load putting more weight on the Draw Bar and experienced significant improvement. However on the return trip with empty water tanks and very windy conditions I again experienced significant sway. My friends towing a similar caravan behind a popular Japanese 4WD with anti sway / load levellers,felt no sway.

I am told that Anti Sway/Levelling devices are counter intuitive to the D4 Air Suspension and therefore are not recommended.

I do believe that the nose of the draw bar might be about 40mm too low and so that will be my next adjustment but while I expect some improvement, I am not expecting it to be significant.
Does anyone have any suggestions for minimising sway when towing ~3000kg? Your advice much appreciated.

After initially using the LR supplied hitch with a 150mm riser I ditched all of that and ended up installing (easy DIY job) a Mitch Hitch with a normal tow bar tongue that is so much better. Setting the van level I measured the height of the tow coupler (DO35) from the ground and purchased a new tow bar tongue to match the same height. This worked perfectly on last years 20,000km trip through the centre.

Your van looks nose down in the pic, although that may be an illusion, best to rely on measurements.

Hi all,

I would like to thank you all for your input and feedback to this discussion. It is very much appreciated and certainly helps set my direction. FYI, My actions will be as follows;
1. I believe the van is sitting a little low at the front so I will get a hitch that will allow me to lift it to a level height.
2. I have bought a draw bar weight gauge so that when I get the van onto flat ground, I can check the draw bar weight
3. Dexter Stability Control will be fitted to the van later in the month (only as a protection measure - no expectation that this will fix the problem)
4. I will put more weight over the axles
5. While everything in the van looks to be factory fitted except 2 slide draws in the front boot – these are very sturdy and look heavy – I may need to remove these. I will make this determination when I have an accurate reading of draw bar weight.
6. Finally, I will endeavour to get the van to a weighbridge so I can better understand my weights.

Thanks to Muddy Driver for comprehensive commentary and the video link – very helpful
Thanks to Jaybee – I will go for the Mitch Hitch

Again I thank you all for your feedback. It is particularly pleasing that you all have full confidence in the Discos as a tow tug. I would rather fix levelling and weight distribution in the van than replace My LR. I particularly liked Tombie’s comment “The Jap brigade with their WDH/AntiSway gear really are rubbing bandaids to poor designs...”

I will post my results as I work through this problem so that others may benefit. This might take me a couple of months. (I want to resolve this before June 1^st when we are planning a trip to the North West).

Cheers
Disco Chris

Originally Posted by bobnsue

We have a disco 4 and tow a lotus Trooper. No sway problems. As has previously been stated it is about the loading and set-up of your caravan. I always make it a rule, where possible to travel with full water tanks. (we have three). Load distribution is what has the greatest effect on sway.

Hi Bobnsue,

We also have a 19' Lotus Trooper tare 2800 (not checked) so we expect we are close to 3500 when fully laden. Tow ball weight is right on 350kgs. We have 18" wheels and Bridgestone LT 265/60R18 Bridgestone AT 697 tyres on our 2013 SE 3.0 Discovery. I would be interested to know what length is your Trooper, what is your towball weight and what tyre pressures do you run?

Thanks in anticipation.

Kind regards
Bob

That video must be a wonderful sales asset,,
pity its all wrong.

next time you walk outside look at where the van wheels are in comparison to the overall length.

They are NOT in the middle. by percentages, nowhere near it.
and physics tells us the longer the disntance from tow hitch to front axle the more stable the tow is.
For a few years vans were built with the axles well back from the vans centre,, must have towed like a dream,,
if your tug could handle the amazing ball weights this design came with..

Everything in towing caravans is a compromise.



I am totally convinced after reading posts in here and talking to owners the d4 is the best tug in OZ.

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

That video must be a wonderful sales asset,,
pity its all wrong.

next time you walk outside look at where the van wheels are in comparison to the overall length.

They are NOT in the middle. by percentages, nowhere near it.
and physics tells us the longer the disntance from tow hitch to front axle the more stable the tow is.
For a few years vans were built with the axles well back from the vans centre,, must have towed like a dream,,
if your tug could handle the amazing ball weights this design came with..

Everything in towing caravans is a compromise.



I am totally convinced after reading posts in here and talking to owners the d4 is the best tug in OZ.

I agree that the D4 is a very good tow vehicle, but that doesn't make the video referred to wrong.
Where the axle is situated on a caravan is determined by the interior design. The biggest single factor involved is the position of the kitchen.
Vans with centre kitchens will have the axles further forward than vans with a rear kitchen. It is the manufacturers way of balancing the van correctly. My 20ft Franklin has the kitchen in the middle, (stove top, oven, and large fridge) and the axles are quite close to centre. It tows fine when loaded correctly. If you have a look at the axle in the demo it is moveable. If the van is loaded correctly for it's design then sway should not be a problem, providing tyre pressure, and all of the other little things including driving style are correct.
Towing a caravan requires a certain amount of skill and common sense. The skills, including how to load the van, and how to set up the tow vehicle correctly, can and should be learned by doing a course on towing a caravan. The common sense part may not be as easily acquired if it is not already there. This is one of the reasons that caravaners have such a bad name IMO. The demonstration of the skills required to tow an object as heavy as or heavier than the tow vehicle should be compulsory before the van is even taken from the caravan yard.
Good luck with it
LuckyLes