Thread: Advice on towing

Originally Posted by Scouse

I'm curious about the "active suspension" - you just mean the EAS inhibit switch I assume to lock the selected ride height.

Yup . That's what the manual referred to. Until I pick the vehicle up from the dealer early next week I am in the dark in that I played very little with the Rangie dash/suspension whilst I had it that one day, preferring to read the manual from cover to cover and honk around in gas guzzle mode lol!!
The manual/dealer tells me I can turn off the EAS and then run at the one ride height useing the ride levellers to stabilise the caravan if the caravan over powers the EAS. I realllllly appreciate the help you guys have given and will also utilise the suggestion of running the Rangie/van on EAS and then not on EAS with the ride levellers and see which is best.... Can't wait to get the beast and start tweaking it..

Originally Posted by Keithkez

Yup . That's what the manual referred to. Until I pick the vehicle up from the dealer early next week I am in the dark in that I played very little with the Rangie dash/suspension whilst I had it that one day, preferring to read the manual from cover to cover and honk around in gas guzzle mode lol!!
The manual/dealer tells me I can turn off the EAS and then run at the one ride height useing the ride levellers to stabilise the caravan if the caravan over powers the EAS. I realllllly appreciate the help you guys have given and will also utilise the suggestion of running the Rangie/van on EAS and then not on EAS with the ride levellers and see which is best.... Can't wait to get the beast and start tweaking it..

......Hold on.....I think there might be some confusion !....on your part and some on my part........

....[1] You CAN'T "turn on/off" the EAS - it's ALWAYS working, in some mode or other. You can set a higher or lower height [within fixed parameters] but the EAS will always keep you level.
[2] Ride/load levellers as part of a kit fitted on the van don't [some times can't] work very well with EAS......
[4]I'm not aware of any load levellers you can add or need to add to a car with EAS, I'm not aware of any "heavy duty" or special replacement air bags for the EAS..
[5] My original reply basically said that buying a 10 year old 170,000 klm RR with EAS [either Classic or P38a] with a view to using it as a tow car could end up being a very expensive exercise.....Have you priced the cost of parts or parts+labour to replace components such as the air bags or the air pump or EAS ECU [Body Control computer] if [make that WHEN!] they give up?
[6] My suggestion was that you could get a whole other [coil sprung] Rangie in good nick for the price of any sort of major repairs to the EAS system.
[7] My suggestion was that whilst these are a supremely comfortable cars and the one you've described sounds like the dream "one owner with all the log books and receipts" car it is getting on in years and miles. Unfortunately the prices charged for parts and/or labour isn't calculated on value of car or adjusted for age.

I've got one, bought it brand new and I've loved it from day one, but I wouldn't be game to use it now for long towing holidays or even frequent serious towing. I had both rear air bags replaced and other related old age/maintenance stuff done to it a few years ago and it cost about $5000 and it towed nothing more than a box trailer to the tip [and back with stuff sometimes!...LOL] after the first 2 years of its life when it had been used for a 2 horse float occassionally. These days I'm driving it around as a luxo wagon till the day it needs major suspension repairs [which will come sooner or later!] and then I'll probably buy a new RR Sport and convert this to coils and play with it in the dirt!.

Originally Posted by p38arover

P38As don't have load leveller like earlier coil sprung Rangies. Or did you mean the load distribution system on the trailer?

Ron

Sorry ron i thought the p38a had a load leveller under the bum like my 2 rangies but as for load distrabution system for the trailer go for it if it will comply with the veh as for the air bag suspension if its to be kept id go for new bags at least but better still replace em with quality springs and air bags like i said before

AWESOME LOL!!
And yes I did misunderstand heh. Sorry bout dat. I'm gunna price some upspec suspension goodies and go from there. Thx again...

Oooo! I forgot to mention it had the computer/ecu replaced app 25,oo k's ago. The bags to me look original, but at least I have a clear direction to move in, in terms of getting this thing sorted. I guess I have the bug because all ya see is Patrols and Crusiers pulling vans nowadays. I'm dead keen to drop a few $ and wrinkle a few foreheads lol!!

HSE Rangie, I am assuming 4.6 V8. I hope you have plenty of ready cash for fuel. My old man used to tow a dual axle caravan with his old one, could see anywhere up to 30+ litres per hundred km . Makes pretty short work of the 100 litre fuel tank.

Originally Posted by lokka

G'day id ditch the bags and go for a good qual set of springs both front and back and sum new shockies andget your suspension sused out for worn bushes ..

And for carrying a heavy load put proper load carrying air bags inside the rear springs

while your at it ditch the load leveler to if it hasent allready been done

I agree, the tow vehicle and trailor should be as basic a unit as possible, therefore there is less to break and leave you stranded on the trip. Airbags are very nice to tow with but springs are much more reliable and in the event one did break are cheaper and easier to get in remote communities than airbags.

Get an electric brake controller and have it wired up properly to suit your trailor. Also make sure your trailor has the same voltage globes as the vehicle and the trailor plug is compatable with the vehicle i.e square pin round pin etc (this means you wont have an adaptor plug that will break or get stolen, or borrowed and not returned) try and get the same stud pattern on the trailor as on your vehicle and the same tread pattern on the tyres, therefore a few more spares, this always helps. Get a proper jockey wheel connector (the ones that have spring loaded locking pins and a 90degree rotating hinge) (as seen on horse floats) this saves you unscrewing and screwing in the jockey wheel if quickly unhitching, and having to located the jockey wheel in case you need to unhitch quickly. Make sure the trailor has a long drawbar for ease of reversing but not to long else the increase in drag will kill your fuel consumption, get a simple freznel lens on the back window of your car for easier reversing onto the trailor. Make sure the trailor has jacking point suitable to accomodate a highlift jack or whatever jack you own. Have at least two spare tyres on the trailor

Have the trailors LADEN suspension height sitting at least at the same height as your unladen vehicle higher would be advantagous, but definatelly not lower

Originally Posted by dobbo

I agree, the tow vehicle and trailor should be as basic a unit as possible, therefore there is less to break and leave you stranded on the trip. Airbags are very nice to tow with but springs are much more reliable and in the event one did break are cheaper and easier to get in remote communities than airbags.

Get an electric brake controller and have it wired up properly to suit your trailor. Also make sure your trailor has the same voltage globes as the vehicle and the trailor plug is compatable with the vehicle i.e square pin round pin etc (this means you wont have an adaptor plug that will break or get stolen, or borrowed and not returned) try and get the same stud pattern on the trailor as on your vehicle and the same tread pattern on the tyres, therefore a few more spares, this always helps. Get a proper jockey wheel connector (the ones that have spring loaded locking pins and a 90degree rotating hinge) (as seen on horse floats) this saves you unscrewing and screwing in the jockey wheel if quickly unhitching, and having to located the jockey wheel in case you need to unhitch quickly. Make sure the trailor has a long drawbar for ease of reversing but not to long else the increase in drag will kill your fuel consumption, get a simple freznel lens on the back window of your car for easier reversing onto the trailor. Make sure the trailor has jacking point suitable to accomodate a highlift jack or whatever jack you own. Have at least two spare tyres on the trailor

Have the trailors LADEN suspension height sitting at least at the same height as your unladen vehicle higher would be advantagous, but definatelly not lower

Or your TRAILER....

Originally Posted by BigJon

HSE Rangie, I am assuming 4.6 V8. I hope you have plenty of ready cash for fuel. My old man used to tow a dual axle caravan with his old one, could see anywhere up to 30+ litres per hundred km . Makes pretty short work of the 100 litre fuel tank.

Yep. I've seen that figure appear on the screen when I've been towing a loaded car trailer at 110km/h (or more ).

Ron