Sorry mate I don't mean to rain on people's parades. I am hoping that it's just something daft and all will be well. I will take the flack from everyone if this is the case but if there is an inherent fault, it's best to be aware, get people checking and get the pressure on JLR to fix.
Other than this, I love this car!!!
Cheers
D5 HSE SDi6, 2019, Santorini Black, privacy glass, HUD, loads of gizmos!! 😃😃😃
Series 1, 1953, 86"
Fisherman, I agree that it all sounds very strange. I don't think there was much weight on the nose as we left our awning at home. But, what if the van was new and totally empty, it shouldn't be unstable and the Alko ATC, friction ball coupling, twin axle and the LR's wizardry should keep things stable (shouldn't they?).
I did have two bikes on the rack at the back but that's about it for anything heavy apart from the spare wheel which is bolted down under the bed.
Have you had the bikes on the back and no awning with the D4?
Namib Orange 1st Edition with black roof and wheels.
Privacy, tow bar, drive pack, surround camera, heated front & rear seats, auto dim door mirrors, side steps, remote Pro, RSE, arm rest fridge dash cam front and rear.
No, the awning was with us last time but it's not particularly heavy. I would be amazed if this could upset the balance of such a large twin axle van. Food for thought though! I'll try to take the van out for a test later in the week without the bikes.
I still think that the three levels of safety technology should balance out any such variations.
Thanks
D5 HSE SDi6, 2019, Santorini Black, privacy glass, HUD, loads of gizmos!! 😃😃😃
Series 1, 1953, 86"
I'm not so sure the tech can overcome a rear heavy setup. Having weight at the front allows the car to take the weight and the control of the weight. If the weight is heavier towards the rear the weight is possibly more negative at the hitch and therefore makes the van more wayward as the weight is some 20+ feet behind the car.
I could of course be talking utter boll derdash.
I also tow a twin axle van and nose weight is critical more so in my experience with single axle vans which you can make over light. My problem is with reducing nose weight which is presently around 150kg not a massive problem for the D4 but some cars have a max limit of100kg or less. My point being twin axle vans are inherently nose heavy and more difficult to reduce this load. Well I struggle. Certainly not going to leave the beer at home
The bikes will make a massive difference to be honest and that is why many caravan manufacturers stopped fitting them to the back on vans many years ago.
Do a search for the video made I think by ALCO about trailer stability and nose weight
Namib Orange 1st Edition with black roof and wheels.
Privacy, tow bar, drive pack, surround camera, heated front & rear seats, auto dim door mirrors, side steps, remote Pro, RSE, arm rest fridge dash cam front and rear.
Namib Orange 1st Edition with black roof and wheels.
Privacy, tow bar, drive pack, surround camera, heated front & rear seats, auto dim door mirrors, side steps, remote Pro, RSE, arm rest fridge dash cam front and rear.
The bikes will make a massive difference to be honest and that is why many caravan manufacturers stopped fitting them to the back on vans many years ago.
Do a search for the video made I think by ALCO about trailer stability and nose weight
I towed a 1.5 ton trailer on a 3000 km trip in July 2015. While a D3/4 feels rock solid towing, the FFRR feels like it is "pushed around" by the trailer.
Practical Caravan tested the FFRR and rated it as highly as the D4 but marked it down on value as the D4 was £25k less. They didn't see the point of spending the difference when the D4 was as good. Seems strange you're having problems on the back of reviews like that.
No, the awning was with us last time but it's not particularly heavy. I would be amazed if this could upset the balance of such a large twin axle van. Food for thought though! I'll try to take the van out for a test later in the week without the bikes.
I still think that the three levels of safety technology should balance out any such variations.
Thanks
Pdes, from your first post you said you had a new Challenger 650 T/A, On the Swift website I could only find a 645 T/A which has a max weight of 1635kg. The generally accepted noseweight recommendation to ensure stable towing, is 7% of the trailer weight which in your case, would be 114kg. I'm only pointing this out as most people would think that 114kg is far too heavy to have as noseweight
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I don't mean to rain on people's parades. I am hoping that it's just something daft and all will be well. I will take the flack from everyone if this is the case but if there is an inherent fault, it's best to be aware, get people checking and get the pressure on JLR to fix.
