The Tail Wagging The Dog - Caravan Sway
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- Опубликовано: 1 авг 2024
- We have actually had our own nasty experience with caravan sawy and thought it might help others to know how best to avoid it and how it might be minimised if the worst happens and your van starts that deadly swaying motion.
According to many sources, the best way to correct caravan sway is to manually apply your brake controller and maintain or slightlly increase speed with the tow vehicle but this is largely dependant on where it is mounted and if it is easily accessible.
The video content relating to our experience is not a suggestion of how to deal with caravan sway, it was just the way we dealt with it when it happened to us.
Video footage sourced from
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Other footage from Getty Images
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I've always towed a van or camper that sits well within the manufacturer's stated towing capability. Your 80% rule seems about right to me. Together with driving to the weather and road conditions, I've never had trouble with my car or van.
I'm amazed at how much people ask of their vehicles then wonder why they've broken down or had problems. And don't forget to turn your UHF on and set to CH 40!
A timely reminder, thanks.
Harmonic sway is caused by length of each, as well as load distribution in the caravan. I bought one, and put the electric brakes controller, in the truck before the 1,000 mile trip. At 60 mph the sway started, so I went for the manual caravan breaks control, it straightened out immediately, then stayed at 55 mph.
Great vid, good topic & well presented, thanks for sharing!
Brilliant video and well presented. Cheers.
Thanks @WesternAustraliaNowAndThen . I think a lot of people underestimate the physics of these types of situations. Mass, and its' size and distribution is essential knowledge when towing. Not to mention the unexpected such as a bump in the road or a gust of wind.
We've sold our van and have gone back to our soft floor camper and Oztent.
Thanks for the info in the video, I’ve seen a few caravans that have for a bit of sway going but fortunately never had the sad experience of seeing someone wreck their car and van. I tow a duel axle caravan but never fully load the van. One causation I always take is to keep me finger over the emergency brake button if I’m being passed by a big truck or passing one which is rare.
My understanding is that towing speed is limited in NSW to 100km/hr if the van is 2.5tonne or more.
Great advice
Done over 10,000 kms in our combo now. My results are: always have the caravan lighter than the vehicle. Secondly learn to use the manual override on the electric brake controller and practice on a safe road. You should be competent in operating it with our looking
Great video. The very first bit with the Pajero losing it could be many factors as you point out. That said, so many full van designs these days have the entry door BEHIND the axles (as in this video). This design pushes the axles forward & many manufacturers don't allow for the increased weight behind the axle by having a slightly longer A frame. Also, with some model Pajeros their ball weight limit decreases if the weight being towed is over 2500kg. Strange but true.
Yaw (sway) is the issue. This is a harmonic relationship that needs to be dampened. This can be achieved by taking the advice you provided at the end of the video. I tow a 20ft extra length draw bar van that weighs in at 4000kgs fully loaded. The 200 series Landcruiser has the upgraded suspension with ATM 4000 and GVM 3800. My ball weight is 280kgs which is less than 5%. I do NOT use WDS and can travel at any speed up hill or downhill (130kph in NT) and have never had yaw/sway.
This is because I follow your advice and kept the heavy items low and over the van axles. I run about 45psi on all tyres.
At the start of the video it alluded to a sway issue and this was fixed by slowly accelerating which is the opposite to the advice towards the end of the video. Perhaps an edit could,fix this as the video is very well done.
I can only speak to my van, load, weight distribution, tow vehicle set up, etc…. and what I do won’t work for other setups. Best to check your weights and ensure you understand GVM, GTM, GCM, etc…. My van has air bag suspension which is load sharing on left and right. As such I tow with the front of the van two inches lower than the back. This is extremely dangerous for those that don’t have load sharing suspension. That’s why my setup may not be good for everyone.
The best thing I did was get a van with an extended draw bar, this adds stability and lightens ball weight. I also use a Gen-Y which helps to isolate the tug and van from high frequency bumps (ie unsealed roads).
I ended up trading the Landcruiser and replaced with an American Ute which made a huge difference to stability.
The bit at the start wasn't actually advice on how to fix sway but exactly what happened to us at the time and how it resolved itself. Having never experienced sway before in all the years we towed what I ended up doing was instinctual and we were lucky that it worked. It isn't something I recommend anyone tries to do. Applying the caravan brakes is the best solution but the brake controller on our old HJ60 wasn't even mounted in a spot I could reach it ('professionaly' installed not a home job).
Towing anything over 2T with current utes available in OZ is totally insane..! They are nothing more than light duty vehicles. If you want to tow anything over 3T then buy a truck..!
Tell that to the 1000’s of Australians who are doing it as we type these words.
some good advice there
the key is being familiar with the vehicle and caravan, and driving to the actual road conditions, in the area you are actually driving, if all that fails, and you have independent braking for caravan use it,
It is a very sad, dangerous situation. Caravans too heavy for the tow tug, poor weight distribution too heavier TBW and in many occasions the van is towed too fast = a disaster waiting to happen.
Tyre pressures and correct down pressure on the hitch and you'll have no problems
I think it is bad advice to tell people to break when they experience trailer sway. The best thing os to manually press the trailer break and accelerate the vehicle, then once in control break both.
Actually I was relating our experience and not suggesting that this is the way to deal with sway. I have pointed out in the description that most of the advice it to use the brake controller to brake the van only to get it back under control.
My first thought was that gentle acceleration will help pull the caravan into line. Then you should be able to slowdown and stop. If the caravan braking is more effective on the caravan that brassier on the drawbar, then it braking should pull it into line.
Your 4WD might be safe with a three tonne trailer load of rocks. Doesn't mean it's safe with a three tonne caravan. I think those popup tops would be safer, the van would more or less be in the slipstream of the tow vehicle. Fuel consumption must be horrendous too. Talk to your purse about how you tow a caravan.
Darby and Joan, ABC TV and iView start with a crash scene between motor home and FWD.
The Slow mo Guys show the pressure waves in some of their videos. They blow things up and file it in slow motion using very expensive cameras.
The best way to bring a van back under control is apparently to manually use the brake controller to apply just the caravan brakes. The difficulty with that is the controller has to be mounted somewhere very easy for the driver to reach and the driver needs to have the presence of mind to do it. Our brake controller was badly mounted so even if I had thought about it, there was no way I could have got to it.
@@WesternAustraliaNowAndThen That's the "caravan braking" I mentioned. I've never driven a vehicle where that's required, nor bought one with the necessary fittings, so I'm ignorant of the finer details.
If I had ever needed to, as an autistic I'd have obsessed it until I did understand it, including how to handle things in the case of mishap.
Maybe the controller manufacturers need to build the "Big Red Button" which can be mounted on the dash....
sway hits,
fist slams the BIG RED BUTTON...
caravan brakes applied...
combination straightens out...
big red button slammed again...
deactivating the caravan emergency braking..
all good?
@@WesternAustraliaNowAndThen
Its silly how they rate the 4 cylinder utes or cars that can tow 3.5T and you see them towing big duel axle vans overloaded. They’ve proven this on 4wd action only good for safely towing single axle vans or campers. To tow big vans they recommend buying Land Cruiser, Patrol or even better than the two a Ram.
Certain people shouldn’t be on the road - let alone towing, and it’s a sad fact any person can hook a can up and tow. My mate was one, I cringed when he bought a van. He sold it after the first trip, didn’t surprise me. I see no problem at all towing with a ute. Single axe vans are getting ridiculously heavy now also. Like the start of this vid that’s gets played over and over, whyTF were they in such a hurry to be overtaking. They would have been safe if they just took a chill pill. Too many muppets out there thar think they know it all but have absolutely no idea when it comes to thinking about what the wind is doing, should I postpone my trip till the winds ease, how are the tyres, what are the road conditions like, is it school holidays, am I in a fit state to tow - the variables are endless. To me anyone’s suspension should be top notch, the van sitting perfect, and just take itTF easy. Relax and take heaps of breaks, be patient, be courteous. As for Western Australia, watch the winds and narrow roads, whether you are in a patrol or land cruiser means sweet nothing, you’ll end up on your roof. I’d rather someone coming at me in a dual cab that’s switched on over some muppet in a 200 that thinks they’re invincible with no idea. Take it easy, be patient, go slow, arrive safely.
Avoid the Ram (parts =$$$ and long wait ex usa) Go for the Chevy, better weight distribution, more reliable.
@@chrisandshazza01
You just nailed it mate.
Too many people think it's a pissing contest.
Sure, you must load and set your van and tow vehicle up correctly,
but the biggest problem I believe, are the tools behind the wheel.
Coming home from the last Mundi Mundi Bash, in western NSW,
doing 90 to 100 in our old Toyota Coaster, with our friends towing their van in front,
doing the same and the number of people overtaking us with vans,
loaded to the gunnels, blasting past us.
You would get to the next town and they are only just pulling up as we
roll in behind them.
They just don't get the old "Hare and Tortoise" thing.
You are right, we have travelled from our home in Busselton up to Cooktown and are now in the Hunter Valley. Travelling down the Pacific Motorway a couple of weeks ago from Brisbane, sitting on 90km/h towing a 21.6 Silverline, we were passed by every combination of caravan and car/ute. I know some will say we should sit on the speed limit but there is nothing in any state road rules that driving 10km/h below the allowable speed for a caravan is against the law. The new breed with the Rams and Chevs etc are all in a hurry and are really arrogant as well. Some of the truckies are bad for tailgating especially the Indians on the mainline routes and Nullarbor.@@imanenigma3348
A lot of truth here. You did not mention braking the van using the electric brake contoller to bring it back into line?
I should have included it in the video but I did add it to the description.
Looking at some the photos shown on this video there’s no way that tow car was capable of handling any of those caravans. Rear suspension sagged out and front lifting. Recipe for disaster.
All the problems associated with caravans like swaying, pitching, the need for a load-distribution hitch, the need to load the 'van in a certain way, etc., all stem from them being pig trailers. If they were dog trailers these issues would simply not exist. End of story.
Great point. I have often wondered why caravans are always pig trailer style. Probably to do with the cost of manufacture. It would certainly improve road safety if they were dog trailers instead.
@@WesternAustraliaNowAndThen Until they start making them that way, I would only ever have a 5th wheeler but that requires you to own or light truck or at least a decent sized ute.
@@stewy2909 Yes, that's been pointed out to me before but truck drivers manage to do it so it can be done. I think the best compromis is a 5th wheeler but even then, I'd prefer the wheels of those to be right at the rear whereas most I've seen they're a meter or so forward of that.
@@stewy2909 that's why they have dolly locks
Alot to do with I know what I'm doing - shit whoops no I dont
It’s all about tongue weight
Correct loading and speed are also pretty important in stability and as our experience showed, even when everything was done correctly, there are still times when something like a wind gust from the side can start the van swaying.
This is a very timely video. I’ve just bought a new lightweight van 1.5GTM. Although it says 70KG maximum coupling weight. I don’t trust this because towing it home it started to sway at about 100klm. BTW if you have a Redarc or similar towing connection, pressing the adjustment button will break the trailer only!
Tongue weight is only one part and too much is as bad as not enough. The cars rear axle weight is also very important. I recently had my car and van professionally weighed. The vans tow ball weight of 245kg added 350kg to the cars rear axle and the further the tow ball is away from the cars rear axle the greater the increase. Yes, tougue weight is important but it's only a piece of the puzzle.
A sad, dangerous situation, vans that too heavy for the tow vehicle, poor weight distribution, excessive TBW, and towing too fast = a disaster waiting to happen.
It’s not that simple
Towing a caravan..why would you overtake anything..why would you be in,
hurry
By the look of your set up you were too heavy,! Lucky it was just a tyre there are so many vans that are sold should be towed by trucks not cars