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Quote: Originally posted by AndrewK on 30/4/2009

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Quote: Originally posted by LegsDownKettleOn on 30/4/2009

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There is no denying that it makes for a more stress free journey which in turn makes for a less stressed driver. In itself a safety benefit.

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Providing (s)he doesn't drive faster because (s)he feels safer.  My bet is that most would.

Cheers
Andrew

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Quote: Originally posted by LegsDownKettleOn on 30/4/2009

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There is no denying that it makes for a more stress free journey which in turn makes for a less stressed driver. In itself a safety benefit. My worry is as to which is the lesser of the two evils.

Having changed my car, I am now towing a van that weighs less than 40% of the weight of my car so really have no need for a stabiliser any more, although the fact it is fitted I do still use it.

I have tried leaving the lever up and at this kind of ratio makes no difference to the handling at all.

With my previous car, I was towing at about 75% as I recall and the stabiliser made a huge difference; this just goes to demonstrate that the stabiliser was covering up an issue.

I have found that by moving things around the van it is possible to find an optimum. I generally, with my previous car, would leave the stabiliser off for a few miles to get the feel of things. If it did not feel right I would move things around the van until I was happy with the way it towed before putting the stabiliser on. This seems to cover all the bases.

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Blimey LDKO, what towcar/caravan have you got to have a van 40% the weight of your new car?

BB

Ulysses - 850 Kgs unladen, MTPLM is 1100 Kgs. So technically you are actually towing at 50%. The one I had never shifted an inch behind the Shogun I used to tow it, about 56% IIRC, so I know what you mean.

I don't get stressed driving so it wouldn't make me any more stress free if I had a stabiliser - in fact the stress of fitting the blooming thing would probably stress me more. A Bulldog one came with my caravan - but I threw it in the bin. I think it was missing the bits it needed to attach it to the car, anyway.

Mine's the earlier model though, slightly lighter than yours was. I have to admit that I could only ever find one weight quoted for my model so assume it is probably unladen. I never found a figure for the payload of my model, but no doubt it is the same as the later model.

Yes, I was manipulating the figures a little for effect.