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 Topic: Buccaneer Comm`d & Kia Sorento match?
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19/7/2023 at 6:17pm
Location: London
Outfit: Lunar Cosmos 524
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I've a different car and different van, but the weight ratios are similar 1310Kg MTPLM/1350Kg Kerbweight and it's a superb tow when set up right, BUT with only a 75Kg noseweight limit for car it's a struggle to keep that in order!
I too have tried a little weight further back from the van axle to offset the noseweight and it became distinctly less stable! Once I even moved a seemingly insignificant 6kg TV from the front underseat locker to the rear bathroom wardrobe, and it's detrimental effect was immediately apparent! I stopped and shifted it forwards to regain the otherwise superb stability!
My van is exceedingly nose heavy, in MIRO state it's about 15Kg over the max permitted van chassis limit at around 115Kg let alone the car's towbar limit! 40Kg is a lot of weight to try and 'lose' off the nose!
It's taken a bit of juggling of van contents to get the ideal setup. I now run with a single lightweight gas bottle (Flogas Gaslight 5Kg) in front locker, pretty much only very light stuff in the inside lockers forward of the axle. Really heavy things like awning slightly behind axle, other heavyish things above the axle. I even stack the front bench cushions (the half a dozen smaller ones, not the big long ones) back towards the axle to get a few extra kilos out of the extreme nose (you may think that's extreme, but it's 4 or 5 Kg off the nose!). Oh, and nothing vaguely heavy in high lockers. I load the car with baggage and food etc. rather than the van, that gives me a heavier tow vehicle and minimises the van weight.
As an overall set up, I keep anything of significant weight out of BOTH ends of the van, placing it amidships over/just to rear of axle, load the car as much as possible not the van. Over 5 years, and thousands of miles all over the country it's been faultless, I've even inadvertently hit over 70mph a number of times and it's still rock solid stable (car is very willing to exceed 60mph - so normally use cruise control/speed limiter to stop me failing to notice it's getting too quick!).
It's a fact of life, some tow cars are simply better than others, so you may be fighting a less than ideal tow car as well as challenging weight issues. Things like tyre pressure can have a HUGE effect on stability. When I first picked my van up from the dealers unbeknown to me the tyres were 25% underinflated to recommended pressure, and it was a pig to tow, even the ATC was kicking in at very moderate speeds. Inflating to correct pressure and it was like a different van altogether! Recent debate on here about people not bothering to increase car tyre pressures when towing, I do, mine are recommended by manufacturer to be increased by a not insignificant 6PSI or 17% on rears!
Good luck.
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via mobile 19/7/2023 at 5:10pm
