Pulling feeling when towing

Duffalous

Hi all, apologies up front if this is a daft question and or is in the wrong place.

We recently collected our first ever Caravan (Bailey Unicorn Cadiz) and hit our fist problem straight away. When towing we get this pulling feeling, almost jerking motion that actually makes us feel sick !

I called the dealer when we got home and they said it was normal to get some feeling as that's the Caravan brakes applying as and when required

We have been out a couple of times now and its the same every time and my concern is that there is something wrong with it

My Tow car is VW T5 Transporter so way within any towing limits etc

We used to have a motorhome but my daughter got car sick so we changed to caravan and now she is feeling sick due to the pulling / jerking feeling !!

Is this normal ?

Thanks
Duff  

Milothedog

You have over a ton pivoting up and down behind you so it is going to be felt by those in the tow vehicle. so to a large degree, yes. Quite normal. You may be able to improve things by loading the T5 as much as you can and getting the vans nose weight up near the maximum figure. 

JVB66

I think your "pulling and tugging" is more the up and down movement that is quite normal when you have over a ton of trailer on the tow hook,and with the condition of some of our roads, can exaggerate it,  

Lutz

How old is your T5? Could it be that the rear shock absorbers are showing signs of old age? And how about those on the caravan?

EasyT

I assume that you have 'aired up' your car tyres to recommended pressures for towing and that you have achieved a high enough noseweight? What actual noseweight are you towing at?

Oneputt

Does your caravan have ATC, if so is it working correctly. When it activates the brakes come on and can feel quite jerky.  As Lutz says check your rear suspension and if the feeling is the same get the ATC checked

SteveL

Our U2 Cadiz used to tow at its smoothest with around 90 kg load on the hook. Our X Trail was OK for a hundred, no idea about the T5. When I used to tow it empty for its service with a much reduced hook load, I would definitely call it a jerking motion. However, it does  depend a lot on the road surface. There is one on an A road near our storage with rapid undulations, enough to make you think something has gone seriously wrong. If you are getting the jerking on a smooth road at a constant speed that would be more worrying and perhaps point to an issue with the ATC.

Unknown

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geoffeales

totally agree with milothedog, we always put all the heavy stuff in the tow-car to keep the ratio healthy. Nose weight is absolutely crucial and the closer it is to max the better! Also like the comment about shock absorbers (actually their correct name is "dampers" and this is exactly what they're supposed to do) if they're old and worn the van tends to bounce around a little more than desired! 

paul56

It is very rare that our ATC cuts in and it's usually 'driver error' by going around bends too fast and the braking system says Enough!

You can feel the caravan brakes cut in occasionally as you come to a halt but this shouldn't cause any motion sickness. 

I agree its probably the pitching between the tow vehicle and the caravan that is the issue. On a smooth, straight road there should barely be any noticeable movement and you should hardly know the van is there. 

Duffalous

Many thanks everyone - good to know it’s fairly normal and that it’s probably pitching 

I have noticed that in a few cases it’s smooth and no problem at all so I guess that’s the smooth road scenario 

Caravan is 2017 and T5 is 2015 so both should be ok....?? Will get the brakes and dampers checked even though it had a service before i collected it 

Nose weight is 100kg as is the limit on the T5. Measured and checked that each time we went out 

Tyres are 40psi (max is 46psi) but they are non standard so no info about’s towing pressures. Worth taking them up to closer the max pressure ?

Caravan has ATC and green light is on. Dealer said ATC will make it feel a bit jerky...??

Will try loading up the T5 more and see if that helps 

Thanks again everyone 

Duff

 

 

Milothedog

Here's a good example. my outfit is rock solid when towing but there is one particular route from one of our regular sites that initially made me pull over and look to see if anything was amiss.

This is the road that takes you back to the A21 after leaving Fairlight woods site. The road looks fine but the ride in the car is quite different to how it is 99.9% of the time. 

EasyT

Dealer said ATC will make it feel a bit jerky...??

The dealer is talking rubbish then. You would rarely be aware of ATC. Only generally operates in extremis if driving normally and smoothly

crusader

Is your tow ball free of grease ? if so try lightly rubbing the four friction pads inside the hitch and then spray with brake cleaner which cleans any residue off.After do the same with your tow ball. I you haven't got them already buy covers for the tow ball and the electric socket.

Paul

Duffalous

Hi

Journey home from storage at the weekend on the motorway. Was sat at 50mph for some time due to road works and it seemed ok. Off the motorway and its not nice again

Checked the Stabiliser pads when I got home and they were dirty and glazed ! Have now cleaned them up and re-fitted. Is that going to make a difference with the pitching feeling ??

Have also measured the Tow Ball height on the T5 and its way over the recommended height (When Laden). I am guessing this is something to do with my problem as most of my previous journeys have been like this. Will load the T5 up and see what happens...

Off to Devon next week and am a little nervous !!

Thanks to all for your help so far

 

proterra

Just a thought do you get a bumping noise as you brake? If so the damper attched to your caravan hitch may be faulty. If working correctly it should apply the caravan brakes gently.

A simple test is to push it in by hand and it should come out again slowly

Takethedogalong

I can commiserate with your daughter. Even as an adult I still occasionally get shocking travel sickness when we tow our van. It’s a small little 13 footer, which we have towed with either LR Defender/Disco, or more recently with a Jeep Cherokee/Patriot/Wrangler. It was far worse with the Wrangler, short wheel base that made the pitching motion worse. All you can do is check all that everyone has advised above, and play around with weight distribution. For what it’s worth, I was fine on motorways, long and smooth, but my torment started on twisty up and down routes. I still suffer solo if sat in rear seats of a lot of vehicles. Citroen’s, with their wallowy suspension had me boffing within minutes......🤢

Edit: If it’s possible, fit a drop plate to your tow hitch to level off van. Getting the van level helped us a lot.

Duffalous

Thanks again everyone

Had a week in Devon and had a much better experience (still there but better) having loaded up the T5. Think its a weight loading issue - will put the awning in the T5 even for just going to storage !

I did however experience a different issue in that at some point during the week away my tyre pressures increased by 5psi. I checked them before left and they were 60psi as they should be. The day we came home they were 65psi ?? (it was a very warm day...???)

TyrePal showed them increasing by about 8/9psi on the journey home so had I not checked and adjusted the pressure before we left, they would have been up to nearly 75psi... !!!

Job to do on all trips = check your tyre pressures !!

pointthefingerman

I tow our Cartegena with a Renault Trafic van and as others have suggested keep the weight in the van itself, Vans are ideal to use this wayas it balances the outfit very well. Obviously you can feel it pulling at times, but there is no pitching and overall gives a smooth ride on the motorways - we leave very little in the Caravan itself both in store and on the hoof