Do you tow an Elddis Affinity 550? Stability?
We bought our new 2016 Affinity 550 last year. Lovely caravan and we're very pleased with it.
BUT we find it a stressful tow. We tow with our trusty BMW 320D estate and have found the combination less than stable. During our last time away we experienced a snake on the A303 that started with a deep rut in the road. We were saved by taking foot off accelerator and the ALKO ATC.
We never tow above 55mph and we're very careful with loading (low down, over the axle) to ensure a noseweight of 85Kg using a calibrated gauge. Although the plated MTLPM is 1457Kg, we don't carry much weight so we probably tow around 1380Kg max. As the BMW weighs 1580Kg I'd have thought we'd be ok (at 87%) so the ongoing instability is a disappointment. We've even had heavy duty springs fitted to the BMW but this made little difference. Tyre pressures are as per manual. Awning on back seat of car.
We'd love to hear the experience of other Affinity owners please?
Comments
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We bought our Affinity 550 in 2014 and towed for 2 years with no problems with a 60 plate Insignia SRi for 2 years even at a 93% match.
Changed the car last year for a Sorento and weve had a couple of 'snakes' with it.
The hitch is a Winterhoff with BPW chassis (IDC fitted).
Contacted Winterhoff who sent new friction pads and towed twice since they were fitted and no problems even towing in 25mph winds.
I can only suggest making sure towball is cleaned with fine (120 grit) sandpaper before towing.
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Thanks for the reply Trini. Yes I remember that Elddis used to use the BPW chassis and for some reason have since changed to Alko. I don't see that the chassis should make any difference to stability though.
I take your point about cleaning the towball and will try that. The caravan club have suggested that I reduce the tyre pressures from 58 to 54psi so will try that also.
I'm reluctant to spend thousands of pounds changing our towcar in case the stability is the same with a replacement car.
Meantime I've dropped an email to Elddis and await their response. I'm just hoping there;s nothing wrong with the caravan itself - how would I know, unless I try towing it with a much heavier towcar.
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You should always enjoy going away in your caravan, and that should mean stress free. Reading your post I get the feeling that the problem may be your tow car and not the van. A lot of estate cars sit very low on the back end when towing due to the length from axle to pin. We had only one scare of snaking many years ago, and when we got home I sold the car and brought a big heavy second hand shogun, and we have had shoguns for the last 17 years.
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Thanks for your reply CGB. Yes I tend to agree, it's not much fun having a stressful journey before a touring holiday. And then anticipating the stressful journey home whilst we're away.
We're going to have one more attempt after trying the suggestions above, but I guess if we still have problems then we will definitely change our tow car.
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We have a Coachman 545 VIP which is quite heavy but I have towed it comfortably with a Mondeo 2.2 ST diesel estate and then with a 2.0 Kuga. Never a problem with stability even at 60mph or a little bit more. With the same van hitched up to our BMW X3, what used to be a relaxed drive has become one of total concentration. You certainly know there is a van behind you! Clearly I shall have to experiment with loading and nose weights and tyre pressures. It's odd how I could tow one van with two different cars without having to alter the loading yet when the the X3 is hitched the van is twitchy to say the least.On paper it is a far more suitable vehicle being heavier with a longer wheel base and track. I have had the Al Ko tow hitch stabiliser checked and it is ok.
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Thanks for your input Lansdorf. Although now I'm totally confused as the X3 is on our shortlist. As you say, on paper the X3 should be a fine towcar, however I guess the weight of the caravan isn't everything as aerodynamics will play a big part and the front of our Elddis is quite "square" and the X3 sits quite high.
Whilst staying at the Broadway site recently we talked with a chap who towed his 1500Kg van with a BMW 530D estate. He reckoned that this was the best towcar he'd ever used in many years of caravanning. So maybe it's time for us to take the plunge and hope for the best....!!
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Similar, we have a 2013 Avante 550. (BPW chassis) Ours has the plate upgrade so is 1500kgs loaded. we tow with a Freelander 2, 150 kg nose weight but I struggle to get the caravan down to its 100kg max. I have to put all the heavy stuff just behind the axle when loading it. I could take a gas bottle out of the locker I suppose but not tried it yet.
The caravan sits more or less level when hitched to the car and tows very well, much nicer than our previous Coachman that was slightly lighter.
I have driven over many bad road surfaces with the outfit and am guilty of nudging 70mph on the odd occasion without realizing but it remains very composed.
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I suggest you keep trying combinations of weight and where located. I recently changed my van for a new Swift and found that it was very stable driving home. Checked the noseweight once I put the gas cylinder in and found it very heavy, miles over the limit for my tow bar (90KG)and the hitch etc. Therein started the messing around with placing weight inside to reduce noseweight. Eventually succeeded but found it was a less stable tow and far more vulnerable to wind. The answer, and against conventional advise was an awning in the rear bathroom, which is not where we are all advised to put it, is being over the wheels and not where I usually have it in the car boot!! In my case the van had mountings for rear bike carriers to take up to 40kg which I don't use but I think the weights have been balanced to account for this and I assume putting an awning and weight there balanced it out
i suggest when you are next going away, get the van out in good time to allow,yourself plenty of time to move weight around and try different combinations. A real fag but worth doing and aim to have noseweight right around the limit unless you have a car with a very high noseweight capacity
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I see someone suggested a clean tow ball (good idea) but have you also checked the pads on the caravan hitch? Especially if you have had a couple of wiggles they may need replacing. I had to replace mine after a trip up a bank while following parking instructions from an HGV driver! The car does sound most likely we transformed the tow experience many years ago with Spring Assisters - I think they were called.
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Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions. Yes we've made sure the towball is clean and the friction pads were specifically checked out ok at the service in April. We're due for a stay near Warwick later this month so will try moving weight around again for the journey. We've always travelled with the bed in 'day mode' in the past so will try pulling it right out this time.
We too have struggled to keep the nose weight down with this van and usually travel with a noseweight of around 90Kg. Hit & miss this one as there's no guidance in the manual about what to do with the bed. I'm happy that the car sits level with its new heavy duty springs.
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We had an Elddis Supreme 550 which is a special edition from Preston Caravans, 2015 model on an Alko chassis. Towed with an E class 220 Estate and had no problems at all, even in very high cross winds when in Northern Spain in winter 2016. A little wiggle here and there when being overtaken by a speeding high sided white van, or when we were overtaking a lorry on a motorway - but generally pretty solid. This van was up-plated to 1500 kgs. So I wonder if the 320D is simply not heavy enough for what you ask of it
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We previously owned a 2015 Affinity and towed with a BMW 330d saloon. I found it a great match even though we had a 87% match ratio. Rarely fell it wiggle around and was able to maintain 60mph on the mway without any fuss up and down the country. I only had 1no 4.5kg bottle in the locker and loaded all food / heavy items over the axle and bulky items (chairs etc) under the bed, along with all clothes in the rear wardrobes. When travelling with the awning, always put it in the boot. It is a shame you are not having the same experience as I really found it a good match. Are your tyre pressures ok on the van? Tyre tread ok on the car?
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This is also interesting thank you. Yes the van tyre pressures are to manufacturer's spec. (58psi). New Michelin tyres on the rear, increased in pressure for full load. ESP switched on, ALKO ATC fitted and working ok.
We really do seem to have exhausted all the possibilities and are now reluctantly looking at replacement cars.
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An update, for those who commented. We took your advice!
We've finally taken the plunge and bought a 2013 Landrover Freelander SD4 GS automatic to replace our 13 year old BMW. The Landy will provide us with a weight ratio of 80% and a tow bar limit of 150Kg. The engine has a power output of 190 BHP so it should easily cope with our Elddis for our next holiday in the Lake District later this month.
Thank you once again - we're now looking forward to some stress-free touring!
Helen & Steve
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I tow with a BMW X3 no problems at all with stability, the car is equipped with the factory fit t/bar , very happy all round.
Too late for the original poster but my previous car was a BMW320 touring, the only time it went wonky was after a pair new rear tyres were fitted. A change of wheels front to back cured the problem. That vehicle also had a factory fit t/bar and with that comes heavy duty rear springs as standard.
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We tow an Affinity 540 with a Volvo V90 Cross Country, having recently switched from an XC60, both very stable but the V90 seems to be averaging 29mpg towing. The towball was cleaned when new but has just started to groan at lower speeds, as the van is only two years old don't think the pads need changing.
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Just an update for all who contributed to this thread.
The Freelander has turned out to be a fantastic towcar for our Elddis Affinity 550. I don't have to grip the steering wheel with an "iron fist" any longer. The outfit tows firmly and steadily as it should.
The150Kg towball limit negates any worries about noseweight with the caravan and we can actually take our Gas bottles in the front locker once again and stay just within the ALKO 100Kg noseweight limit.
It's a shame the Freelander is now discontinued as its replacement (the Discovery Sport) is now sooo expensive! So we're envisaging keeping the car for several years if the anti-diesel lobby permit us to!
Steve & Helen
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Thanks for taking the time to update the post, Great choice of car BTW
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Hi, we too have issues towing stability. Hubby HGV driver 40 years, towed caravans for shy on 30 years, never had an issue before!! Purchased New lunar delta ri last November, only used it 4 times this year due to family commitments. 2 of those times have been on motorway M56/M6, on both occasions experienced snaking from near side lane right over 3rd lane, luckily he got outfit under control, but very scary to say the least! On second occasion we could feel outfit swaying, even when a car speeded past us in second lane. Each time hubby doing maximum speed of 53mph. Car is kia sorento 2.5 xs. Always starts to sway at 49mph, weve got lots experience in loading vehicle as had many twin axles. Can anyone help us
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nose weight?car tyre pressures or construction?
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Do you know anyone who has a car with a towbar and would let you tow the caravan with it in an attempt to narrow the issue down to the caravan or your car ?
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