Towing a Caravan

[Hawaii]

not me

I don';t have the al-ko stabiliser, mine is the blue winterhoff one (same thing, different manufacturer).

Just needed a 23mm spacer betwen the towbar and towball and it fits a treat - no contact betwen spare (rear mounted) or handbrake

ta

hawaii

[TJG]

Mine has the Alko stabiliser and the correct alko ball and it hits, mind you I do have the 16" wheels. I was thinking of putting a 2" spacer behind the ball but have heard they can cause the ball to work loose. I also have to open my spare wheel in order to hook up the van, a real pain if you are aproaching at an angle, if you come from the offside you would hit the van with the wheel.

[Maverick]

You could try one of these, it moves the ball out about 2 to 3". It also alows you to adjust the hight of the ball, ideal if you've just lifted your truck.

[dirtydog]

or like this...

[gmac11240]

Bought my surf in Oct. to tow a 1750 kilo caravan. Hitched up and went to Scotland as a trial run. Left home in Jan. and did 7000k + in Spain. No problems with oil coolers ( none fitted ) and I don't understand about hard and soft settings. How do you change them as I don't see any buttons etc. that enable you to do this. Fuel averaged 20mpg except for one stretch on a French m/way when I chased a Sprinter towing twin axle and caught and passed it fuel dropped to just under 15mpg ,but we were doing 75-80 mph. Took it a bit easier after that although not much overtook us!

Graham

[dirtydog]

Bought my surf in Oct. to tow a 1750 kilo caravan. Hitched up and went to Scotland as a trial run. Left home in Jan. and did 7000k + in Spain. No problems with oil coolers ( none fitted ) and I don't understand about hard and soft settings. How do you change them as I don't see any buttons etc. that enable you to do this. Fuel averaged 20mpg except for one stretch on a French m/way when I chased a Sprinter towing twin axle and caught and passed it fuel dropped to just under 15mpg ,but we were doing 75-80 mph. Took it a bit easier after that although not much overtook us!

Graham

Surfs usually have a switch (right hand side of steering wheel) that can set the suspension soft or hard using electric actuators on the shock.
most shocks are replaced for aftermarket ones at some time as the originals are so expensive!