Surf Towing & Caravan Things

[marky]

hi all you towing gurus,

as the wife has decided we need a folding camper thing now, altho we have 5 tents, i have a couple of questions:

any tips on towing, especially reversing would be apprciated.
what exactly is a front reciever plate, i believe it,s helpful manouvering into tight spots, how?
has anyone any experience of folding campers, conway and pennine seem to be the ones to go for.

cheers all,
ship

ps: marky, who,s ANTHONY? or have i missed summat.

YOUVE MISSED SOMMAT
Go on a field or empty car park & practice

[surfin]

We have not long moved up to a caravan from a Conway Cruiser. I loved the Cruiser, which was a doddle to reverse when it was hitched to a Peugeot 306, Vauxhall Astra Estate etc, but a swine when behind the Surf because I couldn't see it until it had already started turning.
A handy device is a couple of cheap whip aerials mounted on the rear corners with a little pennant on each. You can guage the length of your outfit and see it turn before it appears in the mirrors.
I'll echo the fact that they tow so well that it is easy to forget they are hitched up. Even with the Peugeot 306 I found myself going with the flow on the motorway and having to slow down (from nearly 80MPH once).

Yes but how,s the van ?

I used to worry about having grey hairs ... now I worry about not having enough !

Enjoy it,s later than you think !

Regards
Surfin

[kitesurf_phil]

Little Tip, AVOID the Barnstaple roundabouts, unless you plan a roadside picnic in town, and if you might see a 3th gen SSR-G green over silver, negotiating the traffic, wave...... I might need to see a friendly face in The Home of the Traffic Jam

D

I will keep my eyes peeled.
And for Surfin - The vans great. This will be our third trip out this year. Tows beautifully, so I hardly know it's there but I get a reminder every time I look in the mirror!!!!!!
I did post some pics after our week in Somerset.

[surfin]

Flying kites

Hi Kiteman ..

I,ll look up your pics soon.It,s very sad for me since I dont have a scanner,so I cant show you all our,s ! You dont want to buy three good windbreaks from me do you - they are on EBay starting at £15 if you are interested.

[kitesurf_phil]

I'm getting excited now. We are hitching up tomorrow and towing the caravan down to Ilfracombe. The truck has had a service and a thorough clean. The damaged wheel arch extensions have been filled and resprayed. Should be the smartest looking outfit on the road if the birds haven't c*apped all over the van!

[Gizmo]

General Towing

Well I'm well chuffed with the vehicle....been to Three Counties Showground in MAlvern for the Last 3 Days with a IFOR Williams Trailer on the back and no problems....a few times had to remember myself that the trailer was on the back..

Went down on Thursday at 1pm and ended up at Malvern at 9pm...sat in the Traffic Jam due to M6 being closed with the engine purring away..expected to overheat or head possible crack like other vehicles but Nope just kept on going..

Coming back no problems at 70-80

[surfin]

Surfin Kites

If you are going to Ifracombe from Luton,you wanna be careful ,cause they have restricted caravans to the slow lane on The M5 South of Bristol on Saturdays and Sundays.It,s just more of the "I hate caravans" campaign.Since my last posting,have met another Surf tower in this area,and he says the first thing he had fitted on his 3rd.Gen was an additional oil cooler for the auto gearbox.He says if you dont do this you will have to replace the gearbox,cause the seals and torque converters go u/s.Kenlowe sell them for around £90 + fitting.- they are on The Net.Our box got very hot when towing in Spain,so I m going to get one !Cheaper than a new gear box.

[ship]

thanks for the info on folding campers folks,
had my heart set on one of the top of the range models, toilet, oven, blown air heating, etc, only to find it,s 212cm wide when folded and the drive at the side of my house is only 210cm. So a conway countryman at 187cm wide looks like it will fit the bill, with a few optional extras of course.
thanks again
ship


ps: don,t think a g/box oil cooler is essential on a surf, i think there,s quite a few members who tow large caravans, horse boxes etc. who don,t have them fitted, but for peace of mind, why not eh!

[marky]

60 miles of backups & standing traffic on the M5 & A30 testerday going towards Cornwall im sure glad im travelling through the Night

[surfin]

Cool oil ..

thanks for the info on folding campers folks,
had my heart set on one of the top of the range models, toilet, oven, blown air heating, etc, only to find it,s 212cm wide when folded and the drive at the side of my house is only 210cm. So a conway countryman at 187cm wide looks like it will fit the bill, with a few optional extras of course.
thanks again
ship


ps: don,t think a g/box oil cooler is essential on a surf, i think there,s quite a few members who tow large caravans, horse boxes etc. who don,t have them fitted, but for peace of mind, why not eh!

I will be getting one fitted for - as you say - peace of mind - but also because I tow over long distances in Europe.Surfin ..

[Tallyman]

Surfin, you could try Speedflow for your oil cooler. That's where I got mine. And they just moved from London to Clevedon, so you could run down & pick one up and save on the postage. Their website link is on here (I think) on one of my posts with pics of the kit. If not, I'll get the link tonight when I get home & PM you.

Edit: on message 136 below

[surfin]

Too late,Oh mighty tallyman !

Surfin, you could try Speedflow for your oil cooler. That's where I got mine. And they just moved from London to Clevedon, so you could run down & pick one up and save on the postage. Their website link is on here (I think) on one of my posts with pics of the kit. If not, I'll get the link tonight when I get home & PM you.

Edit: on message 136 below

My super dooper expealidocious oil cooling thingy is winging it,s way to me as I speak (so to speak) from Thatcham Berks courtesy of "the what its name company" - age and memory loss taking over here - oh yes - Kenlowe.They added £10 for p/p so what with the bxxxxx bridge toll and the fuel,I am probably "saving" abit of dosh.Nevertheless thanks a huge amount for your interest.
regards
Surfin

[europa88]

thanks for the info on folding campers folks,
had my heart set on one of the top of the range models, toilet, oven, blown air heating, etc, only to find it,s 212cm wide when folded and the drive at the side of my house is only 210cm. So a conway countryman at 187cm wide looks like it will fit the bill, with a few optional extras of course.
thanks again
ship


ps: don,t think a g/box oil cooler is essential on a surf, i think there,s quite a few members who tow large caravans, horse boxes etc. who don,t have them fitted, but for peace of mind, why not eh!

Ship

I have got an temp gauge on the transmission lines and regularily see 110 degrees when towing on a hot day, the factory atf warning comes on at 120 degrees, so although you are correct that many people tow without a cooler.
Ignorance is bliss as you could be very close to the high temps without realising it!
PS I also have a 35 row cooler fitted although I do tow a large caravan!

[ship]

Ship

I have got an temp gauge on the transmission lines and regularily see 110 degrees when towing on a hot day, the factory atf warning comes on at 120 degrees, so although you are correct that many people tow without a cooler.
Ignorance is bliss as you could be very close to the high temps without realising it!
PS I also have a 35 row cooler fitted although I do tow a large caravan!

point taken Neil,
and after reading your findings re: atf temps, i reckon once iv,e bought my folding camper i can still afford a g/box oil cooler but NOT a new g/box,
cheers ship

ps: also a Neil

[europa88]

point taken Neil,
and after reading your findings re: atf temps, i reckon once iv,e bought my folding camper i can still afford a g/box oil cooler but NOT a new g/box,
cheers ship

ps: also a Neil

Yep

What frightened me, was after fitting a 10 row cooler, i went up a long steep mountain pass in north wales without towing any thing and still saw 110 degrees on the gauge! The accuracy of the guages are first class, so I was worried a bit!! I,ve since fitted an additional 25 row cooler with a dedicated fan in front of it to push air through at slow forward moving speeds ie. up hills!!!

Took It up a few hills around our way towing 1500kg's of caravan on a bl**dy hot day recently and although it still hit 110 degrees trans temp it was a much hotter ambient temp outside than before!

Water temp however did start to climb on one hill untill I realised there was no point in putting my foot all the way down. As soon as i backed off a little but kept it in lower revs (o/d off) The temp eased!

I'm pretty sure this is because the engine etc is not working as hard and all that energy created when clogging it has to go some where ie. HEAT!

I'm going to modify the rad when I can afford ,it to move the restricted water inlet to the other side of the trans oil inlet tube!
Wifes birthday first!!