Lift kits and towing

[adjust]

Hey guys,

new to the forum and have a question re lift kits and towing, had a search and couldn't find the info i was after.

Does anyone have any experience with the effect lift kits have on the vehicles characteristics while towing? Have spoken to some people who reported an increase in the sway of their trailer once they fitted a lift kit to their Hilux.

Reason i ask here is i have just ordered a new Navara and plan to tow 2t regularly. My previous cars were both air bag suspension 4wd's so the leaf rear will be a new experience to me and i am keen to have tow as nicely as possible.

Thanks guys

 

[Dave]

As long as the draw bar of the trailer isn't on a stupid angle and the trailer is packed right it should handle fine.

 

[tweak'e]

biggest problem i find is that if the trailer height is setup for low vehicle, fitting it onto a lifted 4x4 puts it up at an angle which screws up the trailer suspension (tandem) and pushes all the weight to the rear wheels ,which can be a problem as most brakes are on the front axle of the trailer.

 

[Dion]

USA sorted this out years ago...

I've seen bigger ones (to the point of ridiculous) on skyjacker trucks but Google Images has let me down.

 

[Beergutz]

If you flip that upside down it will be perfect for standard suspension and should keep the trailer level......hehehehehehe

 

[Old.Tony]

Trailer sway is usually the result of not enough - or too much - weight on the towball. Towball weight should be around 10% of the trailer's mass. You have to account for that in your vehicle's weight too, when loading it. If you have a car with 810Kg of capacity (2009 D40 auto dual cab) and 3 adults = 240kg, 10 bags of cement = 400kg, you only have (810-240-400=) 170kg of capacity left, and if you're going to tow 2.2T ... you're out of luck.

I would suggest using a "Weight Distribution Hitch" (WDH). I have the 550lb system on this page - looks like this (image taken from that page):

This not only redistributes the weight correctly, but if you look carefully at the image, you'll see that you can adjust the height of your towball over a reasonable range and it might be enough for your needs.

 

[jayk]

Some caravans wont have a towball weight of 10% of their weight..., so at 2.2t you may still be ok with your ball weight. Best to look at loading in the trailers manual. There was a caravan fatality a few years ago where it was found (by a van) expert that the caravan had virtually no weight on the ball at all. This expert believed this is what caused the crash. Some lawyers did disagree though....
Findings in the matter of Jong

 

[tweak'e]

If you flip that upside down it will be perfect for standard suspension and should keep the trailer level......hehehehehehe

thats what i did for mine, flipped the stock one upside down.
however for the big lifts you can get adjustable height ones.

 

[adjust]

Perfect, thanks guys. I thought it would just come down to a different height tow ball/tongue to accommodate the lift and maintain a level draw bar. The dual cab towing 2t (200kg downball) only requires a drop in GVM by 60kg so shouldn't need load levelling stuff.

 

[Old.Tony]

The dual cab towing 2t (200kg downball) only requires a drop in GVM by 60kg so shouldn't need load levelling stuff.

You'd be surprised how much better it drives with the weight distribution hitch though. Many of the other images don't show it, but you can see ours here. The van weighs 1.8T and this photo was taken at Woomera.

The height of the ball is adjustable - that's essential to properly set up the hitch - and resolves the very issue you were asking about.

The WDH isn't there to remove weight from the towball - that weight will still be there. What the WDH does is help spread the load evenly between the front and rear wheels of the tow vehicle. If you're pushing down with 200Kg a meter behind your rear wheels, your front wheels are going to be a lot lighter, resulting in a lack of steering response and braking effectiveness.

And believe me - when you're travelling on roads like the Ernest Giles Rd ...

... you'll want that improved control. It's not about how much weight you have to adjust the GVM by, it's about vehicle control.

I'll confess the WDH adds another couple of minutes to the hitching-up process, but I'm happy to spend that time for the improved handling.

 

[adjust]

I understand the weight is not removed from the downball, my point about the slight reduction in GVM was more aimed at if the reduction is so slight, that the weight being towed is well within what the cars suspension was engineered for, and as such, i'm hoping extra devices for load levelling should not be needed.

I hear you on the control thing. My two previous 4wds were a range rover p38 and a range rover sport. Both had air bag suspension so would automatically compensate for the downball weight. I am just hoping that given the 2t is well within what the Navara is specced for that nothing extra should need to be done for it to tow that kind of a load safely and well.

 

[Old.Tony]

Given that the Navara (my auto) is rated for 810Kg in the back, I could theoretically drop 8 tonnes behind her and hope for the best

Actually, there's a problem with those figures and a supposed "reduced" load. The Navara has a GCM of 5980kg (mine does, anyway). It also has a GVM of 2980Kg, which I am supposed to count the entire ball weight and not the "reduced" loading. My max towed load is 3,000Kg, which puts 300Kg on the ball, so in my own vehicle, it means that I could theoretically put about 20Kg in the tub (two adults = 160kg, add 20kg + 300kg = 480Kg + 2500kg dry weight = 2980Kg GVM). Yes, my Nav sits on the kerb at 2500Kg with all its widgets (bar, canopy, winch yadda yadda).

Personally, for insurance purposes, I won't try to cheat that in any way - I want to be well within the letter of the law no matter which way it's calculated.

The term "load leveller" is something of a misnomer. The true, accurate term is "Weight Distribution Hitch" and its entire goal is to defeat the torque placed on the towing vehicle.

You don't HAVE to use the bars (despite common sense recommending them). If you just get them, toss the bars in the bin and use the hitch they came with to adjust the height of the ball, you've achieved the goal you've stated in the original post.

 

[adjust]

I appreciate what you are saying Tony, and thanks for the input. I would just be disappointed if i had to use additional measures to have a large 4wd tow 2t properly and safely. Obviously if it comes down to it, i would use them to have the car tow properly. I guess coming from a vehicle which didn't need anything extra, i have somewhat of an inherent reluctance to use them, silly i know!

I was planning to add a 50mm lift (most i can legally do in SA). I was considering something like this kit Snake Racing online store Australia - Shop for Trick Off Road Componentry for your 4x4, 4WD vehicle

Do you (or anyone) have any other suggestions for other lift kits that would improve the cars towing characteristics?

 

[adjust]

Thanks for the info and feedback Tony. I think i will just be a little disappointed if a large 4wd needs additional fixtures to tow 2t properly. Obviously if it came down to it i would use what was needed. I guess having come from 2 cars that needed nothing extra i have a sort of inherent reluctance to use them, silly i know!

Also, do you, or anyone else, have any suggestions for lift kits that work well for improving towing characteristics. I am limited to 50mm due to legality in SA and was considering this kit;

Snake Racing online store Australia - Shop for Trick Off Road Componentry for your 4x4, 4WD vehicle