VF Wagon towing

[Alano]

Hi, newbie here! I have a VT commodore pulling a converted 7x5 box trailer. Rear tyre blowout in outback Queensland.: Jack-knifed and rolled over....Insurance write off. Question is: do VF commodores have the same structural/suspension problem as the IRS found on the VTs?? Can i tow up to 1.5T/ Do I need bigger springs? Air bag? WDH? Or is towing with a VF a really bad idea?

 

[gossie]

VF will be fine like your VT as long as the tyres are okay.

Why did the VT tyre blow out?
Was it age of tyre.....ie. over 5 years old.
Was it the pressure in it? What was it on?
Was tyre worn or almost worn to the markers?
Was there previous sidewall damage from careless parking against gutters or into pot holes?

 

[Alano]

Thanks for picking up, gossie. Tyre had 2 years left. Pressure was 36 towing 745kg box trailer. Tyre had good tread left in it when we started out from Adelaide. No sidewall damage at all. Others have said IRS suspension causes inside rears to scrub out (I know that now...). Suspenion experts say VT copied Mercedes IRS and was always going to stuff up towing. Is VF commodore the same??!!

 

[Forg]

No the VF suspension is a better design, which controls the angle of the wheel better such that the tyre-surface is closer to parallel to the road.

The VT was much simpler, so as the diff got closer to the ground while the car was going straight ahead, the rear tyres tilted to an angle that leaned more & more on the inside of the tyre.

You know when you see "stanced" cars, which when lowered have wheels that look really heftily angled? That's pretty-much what happened with the earlier Commodore IRS setups. It's not so bad a thing for cornering, but yeah, if you put a bit of weight in the rear & put some km's on it you have to keep an eye on the insides of the tyres 'cos the outsides won't have the same wear.

Our VS Berlina was a similar basic IRS, we rarely carried much in the back (and I think I only would've towed maybe a half-dozen times in 10yrs of ownership) & never had uneven wear.

 

[chrisp]

Towing with a VF is fine. The towing weight limit is determined by the engine and transmission combination and the towbar fitted (and the trailer brakes!). I've got the V8 in auto and it is rated to tow up to 2100kg. There is no up rating of the springs or air lift shockers required or available for the wagon (I think there are up rated springs or shockers available for the sedans though). The WDH is a good idea in my view and experience.

 

[monstar]

VF has some very cool stability control features that are quite rare, including
trailer sway mitigation (TSM).

Found this about it: Trailer swaying is something that can happen without warning when you tow. It is when a trailer starts "snaking" from side to side above a certain critical speed. This can happen due to many factors including incorrect trailer loading or poor maintenance of the trailer such as improperly inflated tires.
Trailer stability programs use various sensors and measures in order to activate the required counter measures to prevent snaking. These measures include wheel speed, throttle position, steering wheel angle, yaw rates and lateral acceleration to just mention a few. Trailer swaying is a serious problem and can lead to very bad accidents due to a loss of control of the vehicle. In severe cases the vehicles sway control system will slow the vehicle down to prevent a serious accident.
When the system detects any yawing (snaking) in one direction it applies brake pressure to the opposite side of the vehicle. This is also called asymmetric braking. This continuous monitoring and correction provides the driver with added confidence and safety.
Article here.
Depends on what you are carrying and whether it fits in the back of a sportwagon with seats down too, because the interior can carry as much volume as a 7’ x 5’ box trailer loaded 2’ high (2000 litres or 1/2 pallet). Main thing is can safely handle over twice the unbraked load of a 7’ x 5’ box trailer within the vehicle.
Basically if goods height is such that you can slide it in the back is a much better proposition than towing.
I carry 550-650 kg 80% of the time, heavier sprung and decent shocks.

 

[Smitty]

.. no upgrade with my combo

car and trailer weigh just under 1600kg
the tow limit with a manual is 1600 which is a joke really

 

[Forg]

I towed my father in law's rather huge 70's fibreglass half-cabin down to the block of land where he stores his stuff ... while he assured me it would be fine, when I Googled such boats later I'd frankly be surprised if (even with his lightweight home-made trailer) it was under 2500kg in total.

I'm no towing expert, my qualifications for towing were basically being the husband of the owner of the car.

But compared to how a mate's various 3-ish-tonne-towing-capacity Japanese light-commercials felt when towing 1T-1.5T around, the VF felt brilliant. No swaying, no pulling, nothing untoward at all. Inexperienced as I am, I was in no hurry; but it felt very solid & safe. And very much so, especially compared to things which (theoretically) are better tow vehicles ...

 

[monstar]

.. no upgrade with my combo

Is photoBucket allowing forum pics again or did you actually fork out?

 

[Clay1391]

Im unable to see the photo bucket photo... thats interesting stuff on the holden. Has anyone had tsm kick in? What are your thoughts on it?