Bumpy ride

Hi Brian. I have the same problem towing my 22ft van with a Prado. I use a Hayman Reece WDH as well. I think the weight of the draw bar (Towball weight ) contributes to the jarring effect but the only way I can see to alleviate the bumping is to fit a flexible type tow hitch. There was a link on this forum some time ago to a flexible hitch from the US but I can't find it now. I don't know if it was fitted whether the WDH would work together with it though. Bob
Another type

i had the same problem in a roadstar sunset we got second hand it had 2 barreries mounted in boot at front which weighted 48 kgs and a warning sign boot weight not to exceed 30 kgs hidden behind hoses , the batteries were not in good condition so aft are couple of long trips we replace them with a couple larger sealed batteries & moved them under one of the seats in van just in front of the of the wheels resulting in a lot better ride might pay to check how you load your van and try to keep heavy stuf nearer the wheels . swampy

Because of the extra inertia which has to be controlled, the shock absorbers on the cruiser might be stuffed and if you aren't aware or detect them to be a bit slack then the additional demands for body control will be noticed.
There may be nothing at all wrong with the van and towing setup.

I am very aware of shocker performance because that is what makes a vehicle dynamically roadworthy or not. When I towed with two different caravans, the fitting of GOOD shockers made a large difference to the pitch control.

Towing usually means that better than OE shocks are needed.

When the chips are down it is usually the shocks which didn't provide control which added to the vehicle instability before and accident.
The Monroe adage is , "Don't discover your shock absorbers are worn by accident".

Ross M

Hi brian

When we first got our princeton 652 i left the chain length the same as the pop top

and found it very bouncy for and aft i then went to 5 spare chain links from 4 links

and found it rides great now.

Regards Dave

hi brian
a few years ago when i first stated towing my 16ft single axle old viscount van with my standard jap suspension and shocks i found my mazda bravo dual cab even with gear in the back tray was bouncing and wollowing around that made hard work of driving so i added 1 extra leaf to the rear springs and fitted toughdog foam cell shocks all-round and was amazed at the stability i gained from this aplication it stopped the bounce and wollowing and turned the vehicle into a very stable tug
and this was without wdh
i think that you will find the the old cruiser is the problem as ross suggested
put some new after market shocks on it
you say old cruiser but havent said how old or how many km's try standing on the towbar and jump it up and down if it starts bouncing easily just with this action
its a sign your shocks are shot
cheers

Thank you everyone for your input , the tojo is Hj 61( very old but oh so reliable ) wasnt aware that the shockies were gone , standing on the tow bar and trying to bounce it is almost non existent ! But no doubt the whole suspension needs to be checked out .
no one commented on the tyre pressures i am using ?!

Thank you Ross, you have been very helpfull