Bryan wrote:

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NandK wrote:

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I have had Electronic Stability Control (ESC) fitted and have found it well worth the $1300 paid.
Works well in cross winds and when semis go flying past at great ks..

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 The dealer is fitting them to my van too when it arrives at month end.

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Is the ESC  that you are discussing similar to the ATC that Collyn discusses in the extract following?

Given that this article from Collyn Rivers was published some time ago  (my copy is dated 5/2013) there may have been some development to enable it to handle the heavier Aussie trailers.  It seems however that he is referring to a system that applies differential breaking

In the light of this article if I were thinking of installing the system I would be checking that it can handle the weight of my van.  A quick look at the Al Ko website FAQs seems to indicate that they are suitable for all caravans.  It seems that breaks are applied to all wheels simultaneously on the Al Ko product. 

An extract from Collyn Rivers article follows ...

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AL-KO (in Europe) agrees that towed caravans exhibit the critical speed referred to above, and that differential van braking 

is a solution. The company has developed an ATC Trailer Control electronic control system that reacts quickly to restore stability. 

This unit continually monitors the stability of the caravan and operates only when a potentially dangerously unstable condition 

is detected. It does this via sensors on the caravan that detect laterally disturbing forces (such as a large swinging motion - but 

ignore bends etc) and, via a servo mechanism, applies the appropriate side caravan brake/s only, selectively and appropriately 

just before instability becomes critical.  (From my quick look the AlKo product applies all breaks simultaneously as stated on their web site ..  G)

The system is claimed to raise the critical speed by about 20%, but the makers sensibly warn it is an emergency aid intended 

to operate only to prevent an accident. 

It is not, stresses Al KO, a way of enhancing stability.

Curiously little appears to be known locally about this major development, but this possibly because the units so far cannot 

handle the sheer mass of most local products.  (see comment above .. G)

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This is what Al Ko says about caravan Stability. (From their WEB site) ...

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Caravans and trailers can be subject to lateral movements due to a range of different circumstances, such as having to take evasive manoeuvres to miss an unexpected vehicle or animal that has suddenly appeared on the road ahead or difficult weather conditions.

The sway effect, where the caravan or trailer is swinging from side to side behind the tow vehicle, can occur in these situations and can be a very frightening experience for the occupants of the tow vehicle.

Sometimes the movement of the trailer is so slight that it can recover itself, However when the movement becomes greater, it is more difficult to overcome and can be a very frightening experience for the occupants of the tow vehicle, resulting in a potential jack-knife situation.

Other factors that can cause varying levels of swaying to occur are issues such as poorly loaded vehicles, too much speed, incorrect tyre pressures and erratic driving.

Even in normal, everyday driving, these situations can happen.

Throughout all of these situations, ESC is constantly monitoring and corrects any instabilities as they occur, enabling you to continue a smooth and stress free journey

Yeah, mine is the ALKO one. Apparently its compatible with the Cruisemaster  independent coil suspension.  The dealer delivery team will give me a comprehensive brief when I take delivery but they have mentioned that I must switch it off in sand or heavy off road work. Please don't ask me what heavy off road work is as its not something I'm contemplating on doing. I understand the sand part as I do a lot of sand driving where momentum is the key, I even switch off my car's ESC when driving on sand.

I'm getting more conservative and cautious as I get older so I'm relying more and more on electronic and mechanical aids in areas I'm unsure about and where my confidence is low. I don't know if its a good thing or not but its the path I've chosen.