new vehicle and a 2013 uk bailey caravan.

beehive · Veteran Member

new vehicle and a 2013 uk bailey caravan.

Snail · Senior Member

Hi Beehive,

Is there any air pressure in the air bags, some air may need to let out to make the ride more comfortable. You may not need the air bags as the ute is built to carry a load.

beehive · Veteran Member

Yes i am running the airbags at the basic reqd pressure without a load on.

Snail · Senior Member

2014 Nissan utes can have a payload of up to 1000kgs this would be why your ride is bumpy. Most normal station wagon 4X4 only have pay loads between 600 & 700kgs.From my experience I have always found utes to be uncomfortable compared to over vehicles.

Radar · Guru

Beehive hi.

Can you tell us which model of Nissan Navara twin cab ute you are referring to.

Our Navara is a D40 which is quite good to ride in, when we hook the 2 tonne van on 200 kgs on the ball its flops down a wee bit more, then adding the extras we take with us is giving us some concern as it sit down at the back to low. Still a good ride.

If by some chance you have the D22 model then they are built more to carry a load full time where ours is is for comfort.

Hope this helps. Ralph

spida · Guru

I have been told that the Navara has a firmer chassis which is ideal for towing but not so comfortable without the van. I have a Navara D40 and love it for towing. I looked at airbags but apparently Nissan advises against them - it changes the dynamics too much from what the vehicle was built for. By the time you fill the back of the ute - generator etc I am sure you will travel just fine.
Looked at the Baileys yesterday - great van and I gather quite light so I wouldnt worry too much..

beehive · Veteran Member

Hello, the ute is a nissan nevara rx d40 turbo diesal

beehive · Veteran Member

hello again,the ride was the same before i had the airbags fitted,its nor the ride i worry about,its the stability on the road when towing.

I pick the van up on Monday comming so will make sure i load ute and van correctly and see how I go.will advise one i get it home.

Thanks for your reply,cheers Sherria beehive

beehive · Veteran Member

hi I am told that if the van makes the vehicle sit too low,you need air bags or you will wear your suspension out.Nissan told me that.Funny how we never get told the same thing ?

Thanks to you all for your posts I will keep you informed as to how I end up.hope to meet you all on the road some day soon

Cheers BEEHIVE

Radar · Guru

Beehive,

From what I have learnt over the years from who I believe are responsible people using air bags as assistant to there normal spring suspension run a few pound of air when empty and when towing work on about 15 psi.

If the ute feels stiff and hard let a little out or if its a little the other way go up, couple more.

I run air pressures on our ute the same as what is recommended by the manufacturer and about 42 on the caravan to which I have tried several variations using the 4 psi rule. Checking the tyres air pressure after about 2 hour drive to see what the air pressure is or have risen to.

If they are more then 4 pound higher raise the pressure, meaning the tyres working flexing to much heating the tyre up expanding the air. Could be making the ute move around a bit, like wise with the van. Can cause shorten tyre life, heavier fuel usage.

If they are within or lower then you can lower them a bit but only pound at a time.

Next step is ensure the van is loaded reasonable well. Heavy around the axle, light gear at the back behind the axle. A nice amount of weight on the ball.

What goes in ute well load the heavier items towards the front.

After a while it will become second nature to you, take your time and enjoy. Ralph.

kesa32 · Senior Member

Hi Sherria , your ute will be fine , as you know just try and get the van loaded properly when you do load it , as it sits empty when you pick it up it should be fine
With regard to ball weight , if you aim around 6-7% of van weight it should be fine ( these newer ones might run a tad more compared to ours )
The only things that will upset your towing experience will be the usual stuff like winds , semis and crap road surfaces , all to varying degrees of course , I'm sure you'll be fine, they're a nice van :)

oh , and ask if it's been serviced recently as warranty will only cover a serviced van ( apparently they have to have the body bolts checked and tensioned now and then ? )

-- Edited by kesa32 on Friday 13th of February 2015 10:11:15 AM

PeterD · Guru

beehive wrote:
hello again,the ride was the same before i had the airbags fitted,its nor the ride i worry about,its the stability on the road when towing.
Sherria beehive

Fitting air bags are not the best for improving the stability of a tow vehicle. Open this article and scroll down to the heading Slip angles and load/tyre pressure etc. This will show you that you have not done a wise thing when it comes to towing stability. (Before you dismiss this article remember it was written by someone who was on the engineering staff of General Motors Vauxhall.)

Setting up your tow rig is not a simple as "getting everything level." Making something look Pretty does not necessarily make it work properly. Caravans travel better if they are 50 mm down at the front. The tow vehicle should be loaded so that its rear suspension is depressed the same amount as when it is carrying its maximum load distributed throughout the vehicle, that includes passengers in the rear seat. If you had an Australian style van with 10% ball weight then you would use a weight distribution hitch (WDH) to trim the tug. However you are purchasing a Bailey van with a much lighter ball weight and is also not suitable for WDH.

Have a look at the handbook for your vehicle. You will see that Nissan de rate the maximum weight of their vehicles when not using WDH. That means you have to reduce your load allowance when towing in accordance with the tow ball load. (The same de rating applies to all other vehicles, it's Nissan who recognise this and supply the de rating figures.) I's OK for your vehicle to droop a bit at the back but only to look like you have a normal full load.

The other thing with air bags on twin cab utes is they tend to bend chassis when the vehicles are heavily loaded at the rear and particularly when towing. There is an article on it in the Navara forum. Also go to this link - the twin cabs all had air bags.

Radar · Guru

PeterD,

That is 100% scare mongering, those photos don't prove much at all in fact they are not even good photos.

I have been involved in 4x4 clubs since the early eighties, transport since 1970, motorsport 1964, I dont believe it is a common fault.

I do know of 2 Rodeos that cracked there chassis near the front of the rear spring hanger, that is 2 in 25 plus years that twin cabs of any make have been around and those 2 did not have air bags. First had a custom ally tray with a canopy holding camping gear, the other a steel tray towing a dual axle work trailer for most of its working life around back blocks of NSW, 200000 ks on the clock. The cracking was thought to of been to the continual ute loaded towing the trailer which the owner replaced it with another similar vehicle because he felt it did a magic job after 6 years reckon he had his money worth out of it.

I am not saying it dont happen but there is very good reason why it will happens.

My question is the GM Vauxhall is the engineer still about will his writing be up todate and applicable to Australia.

I would image if you use air bags as recommended you would experience little trouble for a product that has been around for quite some time. A very good product that has the advantage of flexibility when empty or laden.

Have a good. Ralph.