Caravanning

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lozian
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Caravanning

Post by lozian »

Citroen 1997 Xantia 1.8i LX 16v petrol with A/C.
Can anybody advise on tyre pressures when towing caravan of just over 1000 kg's. Citroen mention nothing in handbook, that I can see, and Haynes manual not very helpful. Thanks.
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Post by JohnD »

Usually when I'm towing with my Xantia I put a couple of extra pounds in the rear tyres.
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Post by Dave Burns »

Remember that of the 1000kg of caravan, only 75kg of it (trailer nose weight) should be allowed to bear down on the towing ball.
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Post by pwatson »

Have towed a great deal with both BXs and Xantias and have not changed pressures on the grounds that, as stated above, not more than 75 kgs should be noseweight. There would be more than that if two people were in the back with luggage and the handbook doesn't mention changing pressures when fully loaded.
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Post by Trevor C B »

I understand the suspension system is different on a cit xantia.
I tow with a volvo and they recomend increasing the rear tyre pressure (estate) from 30psi to 45 psi and fronts from 32 to 35. I know you cannot use these figures other than a comparrison. I do know I can tow feeling more in control with my tyre pressures higher than set as the norm.
Warning if you are new to caravan towing. When you check your nose weight and it is heavy dont go for the easy option of adding weight at the back of the van. It will induce snaking and possibly cause your van to lift and turn your car over. Put heavy weight in the centre over the axle and trim the nose weight that way.
Happy safe caravanning
lozian
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Post by lozian »

Thanks for all the comments. Very helpful. Lozian.
JohnD
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Post by JohnD »

A quote from the Caravan Club Continental Guide and Handbook - "Unless it states otherwise in your car handbook, it is wise to add an extra four to six pounds per square inch of pressure to the rear tyres of a car when towing to improve handling and stability."
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Post by pwatson »

And while we're on the subject I have just replaced my caravan tyres because of age. They were Michelins and though there was no wear and no sign of cracking they were 9 years old. What I hadn't realised was that they are reinforced tyres. My spare was not since I bought it from Kwikfit also 9 years ago and they gave me a standard tyre. Don't suppose it mattered since I've never used it but this time I have all reinforced just in case. I believe the CC recommends replacing tyres on vans every 7 years at least even though they will show no sign of wear. I was alerted by a friend who had a blow out and his van turned over and it was reduced to matchwood (or match plastic these days) reminded me of when we were in Greece once and an Austrian arrived at the beach with loads of stuff tied to his roof - his van had turned over in Yugoslavia and he had abandoned it on the grounds that there was not much point in towing the chassis (which was all that remained of it) to Greece. Better safe than sorry - check those van tyres now!!
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Post by douglas_xantia »

I've caravanned with a BX for 5 years, Xantia hatch for 3 years & now a Xantia estate. I have never increased the tyre pressures when towing and had absolutely no problems of any kind. I also tend to run the caravan tyres a couple of pounds less than recommended - this helps to reduce both lateral bounce and sideways swing.
Xantias are not ALL bad
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Post by NiSk »

There is a misconception that the maximun load from a trailer or caravan is equal to the nose weight. Unfortuanately, this is not so: the load on the towbar and hence the towing vehicle is highly dynamic. If you are towing a trailer with a total weight of 1 ton on a single axel, the load on the towbar is only the same as the nose weight as long as you do not generate dynamic changes in the two vehicles attitudes. i.e. as soon as you accelerate, you experience a load shift both backwards and uppwards, when you brake, the trailer nose weight increases significantly until the trailer brakes start to apply, this loads the rear suspension as well.
So there is a very real reason for increasing the tyre pressures of your back tyres when towing!
//NiSk
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Post by DennysL »

I have had 3 Xantias (all Diesel) and on the first 2 (a hatchback and an estate) there was a sticker on the drivers door post stating tyre pressures. This sticker quoted (if I remember correctly) quoted 2-3PSI more in the rear tyres when towing or when carrying 4 people.
Hope this helps.
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Post by DennysL »

As a P.S. to my last note I also caravan - similar .van weight to yours and have found that the rear end feels more stable with 2-3 extra psi in the rear tyres with the .van behind - it doesnt seem to wallow - this was true of both the old L reg hatch and N reg Estate. Funnily enough my current Xantia (HDI hatch) has this tyre pressure sticker but doesn't mention pressures for towing!!
lozian
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Post by lozian »

Hi All,
Thanks for all the comments. Very helpful. Have tried various combinations of pressures from normal up to around 6 psi increase. Caravan is twin axle and it seems that an increase to the rear axle tyres on the Xantia around 2 to 3 psi certainly helps the handling. Strangely enough the recommended psi for the Caravan tyres is 33psi, but rides a lot better at 30 psi with a nose weight around 40/50kg. Hope this helps others.
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Post by marco1 »

hi just got back from france,xant 2.0 16v petrol.same caravan 1000kg,nose weightmax 75kg...went by hand book that says full load ie 4 passengers&luggage increase rears by 0.5 bar..6 psi= 36psi in rears lovly drive 2000 miles no probs towing at 60 -70 mph, hope this helps ya, these cars are great mines done 97,000 miles now still feels great, better than some newer cars ive driven bye for now.
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Post by JohnD »

I've resurrected this topic from the archives because I've just been looking at www.michelin.co.uk/car Having clicked on 'tyre selector' and gone to 'Citroen Xantia 2.1 Estate', it seems that Michelin do not recommend any change in tyre pressures when towing. On the other hand, Xantia's stable mate, Peugeot 2.1 Estate needs an increase of 10 lbs.psi
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