The Rock man Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 Salutations to all, newcomer here. Have just bought a second hand Elddis Avante. 362.What a shame we can't have a test drive towing just like when we buy cars. The caravan is in very good condition . I bought it from Cranham caravan sales in Cranham just off the M25. When I picked it up and towed home the caravan seemed to pull back and then bang on to my car in quick succession all of the way I thought maybe the road condition may have had something to do with it. I double checked that the coupling was on and hand brake was off. I jacked up the caravan to see if there was any brake friction or any anything but wheels were running free. It is fitted with a Winterhoff WS 3000 stabiliser. Caravan is going back to Cranhams as its still under warranty. Has anybody experienced this on an Elddis 362.2009 ?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rock man Posted August 7, 2016 Author Share Posted August 7, 2016 Hi again. After having checked the dumpers on the hitch lock and replaced them it's still pretty much the same. But have tried putting a bit more weight on the front and it seems to help. Can anybody tell me what the maximum weight is that can be put on the front of the caravan to be legal. P.S. My towing car is a Hyundai Tucson 4x4 2 ltr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenH Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Hi TRM. Welcome to the forums! I've passed your query onto our tech guru who has this advice... "This sounds very like a worn damper inside the hitch over-run assembly. When the tow vehicle brakes the hitch head pushes back against a strong spring, into the over-run housing. This movement is used to apply the caravan's brakes. "As you pull away again hitch head moves forward helped by the spring. To stop the hitch head assembly from shunting from one end to the other the movement is controlled by a damper, similar to a shock absorber. If this becomes worn the effect is very much as you describe. Replacement is a simple job and should take your dealer no more than a few minutes. "Don't be tempted to pile on too much noseweight. Check your car's handbook to see what its noseweight limit is. I think it might be just 75kg." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave225 Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 My feeling is that the brakes are needing adjusted correctly. Dare I say it is not unknown for caravans to be supplied with these not right. The drums have to be adjusted as per Alko specs, not a difficult job, but requires crawling underneath the thing and then the cables need to be checked they are right as well, or the brakes are not being mobilised correctly. If all that is correct then check the damper on the hitchlock. Push the towhitch in manually. It should be quite hard but move smoothly. Release it and it should return to its positoon again smoothly. Replacement is as mentioned usually quite easy, but some vans have made life difficult by adding extra brackets. It can also take a goodly force to push the damper in to get it installed, a bar with a slot in it may help. If you can get to the rear of the damper under any plastic covers you will find numbers on it which will tell you the correct damper to fit. If you do it yourself you will also need a new locknut from Alko as these are one shot nuts. You may also need a |Torx socket for the head of the bolt. Tightening torque is 86Nm if memeory serves but check the Alko spec sheet on their website. However, my first thought is the brakes themselves as being the culprit. As you state the van is going back to the dealers then they should fix it all for you. Nose weight is determined by the van and the towcar., which ever is the lowest number. The car handbook will tell you the maximum noseweight you can put on the hitch, while the caravan handbook will give a number for the van. This may sometimes be difficult to achieve if you have packed the front locker with a sorts of gubbins, like full gas cylinders. You may alos want to check to loaded weight of the van as many these days have very poor payloads. Your Eldis is listed as having a payload of 150 kg, which is not much once 'er indoors' gets started. Just because there are lockers does not mean to say you can fill them, unfortunately. Awnings and other heavy gear should go in the car. Anyway, hope it all works out fine and you enjoy the van Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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