Advice on towing a camping trailer

G'day, I would be checking a few things before I went and bought a new tow vehicle, unless, reading between the lines, you really want a small 4wd? Check the weight of the trailer, it maybe way heavier than you think, check tyre pressures, check how the trailer has been loaded, unbalanced etc. Then when you have checked those things, and all ok, I would be considering a 4wd as tow vehicle. Good luck.

you have not said how experienced you are at towing and where you plan to go

my only real advice is know your limits

if you are happy to sit on say 90k stay on that do not let people push you past your comfort zone

I saw on the form a member had a blow out in his big van and he had a dash camera and just looking at the blow out scared me

Heather 1000kg sounds pretty light for a loaded tandem camper but given that is the actual weight I'd be looking at wheel alignment & tow ball weight. If they are both OK then the use of a weight distribution hitch would assist transferring some load to the front wheel drive Camry & take the sway out of it. Worn suspension bushes or wheel bearings may also contribute to sway.
If the 1 tonne weight is the empty trailer quoted by the manufacturer then by the time food, cloths, water & all the extra gear is loaded you will quickly go over the Camry's tow capacity meaning time to an upgrade.
Cheers Craig.............

Why does a camping trailer that only weighs 1000kg loaded have dual axles - with an all up weight of 1000kg almost anything should tow it with ease. If it is swaying them you need to look at your setup and loading. It is not the car that is the issue but the camper.

Garry

I have a tandem axle camper and it is close to 1500kg when loaded.

I suspect that to attach the camper to the Camry that most of the weight is placed onto the front axle of the camper due to the low ball height of the Camry? That in itself would create an unstable towing platform.

Cheers Kev

How old is the Camry and how many kms has it travelled? A high km Camry would probably need shock absorber/suspension struts replaced to ensure stable handling with a trailer at highway speeds.

Trailer sway is caused by the following;

1. Too much weight in the rear of the trailer. Move weighty items to a position in front of the axle/s.
2. Too much trailer rear overhang. Too many trailers have centrally-set axles and a long overhang. Axles should be set at least 50mm rearwards from the centre of the trailer box.
3. Not enough weight on the towbar (the hitch should have around 50-70kg weight on it. The maximum hitch weight for a Camry is 110kg).
4. Too much hitch weight. This makes the front of the car lift and reduces steering control.
5. Low tyre pressures on either car or trailer. Always ensure your tyre pressures are correct for highway speeds.
6. Too low a load rating on either car or trailer tyres, allowing excessive tyre wall flex. Make sure you have tyres fitted that can carry the load you are hauling.

Cheers, Ron.

Thank you to all replied I will look into your suggestions.

A friend of mine had some issues towing his boat with a 380, traded it on a diesel xtrail 2011 model and its a huge improvement. He went for the diesel model for the extra torque.
He brought and immaculate Ti model for about $24000.
Cheers Pete

Just to labour the obvious: any rig over 750 kg needs brakes.

Your trailer is the problem
I have used hire car trailers..
fully loaded.
these trailers have eye to loose leaf pack..
front and rear.
this causes problems as one axle has all the load.. causing your trailer to pull your vehicle off the road..
ive had thid happen but we stayed under a 100kms..
towed it back empty.. on a 110.
No worries
dont waste money on replacing vehicle..
spent good money on the AXLE setup..
such as mentioned a few posts above..
you really need a centre pivot setup..
to level out the weight on front and rear axle.

Its a bit dearer than the stock setups on hire car trailers.
these old... cheap setups should be outlawed
no trailer that is meant to take a decent weight... should be without the centre pivot setup..
its that good!!

Keep your car. .
its the spring setup on the trailer thats the issue
cheers

also try have the A frame on the trailer and the towbar.. sitting nice and level
or close enough at least
when coupled up and loaded :-)

hi
In a nut shell either the van is wrong and or the tow vehicle is poorly set up

Eg van should not exceed max tow weight fully loaded
10% weight on ball have this measured either with bathroom scales or towbar shop
"""Most importantly """
Have the loaded van chassis level and tow vehicle on level ground

note hitch heights on both ,vehicle tow ball should be 25mm higher
On a Camry better rear shocks and springs is a must when towing near max capacity of vehicle .

A good idea is to only use 1/2 to 2/3 of tow capacity of vehicle

swampfox