V70: Suspension Noseweight

[Bellid]

I have just bought a 2012 v70 D3auto 163 bhp for towing a Bailey Olympus 530/4. There seems to be confusion about the tow bar limit. A Volvo leaflet posted on the Volvo site states 90 kg, the brochure states 75kg. As most caravans are more than 75kg is it ok for towing.

[rnlisg]

looking at the volvo site ref specifications weights and towing,you are right it says 90kg(same as my 09 xc70 auto)i think on the previouse generation it was 75kg.normaly auto,s take a heavier loading.
i would go for the 90kg,my dealer said that handbooks can sometimes be a bit missleading and some info is incorrect!.have you got nivo,s or self levelling suspension as this really helps.
sandy

[Bellid]

Thanks for reply. I dont have any suspension mods, but if 90 kg is acceptable then I should be OK. Caravan nose weighs about 83Kg

[rnlisg]

see how it looks when on the car,if the suspension is pushed down too much,it may affect the balance of the outfit,then you may have to look for some aftermarket assistors to jack it up a bit.
cheers
sandy

[clivea]

Doesn't the car handbook give any info in the Tech Spec section. You really should not go to a higher figure unless you can have it confirmed as correct. You say the caravan noseweight is 83 kg is this when loaded or unloaded? Getting down to 75 kg should not be difficult with a bit of judicious moving of some weight aft of the axle. For example if you have and end bathroom 2 litres of blue and 5 litres of flush will take 7 kg off the noseweight. It won't cause instabilty just think of the number of vans with end kitchens!

[rnlisg]

have you had a look at"www.volvocars.co.uk"pages?.it gives detailed info of towing matters on all newer volvo cars,inc all weights etc.
cheers
sandy

[Frank B]

I tow with a 2008 V70, handbook says 90kg but even below this the car sagged quite a lot. I had some MAD springs fitted, really impressed with them

[Clan]

Originally Posted by rnlisg

see how it looks when on the car,if the suspension is pushed down too much,it may affect the balance of the outfit,then you may have to look for some aftermarket assistors to jack it up a bit.
cheers
sandy

why cant you alter the balance of the caravan to to suit to give a nose weight of 75 kg by moving things to the back of the caravan ? ( Non caravaner ! )

[clivea]

Clan that's exactly what I was saying. At 75kg noseweight an outfit will be stable as long as the loading is correct, and tyre pressures sorted. It's only in the last few years since I've had Disco 2 Sorento and now the Volvo that I've gone above 75kg and in all those years never had any stability issues or any concerns.

[rnlisg]

hi clan,by moving stuff towards the rear of the van it could seriously affect the balance of the whole outfit(car as well)yes,it could possibly lift weight off the bar and poss lift the rear springs,resulting in "the tail wagging the dog"or the van becoming very unstable at any speed depending on weight and where it is,this could lead to a flipover or at best a jacknife,although it will often be a case of the weight of the van shoving the car round and the car could go over.
its best to try to keep as close as poss to not only the manufacturers recomended noseweight,but also the caravan noseweight.
ref sagging as frank b said you can gt m.a.d assistors which will help level it up a bit,there are various products on the market that do similar things.
cheers
sandy