Towing with S80 D5 SE Auto (2003)

[Graham59]

Hi all, my first ever post.

I have an S80 D5 SE Auto (2003) and wish to tow a caravan of maximum all up weight 1433Kg. I understand the S80 D5 has a kerbweight of 1535Kg so I would be towing at 93%.

My questions are:-

1. Has anybody any experience of towing with this car at around these weights, particularly regarding stability?.

2. As far as I can tell, the car is fitted with a gearbox oil cooler. Is an additional oil cooler required for caravan towing?. Some of the tows will be around 150 - 200 mile with only short comfort breaks.

3. It has been suggested to me that whilst towing a caravan, the gearbox should be left in position 4 rather than in D. Is this good advice?

I am reasonably experienced with towing caravans but never with an automatic gearbox. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers, Graham59

[60041]

I don't have any experience of the S80, but our last car was a D5 (163) auto XC70, with the same engine and transmission that your car has.
It was a superb towcar, we towed our Bailey caravan all over Europe with it, including several mountain passes in the Alps and Dolomites, and it never felt like it was struggling. One day we drove all the way from Lake Garda to Luxembourg, crossing the Brenner, Arlberg and Fern passes, a total of well over 500 miles. It never showed any signs of overheating and the gearbox always behaved perfectly. At first, I was a little worried about the gearbox overheating, but I spoke to several people who had experience of towing with Volvo automatics, and they all said that it would be fine and they were right.
I used to always drive in "D" except when driving down steep hills, when I would go into man and hold a low gear to help prevent the car brakes overheating, and sometimes I would switch to man and drop a gear when approaching a steep hill in order to get the revs up in anticipation of the gradient, but usually the electronics coped quite well and the full auto worked fine.
The XC was a bit heavier than your S80, and the weight ratio with our caravan was about 87%, so we never experienced any stability problems, but I would not expect you to have any difficulty at 93%, especially as you are experienced.
If you can keep the weight on the towball as close to the maximum as you can, without causing the back end of the car to drop too much, it will help with the stability. At one time the Caravan Club used to say that the ideal weight on the towball should be 7% of the caravan weight, but many cars have a maximum of 75Kg (not sure about the S80) so it might not be possible for you to get 7%.

[Graham59]

Thanks for your advice 60041. Your experience towing with the same automatic box is very encouraging. I need to check the maximum permissible download on the S80 tow ball, but I think it is 90Kg. Even at 85Kg download I would be running at 6% so may not be too far out, particularly if the van is correctly loaded ie as much weight low and near the axle, just moved fore / aft enough to get the correct noseweight. Stowing any items in the car as far forward as possible may also help in terms of rear suspension droop.

Once again, thanks for your input.

Cheers, Graham59

[pagan8c]

I tow a swift challenger 480 sr 1420 mtlp with my D5 S60 MY2011 geartronic.I have no problem towing, in fact I have to be careful not to speed.The towing weight is listed as 1800 kgs so I am well within the limit.It never overheats and is generally in 6th on all but the syeepest hilss when it may change down a couple of gears.Great car ,very stable and pretty good on fuel when towing giving about 30 mpg

[xc70jason]

Hello Graham59,this link might be of use too you,

http://www.whattowcar.com/

It'll give you a bit of info on how your car will proform when towing.Just put in the type of car and caravan you have and it will will work it out for you and give the combined result's.

Jason