Burger vans, towing, 4x4s and transits.

[Rossi-fan]

I think the snaking does stop at speeds above 85 mph BM. Just put yer foot down and close your eyes buddy.

[Prufrock]

Originally Posted by BigMonty

Right folks, as some of you may know ( Most wont ) I have a burger trailer on an industrial estate. I have to tow it the the 30 mile round trip every day. Occasionally I do events and car boot sales at weekends.
The set up is a 16ft catering trailer towed by a RWD swb transit. On the fen roads it is a bloody nightmare. The first 10 miles of the journey is 25 to 30 mph. When I hit the main road I can get up to about 45mph before it begins to snake about. I also have an ifor Williams that sits fine at 60mph even with a car on it. What am I missing ?????

Next quandary: The transit isnt really man for the job. Most events I do and occasionally on the industrial estate when on grass the traction is none existent.
So I have decided to go for a 4x4. As I need to mount a generator in the back one of the crew cab ( l200/warrior / nivara ) trucks seem to be a logical choice, but I hate the damn things. Around here you are either a **** or a pikey to run one. So I am stuck. I would love a Xc70, but then we have the generator problem.
Any ideas throw them my way, no matter how daft. ( that's usually where the best ones come from )

Get a four wheel drive Transit then.

Jon.

[BigMonty]

Originally Posted by Prufrock

Get a four wheel drive Transit then.

Jon.

I have a mk3 county in a state of disrepair. Cool as it gets but to find replacements for faulty running gear is near impossible. There is a mk7 awd but the investment needed is pretty massive for a fledgling business.

[Prufrock]

Appreciated BM, you'll probably know this but the AWD is based on the SWB/RWD (not the FWD), so you get greater ground clearance and the 2.4 litre engine - the RAC use quite a few of them.

Jon.

[Rooster]

I would just buy a XC70 and a big chain for generator,

Oh and an alko stabilizer hitch for catering van,

[volvo always]

I'd just buy a Toyota landcruiser, probably an old colorado

James

[tt82]

Originally Posted by BigMonty

The Genny is pretty light, about 35 kg. But it has to be bolted down/padlocked for security.
Couple of local catering vans have had their gennys pinched lately, the thieves unplug them pick them up and run to a waiting car and gone.

If its only going to be a work vehicle, you could get an XC70. Just remove the spare wheel and place the genny in the spare wheel well. You can bolt it to that and if your good with spanners and tin snips, you could fabricate an exhaust for the genny, leading out through the spare wheel well and underneath the car, that way the fumes do not sit in the cabin. Some wood and a bit of felt would make an ideal hat to place over the genny so when parked at home, it is not noticeable inside the car.

[kieran40]

Bm people use those older Mitsubishi warriors to tow burger vans down here 04 03 02 plate ones. Seem to cut the mustard. Excuse the pun lol

[BigMonty]

Just been to change the gas bottles on the trailer, decided to take the whole trailer and change the bottles at the shop. This time I towed it with Senior Montys land cruiser. This made no difference at all.

Called a friend of a friend who has a trailer similar to mine over at st Neots.
" 38 mph mate " he said. So it does seem to be par for the course with these starter trailers.

[Triple-S]

As 2diesels said, snaking is usually unbalanced weight distribution. A friend with a big caravan had it so got an anti-snaking stabiliser for his tow hitch and it was cured. My son had it when towing a car-on-a-trailer using his SWB Transit - almost uncontrollable over 35mph.
Then he used my LWB Land Rover and all was fine. The train weight is a legal requirement not to be ignored: most (all?) 4WDs meet that: my tax-exempt Landie is for sale now - interested? Son replaced Transit with bigger van. which tows fine.

P