[Tourer_Guy]

So I finally bought a new trailer on the weekend, a nice deep-side heavy duty 7x4 with 5 leaf springs.  I attached the tow bar to the i30, and having never used a square couple tow hitch had the old guy at the trailer shop check it for me (got the thumbs up).  Took it nice and easy, of course, but the i30 gearing suddenly made a lot of sense.  The low first gear is great for hill starts with a load on the trailer, and I noticed that I was typically using a gear lower than normal.  I am a believer in not using excessive throttle when towing, but rather to gently lope along using gears sensibly, and if that means not driving at the speed limit all the time, that's ok.  I didn't see much 6th gear use.

You can definitely feel the trailer on the back, with a gentle 'tug-tug-tug' sensation, but it wasn't excessive, or even much different from towing with other vehicles (I have almost always had a tow bar and trailer).  I learnt that the small bolt stabilisng the square couple needs to be screwed fairly tight, as the top flattened slightly during a trip to the tip and back and allowed a small amount of play within the hitch.  This wasn't a safety issue, though, as the weight is borne by the large pin-lock bolt that holds the coupling in place.

I think I'm fairly happy with the outcome.  My trailer is a bit heavier than a standard box trailer, but handles quite well on the back of the tourer.  The diesel engine has good torque and is well geared.  The rig doesn't handle as well as my old automatic V8, of course, but with some common sense and prudent use of the gears it's a safe and effective set-up.

How have others found the i30 for towing?  Any tips and tricks specific to the i30 I should know about?

[Phil №❶]

Moderator Asterix, would probably tow more than most, in European mountains, too. He has written several times about his towing experiences.

[Tourer_Guy]

I've noticed that, and suspect he probably tows a lot more weight than I will.

Many years ago I used to tow a 6x4 box trailer with a Mazda 121!  That was when I learnt that towing has nothing to do with power, but rather about mass and braking.

[Phil №❶]

Quite correct, that's why the V8 you had probably felt more stable due to increased weight overall. Many drivers forget that stopping is just as important as power to pull a trailer.

The style you use for towing is similar to mine, no wide open throttles etc, nice and gentle.

Asterix is currently in Croatia towing his van, hopefully we'll get a summary of his driving experiences when he returns.

[Tourer_Guy]

I'm quite keen to hear how Asterix goes, sounds like a terrific holiday.

I've never towed a caravan, our family holidays tend to be more fly then drive.  Due to work pressures, we tend to leave the country for holidays because it makes it harder for work to contact us.

[Dazzler]

I'm quite keen to hear how Asterix goes, sounds like a terrific holiday.

He has done similar trips quite a few times (no trouble at all) 

[Just Rick]

Tourer Guy

I'm surprised to hear that you had that Tug,Tug,Tug sensation,could you send a photo of the hitch setup,I'm a little unsure as to what you have described,I tow a six berth dog trailer,on a regular basis,I have never noticed that sensation,but like you have found in a lotof situations you do have to use a lower gear.

I have actually interestingly(unlike you)found that our I30 is a far superior tow car to our old Modified V6 commodore,I have self levellers fitted to our trailer as I am a little over the towing limit of the car when fully loaded,having the self levellers is good to keep a good amount of the weight on the front drive tyres,I find when I use the normal box trailer(lightweight 8x5)fully loaded it can give some grip problems on the front wheels if there is a little to much weight on the towball

Picture of our Hatch FD loaded and ready to go this trailer weighs 600kg tare,then we usually have 450kg's of dog's than another 200kg's of equipment,trailer measures 6' x 11'6" I have electric brakes fitted to this trailer,which is a huge help,at any speed it all stops as good if not better than the car on it's own.

[Surferdude]

Like Rick, I wondered about the tug tug tug.
I've only ever experience it when something wasn't quite right.

But I'm not familiar with the "sqare couple" you mention.

[Tourer_Guy]

http://www.shop1auto.com.au/Images%20towbars/Hyundai%20i30%20wagon%20towbar%20RL2546_600pix.jpg

Here's a pic I found online of the square couple towbar.  The tug-tug-tug is probably overstating it, it's just that I could feel the trailer bumping along a bit.  I think I didn't have the stablising screw tight enough, and so movement within the coupling was transferred as bumps to the car.

[Surferdude]

http://www.shop1auto.com.au/Images%20towbars/Hyundai%20i30%20wagon%20towbar%20RL2546_600pix.jpg

Here's a pic I found online of the square couple towbar.  The tug-tug-tug is probably overstating it, it's just that I could feel the trailer bumping along a bit.  I think I didn't have the stablising screw tight enough, and so movement within the coupling was transferred as bumps to the car.

Oh. OK.
A Hayman Reese style.
I had one of those on my Liberty.
Excellent product.

[Berber]

I had a towbar fitted and tow a 4' x 3' trailer. No problems at all excepting the trailer is noisy when empty.

[Just Rick]

http://www.shop1auto.com.au/Images%20towbars/Hyundai%20i30%20wagon%20towbar%20RL2546_600pix.jpg

Here's a pic I found online of the square couple towbar.  The tug-tug-tug is probably overstating it, it's just that I could feel the trailer bumping along a bit.  I think I didn't have the stablising screw tight enough, and so movement within the coupling was transferred as bumps to the car.

Like SD said Haymen Reece style tow hitch,when you mentioned square coupled tow hitch I know there is one called that for larger trailers and caravans,they're a safe but complicated system,I did have a haymen reece on one of my earlier vehicle,make sure from time to time you take the tongue out of the square tube,because they can if left in the towbar all the time have a tendancy to rust in there

[Tourer_Guy]

Like SD said Haymen Reece style tow hitch,when you mentioned square coupled tow hitch I know there is one called that for larger trailers and caravans,they're a safe but complicated system,I did have a haymen reece on one of my earlier vehicle,make sure from time to time you take the tongue out of the square tube,because they can if left in the towbar all the time have a tendancy to rust in there

I take the towbar off whenever I'm not using it. I've found that wrapped in a heavy plastic bag it fits neatly and snugly in beside the spare wheel under the floor of the wagon.  I have another small bag in there with the spanner, spare D-bolts, etc.  The main reason for this is that I'm concerned about someone stealing it when the car is unattended in a carpark.

Do others put grease on the towball, or not worry?  It probably doesn't matter much either way, but if it promotes longevity I'd still want to do it.

[Phil №❶]

No grease

[Tourer_Guy]

Thanks. 

[Surferdude]

I've always used grease on the towball - with one of those little covers. But I also always took it off whenever possible.

[Asterix]

A short video from our trip this summer.

On the motorway in Austria (A10) on the way to one of the many tunnels. Please make full screen and watch lower left corner of the GPS, it shows elevation. As you can see we almost climb 1 meter per second doing ca 85 km/h. 4th gear ca 2600 revs.

Caravan is 1400 kg and the car is loaded to max weight, in total ca 3200 kg. 

i30 uphill with caravan - YouTube

[Phil №❶]

Good show. 

[Dazzler]

Thanks Henning 

[Doggie 1]

 

[Tourer_Guy]

I gave the trailer a bit of a workout yesterday, collecting some firewood from a yard about 15kms from home.  I loaded 460kg of wood into the trailer (had room to spare), and with the weight of the trailer and the load was probably towing just under 3/4 tonne.  At the weighbridge at the wood yard, the loaded rig weighed in at 2250kgs, including the car, loaded trailer and my son and I (he is 9).  Interestingly, the rig seemed to handle better a with a load on, as the trailer was more stable.  I tightened the stabilising screw more on the hitch this time, so it was snug and quiet.  The brakes seemed to be the weakest link, as expected.  Unfortuntely, having such a small diesel engine means there isn't a lot of engine braking available, but I was just cruising gently along (didn't get past 90km/h), so it wasn't an issue. I think the rated unbraked towing is 600kgs anyway, so it is not unexpected that I need to be careful and gentle with that weight loaded on the trailer.

All in all, a very good result given the mass and power of the vehicle.

[Phil №❶]

 

Glad you're pleased.

[Just Rick]

Good report Tourer_Guy ,was wondering when you said you got such a large trailer,un braked,love towing my dog trailer,the electric brakes make a huge difference,did you happen to measure the towball down weight

[Tourer_Guy]

I didn't measure the towball down weight, but it wouldn't have been very much as I packed the trailer very evenly to keep the load balanced, and the trailer has a slightly longer than standard drawbar.  When the trailer is empty I can easily lift it with one hand (although I'm a fairly big guy), and with the trailer loaded the way it was I'd expect around 5% of the weight to be downball load, so perhaps 35-40kgs.  The rear of the vehicle was not sagging, but was just slightly lower than normal. 

If I was planning to tow more than a load of this size I would go for a braked trailer, but given most of my towing is short distance, and speeds of only up to 90km/h or so, I'm happy to live with the unbraked trailer.

[Tourer_Guy]

So I've now used my trailer several more times, including a couple of weeks ago when I towed quite a heavy load (perhaps 1.25 tonnes).  By ensuring the hitch screw is nice and tight the tug-tug sensation is completely gone, and the rig handles very well. 

Towing the very heavy load I realised just how little engine braking is really available, but I deal with the problem by traveling slow and gentle, and staying out of the way of other traffic.  I've also noticed that with a heavy load on you don't really want to be crawling slowly across unsealed surfaces, because the lack of boost below 1500rpm means that you have almost no torque available.

Fuel consumption rises a bit with the trailer on, but not that much as I drive gently with a load on.

Last weekend I needed to move a dozen bales of straw, and the weight was barely noticeable.

I'm also getting quicker with the hitch/unhitch process; including attaching the towbar to the vehicle and hooking up the trailer we're down to less than 5 minutes, which is very convenient.

All in all, it's proving quite a reasonable tow car provided the load is sensible, and the obvious limitations catered for.  I'm still very happy with my i30, now ten months old.

[Dazzler]