20' Series Towing performance Starcraft 22.68 OB

[Gilmorehappy]

The bridge at Macksville, one of the last mongrels on the highway.......scary in a truck, in fact I've addedd a mirror to what must be a big collection in the river.
Good fuel figures and you will get some great experience on the run to Gloucester........lol.

Thanks for reply @Drover. This was my first country drive where the road was winding, hilly, and the road surface was chatty. Throw in constant rain and Christmas traffic on the return journey, and the towing resume improved by one tiny tick!

Don't think it will be too long until the macksville bridge becomes a relic of the past. I reckon you're right about all the mirrors on the bottom!

 

[Gilmorehappy]

great report yes normal driving vs towing is a lot different not just the vehicle dynamics its the whole watching for things and idiots and its more slow motion.
We still taking it slow with the 22ft and we had the 17 ft for 18 months beforehand and we where being careful still with the 17ft. Although we did not have the truck sucking problem with the smaller van.

Gone down any steep hills as yet? Have you been running the auto in manual or drive mode? How much spare grunt does the Colorado have?
We start looking for cars again in the new year

As for the Colorado and spare grunt, I'd say it would be as good as any of the other jap diesel Utes which will tow 3.5 tonne. I think the list only includes ford ranger and Mazda bt.

Here's what I've found for the different driving conditions; bear in mind limited experience so I may have it wrong....
Freeway

• I Don't exceed 100 as I'm too scared to do so
• I Use manual shift 100 on the flats 5th gear, and use fourth and rarely third for very steep climbs dropping to 80.
• On freeway descents I use the same gear I would have used if climbing the hill and seems to hold the whole package nicely from running away!
• I once touched the manual brake for the van as I got a sway going on a downhill with a cross tailwind and it settled things down!
• Fuel between 14 to 15. I did use cruise to hold the speed mostly around 100.

Country road

• Auto seems to work better for constant cog swapping.
• Because it was wet, windy and undulating I turned the brake strength up to avoid the trailer pushing the tow. Instead I could feel it pulling the tow up, and this felt safer to me.
• There were a couple of descents but I just used the brakes gently - on off etc.
• Cruise was 'not on' with the conditions, but it is handy passing through towns at lower speeds
• The Colorado has gradient sensors and gradient engine braking, a handy feature for towing.
• Fuel about 15 and struggling to break 80 in these conditions.

I'm not really stuck on brands, but I am impressed with the Colorado. It's a work vehicle so I can't really beef up suspension as recommended by others here, but I think it is very acceptable as stock.

 

[Gilmorehappy]

We have just towed our 22.68 from southern Sydney to south west rocks, first time towing a van let alone this size. The standard suspension on ute is definitely set up for comfort rather than load, after test tow around my work area this was confirmed. I purchased a WDH and this helped the towing experience dramatically, as the ute lease is up next year I didn't want to spend money on suspension.

After a nervous 30 mins or so adjusting to the towing experience. I found the van easy to tow and maintained 100/110 on the freeway. I don't worry about fuel consumption but for interest averaged 17L/100 maintaining speed on hills and overtaking.

The van was comfortable and only slightly affected by trucks, for some reason trucks carrying earth moving equipment caused the most pulling sensation.

For interest weight specs are 2800kg loaded with 270kg on the ball.

good to hear your package tows well with wdh. Also note you can still feel the big trucks regardless. Looks like the thirst is a lot more for the small bit of extra pace!

 

[Drover]

Well sounds like your getting the feel of things for sure @Gilmorehappy , my Colorado dragging The 2 ton Tardis is giving me around 13's on the highways and can get to 15 in those hills youvé been wandering thru, on the concrete and good stuff I just lock in Cruise, far easier to keep the damn thing from getting me booked and it will change down a cog itself on the odd freeway hill, thru the hilly stuff or rural tracks I use foot control while uphill and windy stuff I'll knock it into manual, going down big hills it's usually knocked down to 2 or 3 with the odd tap on the pick, far better to be in a low gear with odd tap than standing on the damn things all the time............if you start to get any front end shudder when braking it's more than likely the front pads, mine had the genuine pads on and they cooked and I'm not a heavy brake user, the new ones Bendix 4WD ones are much better , bad batch who knows ??

 

[Gilmorehappy]

Well sounds like your getting the feel of things for sure @Gilmorehappy , my Colorado dragging The 2 ton Tardis is giving me around 13's on the highways and can get to 15 in those hills youvé been wandering thru, on the concrete and good stuff I just lock in Cruise, far easier to keep the damn thing from getting me booked and it will change down a cog itself on the odd freeway hill, thru the hilly stuff or rural tracks I use foot control while uphill and windy stuff I'll knock it into manual, going down big hills it's usually knocked down to 2 or 3 with the odd tap on the pick, far better to be in a low gear with odd tap than standing on the damn things all the time............if you start to get any front end shudder when braking it's more than likely the front pads, mine had the genuine pads on and they cooked and I'm not a heavy brake user, the new ones Bendix 4WD ones are much better , bad batch who knows ??

Thanks @Drover all interesting info from fellow colorado driver! One comment on using cruise on the freeway, and perhaps why I avoided it was sometimes the computer thought it should hold a tall gear for longer than I did as we hit a gradual climb, and then there were some horrid tranny backlash noises coming from below, to the extent the kids were saying," what's that noise dad"?

 

[Drover]

They can hold on a bit sometimes but on long gradual climbs I find I give it a bit more pedal early so it doesn't hang or just knock it down a cog, I do find now I'm doing it automatically, without thinking old truckies never loose it I think but then I sometimes go to grab the Jake brake lever, I really could do with an exhaust brake, the noise I would chase up about it, may need a bit of a lookie if it's not changing early enough the box won't like dragging..........be flamin easier if they had a workshop manual for the vehicle, Holden being stupid again. This keep it a secret so only Holden approved people can work on the vehicle, hell it's not a fancy vehicle, it's just an engine and common gearbox...........wandering again, sorry.......

 

[ShaneT]

Don't underestimate the power of a WDH. My BT has stiffer springs and adjustable shocks.
Did a 3 month trip with a new, poorly set up WDH (only transferring a small amount of weight)
When I got home I had a play and got it working as it should and the handling difference is night and day.
Before 100km/h was my limit after that it felt like the van was lifting and taking weight off the hitch, you could feel the slightest sway start aswell. Also on rough back roads the van would push the vehicle around a fair bit.
Now I can speed at 130km and it feels no difference than doing 90km. It feels more planted to the road which allows me to duck and weave through traffic with ease (if I can do 100km with a 3.5t van on the back why the hell are others sitting on 90 in the right lane... Grrrr)
Now this is all with a Anderson hitch, since I have never used any other hitch before I cant say if it is just the weight distribution to the front wheels doing this or if it has something to do with the Anderson setup, but if you get the chance borrow someones wdh and give it a go.

 

[Gilmorehappy]

Don't underestimate the power of a WDH. My BT has stiffer springs and adjustable shocks.
Did a 3 month trip with a new, poorly set up WDH (only transferring a small amount of weight)
When I got home I had a play and got it working as it should and the handling difference is night and day.
Before 100km/h was my limit after that it felt like the van was lifting and taking weight off the hitch, you could feel the slightest sway start aswell. Also on rough back roads the van would push the vehicle around a fair bit.
Now I can speed at 130km and it feels no difference than doing 90km. It feels more planted to the road which allows me to duck and weave through traffic with ease (if I can do 100km with a 3.5t van on the back why the hell are others sitting on 90 in the right lane... Grrrr)
Now this is all with a Anderson hitch, since I have never used any other hitch before I cant say if it is just the weight distribution to the front wheels doing this or if it has something to do with the Anderson setup, but if you get the chance borrow someones wdh and give it a go.

Thanks @ShaneT your experience and info is much appreciated. I think I will end up getting a hitch based on all that I have read including your experience. Would give some peace of mind, for example tomorrow we are setting off for Harrington through what I expect will be sheets of water on freeway, and by all accounts a WDH and other mods can only improve towing handling / safety!