 | Home > Camping, Caravanning and Holidays > 8ft wide twin axel van - anyone tow one? |
 
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| nosnibod Member Since: 15 Aug 2007 Location: West Midlands Posts: 370   
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One thing to be very careful about is that Defenders are very narrow compared to modern cars and even with Milenco extended mirror arms I can just about see down the sides of our 7’3" wide van.
I haven’t seen an extended mirror that is long enough to be legal with an 8ft van and a Defender. Dave Green Goddess - 1998 Defender 110 300tdi |
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22nd Aug 2021 5:17pm |
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| markb110 Member Since: 22 May 2010 Location: Guildford Posts: 2643  
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Wasn’t there a recent rule change to make it a legal requirement that you had to have mirrors that could see down the sides of trailers etc?
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22nd Aug 2021 6:07pm |
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| 90 Dreamer Member Since: 13 Jul 2019 Location: Oop North Posts: 2164 
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Yes and yes.......
 Click image to enlarge More commonly I tow with a LWB T5 Transporter but have also used the 90 with no issues albeit I do tend to be far more pedantic with speeds as I find the shorter wheelbase can be nervous at times and the state of some of the truck ruts we have can often set things off to be a bit lively I have found a set of extra length Millenco arms and the Def's mirror arms at 90deg just about works Have towed all kinds of twin axle car transporters / trailers / etc over the years (probably 30'ish) but these are very different I find and take a little getting used to as you basically fill the lane and has taken a while to get to instinctively know where it sits |
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22nd Aug 2021 6:19pm |
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| Sulisuli Member Since: 30 Oct 2016 Location: South west Posts: 4795
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How long is that van dreamer
 it does look very nice. 2015 HT XS 90
2008 SVX 90 2000 XS TD5 90 |
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22nd Aug 2021 7:37pm |
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| Stacey007 Member Since: 25 Sep 2015 Location: Cheshire Posts: 3754
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90 dreamer...
Nice outfit  no more questions...
Do you have a picture of those mirror arms on the defender? Do you have a 4 wheel motor mover fitted? if so can the van on the motor spin on its axles? full 360? Off the man roads / motorways is it ok on the smaller approaches to campsites? I would be towing with a 110 but (if I get a towbar) could also use a FF Range Rover that would be a fair bit wider? Thanks |
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22nd Aug 2021 7:38pm |
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| 90 Dreamer Member Since: 13 Jul 2019 Location: Oop North Posts: 2164
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Don't have pix of the mirrors to hand but was given some std Milenco Aero type mirrors when we bought the van (if I knew what I know now I would have simply chucked them back at the dealer and asked for one thing wider!!)
Was pretty obvious in the first 5mins of the 100+mile trip hom the mirros were useless in this format!! A quick ebay search shows these for samples of the extended arms....... Extra long arms https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133518060649?_t...%3A2334524 And Aero's https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203508535401?ep...SwdsZg2yLX |
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22nd Aug 2021 7:54pm |
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| 90 Dreamer Member Since: 13 Jul 2019 Location: Oop North Posts: 2164
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I do have a 4wheel motor mover but have never tried to spin it as no need with the storage we have
Will try and sort some mirror pix In terms of country roads we have done plenty of smaller roads with no issue albeit I do tend to try and scout out access before we book sites as it is certainly slightly more challenging than a std width outfit I would say you just need to be a bit more methodical and patient in terms of some of the roads In terms of length she is basically 8mtrs long and 2.5mtrs wide |
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22nd Aug 2021 7:58pm |
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| miker Member Since: 13 Sep 2015 Location: Surrey Posts: 1763 
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As far as I know, it's always been the case that you have to be able to see clearly down the side of any trailer, so if the trailer is wider than the towing vehicle, mirror extensions are probably needed. @90 Dreamer, that's huge! I regularly tow a 2.7t twin axle box trailer behind my 110, and a LWB van, but that's a whole different kettle of fish on size. |
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22nd Aug 2021 10:29pm |
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| Buz1500 Member Since: 07 Jul 2020 Location: Cumbria Posts: 150
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Here’s our 8ft wide outfit. We use mirrors from Repusel which give excellent vision and are rock solid
It’s not a twin axle but it’s as long as many twin axle vans (8.24 metres). The advantage of having a single axle is that it’s very manoeuvrable. Click image to enlarge |
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23rd Aug 2021 7:09am |
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| 90 Dreamer Member Since: 13 Jul 2019 Location: Oop North Posts: 2164
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Generally not as stable as a twin axle chassis at that size I find but each to their own.........
Click image to enlarge These ae the Milenco mirros I use, the old arms were approx 300mmand the new ones are just over 400mm long..... |
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23rd Aug 2021 7:03pm |
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| Buz1500 Member Since: 07 Jul 2020 Location: Cumbria Posts: 150
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The Isonzo uses an Alko Delta chassis with an extended A-Frame to ensure great stability.
I’ve never had any issues with stability in the three years of ownership. |
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23rd Aug 2021 7:19pm |
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| 90 Dreamer Member Since: 13 Jul 2019 Location: Oop North Posts: 2164
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As does ours, but with twin axles.........
Having towed both styles I personally would choose a 'twin' everytime, as I said each to their own |
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23rd Aug 2021 7:27pm |
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| 90 Dreamer Member Since: 13 Jul 2019 Location: Oop North Posts: 2164
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Just for a comparison here is the 8' van with our more common Transporter rather than the 90 on the front
Click image to enlarge |
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30th Aug 2021 4:13pm |
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| miker Member Since: 13 Sep 2015 Location: Surrey Posts: 1763
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Not caravans admittedly, but my biggest issue with big (and heavy) single axle trailers is that if you lose a tyre you're in for a bad day.
Lost a rear on the ifor a few weeks back, and was able to get it to the hard shoulder with minimal fuss due to the second axle. |
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30th Aug 2021 10:15pm |
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