1.9 multijet dynamic,tinted windows 120bhp,44mpg with a trailer on is impressive

i was just looking at a small horse trailers as i have towball. The doblo 1.9JTD says it can pull 1000kg. How do you find the driving when you load up that small trailer with something really heavy ?

Crinkle, my trailer is the back end of a BT van bolted to a trailer chassis & the doblo dragged it along like it wasn't there. In fact, a few times I hit 70 without realising & the outfit was really stable.
OK, so the BT body has a top overhang which slopes upwards and almost seems to be made to suit the height of the dobby.
BTW, mine's the 105bhp. IMO, the dobby makes an excellent towcar.

sludgeguts said:

Crinkle, my trailer is the back end of a BT van bolted to a trailer chassis & the doblo dragged it along like it wasn't there. In fact, a few times I hit 70 without realising & the outfit was really stable.
OK, so the BT body has a top overhang which slopes upwards and almost seems to be made to suit the height of the dobby.
BTW, mine's the 105bhp. IMO, the dobby makes an excellent towcar.

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sounds good so the trailer must be what 400kg ? how much do you think you towed max (trailer and load) without crawling up hills ?

I'd be more worried about stopping rather than going my Doblo's brakes are not a patch on the old mondeo I had.

crinklebender said:

sounds good so the trailer must be what 400kg ? how much do you think you towed max (trailer and load) without crawling up hills ?

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I'm just an old pikey, how would I know
If anyone wants to work it out, do feel free.
Huge BT van fibreglass box section bolted to a large (caravan?) chassis.
Contents were solid oak sideboard measuring 6' long, 2' wide and 3' tall. Matching corner cupboard 6' tall, 2' each 'side', with two leaded glass doors above and solid oak doors below.
1960s three piece suite - solid wood, not the packing crate stuff you get these days - with matching footstool (with inlaid plate glass).
Double futon
Two solid wood gliding chairs (not rockers).
Spent most of the time in 5th gear & dropped to 4th in advance of the hills so I never really noticed any difference.

As for braking, as with my normal driving, I tend to look ahead & adjust my speed to suit so mostly decellerating & dropping down the box to utilise the engine's braking ability but the odd occasion where this was not possible the old girl didn't complain (and the trailer is braked as well).

One thing I will say about the BT conversion is that the trailer is quite nose heavy as the wheels have to be placed towards the rear of the outfit rather than midway. I tried to compensate for this by placing the oak sideboard across the back doors and putting the sofa on top of it. Even so, I wasn't overjoyed with the noseweight.
But my dobbin coped admirably.

That's reassuring. I intend to take the Doblo to Italy this Summer with a heavily laden trailer of goodies and have nightmares about being flattened at the bottom of some Alpine pass by the weighty trailer . That's assuming my towbar fitting was up to standard. still not fitted the air filter weather is crap - but what a fiddly to do!

As the dobbin is van based, it is possible that the brakes adjust to perform better than your ordinary car when the vehicle is loaded?
My old pickup used to have things attached to the underside to detect load so it would 'enhance' the braking power of the rears - Normally, the fronts take all the strain as weight is effectively shifted forwards.
I think it was just a case of allowing more pressure to get through?
That was how it was explained anyway.

sludgeguts said:

I'm just an old pikey, how would I know
If anyone wants to work it out, do feel free.
Huge BT van fibreglass box section bolted to a large (caravan?) chassis.
Contents were solid oak sideboard measuring 6' long, 2' wide and 3' tall. Matching corner cupboard 6' tall, 2' each 'side', with two leaded glass doors above and solid oak doors below.
1960s three piece suite - solid wood, not the packing crate stuff you get these days - with matching footstool (with inlaid plate glass).
Double futon
Two solid wood gliding chairs (not rockers).
Spent most of the time in 5th gear & dropped to 4th in advance of the hills so I never really noticed any difference.

As for braking, as with my normal driving, I tend to look ahead & adjust my speed to suit so mostly decellerating & dropping down the box to utilise the engine's braking ability but the odd occasion where this was not possible the old girl didn't complain (and the trailer is braked as well).

One thing I will say about the BT conversion is that the trailer is quite nose heavy as the wheels have to be placed towards the rear of the outfit rather than midway. I tried to compensate for this by placing the oak sideboard across the back doors and putting the sofa on top of it. Even so, I wasn't overjoyed with the noseweight.
But my dobbin coped admirably.

Click to expand...

sounds like you are getting to the 1000kg limit there. I think ill get 1.9JTD power remap before i take on that lot.

I upgraded my rear leafs with greyston springs (actual springs that fit on top of leafs) so that should help somewhat. It made the van too high at rear when unladen so upgraded the front spring a wee bit with adjustable greyston spring clamps (15 quid a pair !)... I know seems dodgy, but they are used on rally cars and seems fine a year on. They even improve front ride on rough ride as less spring compression on bumps.

crinklebender said:

i was just looking at a small horse trailers as i have towball. The doblo 1.9JTD says it can pull 1000kg. How do you find the driving when you load up that small trailer with something really heavy ?

Click to expand...

i dont notice the trailer on the back wen im towing,it goes round corners without lifting off accelerator,it seems to brake quicker with the trailer but the trailer is unbraked.

i often get looks wen i overtake on motorways as they think there is a wheelchair user behind the wheel,this is a hidden gem of a car,it does 2000rpm at 60mph towing,i think the 5th gear is more like a 6th gear ratio as it wont do 30mph in top gear have to go into 4th.