Cheapest tow vehicle - suppositions, guesses and maths

[Avocet]

As part of their type approval testing, the major manufacturers have to do a set number of hill starts (think it might be 5) within so many minutes (that might be 5 too) on a specified slope, with the vehicle and a trailer laden to Gross Train Weight. The Max. recommended towing weight has as much to do with driveline warranty as with safety. Remember that the manufacturer needs to honour the warranty even if someone buys a car new and runs it at GTW every day of its life in a hilly area!

 

[landlockedpirate]

Dylan.

I haven't read every post in the thread, so apols if I'm repeating something, but...

Trailing a maximum of 85% or 90% of the car's weight is a good rule of thumb, but every model has a manufacturer's recomended max towing weight (RMTW). German cars tend to have lower RMTW's in relation to the car's weight, don't know why. Others have higher.

When we were researching what to pull our boat with the car (as opposed to Land Rover / other 4WD) that really stuck out as having a big RMTW relative to it's own weight was the Citroen C5, which (in it's bigger engine models) was rec'd to pull up to 2,500Kg (if memory serves - may not be accurate, but you get the idea).

I wouldn't recommend a van - b****r to reverse, cos of the visibility. A cheap old reliable heavy car would be fine. If you identify a model, you can google the rec'd towing weight.

We pull a total of about 1,200Kg with our Volvo V40 (ie the small Volvo estate) 1.9 diesel and it's absolutely fine.

We did the bit about % of kerb weight 3 pages ago, and came to the conclusion that its a load of rubbish sprouted by tin can pulling geography teachers ***

Think you have the towing weights wrong way round as well, Citroen C5 Diesel - 1500kg and BMW 320 Diesel 1800kg.

Anyway, he's decided. Its going to be a Volvo Estate, borrowed from Lovejoy

*** To be clear I have both towed a Tin Can and been a teacher in the past

 

[dylanwinter]

oh now he hasn't

Anyway, he's decided. Its going to be a Volvo Estate, borrowed from Lovejoy

*** To be clear I have both towed a Tin Can and been a teacher in the past [/QUOTE]

he has not decided yet

I did swear that I would never het back into the big trailer sailer faff

and here I am

not planning to do too much towing though

it is really so that I can cut my costs to zero the next time I run out of money

and a rental truck for 24 hours might be the best way to go

it will cost me about £250 to rent a pick up truck car and fill it with diesel to ge the boat home the next time the BBC decides to put all the freelances to the sword

Dylan

 

[ProDave]

it is really so that I can cut my costs to zero the next time I run out of money

and a rental truck for 24 hours might be the best way to go

it will cost me about £250 to rent a pick up truck car and fill it with diesel to ge the boat home the next time the BBC decides to put all the freelances to the sword

Dylan

That might be true while the boat is down south.

But wait until later in the journey when you are north of the border, you might find it a tad more expensive to get the boat all the way back down south.

Hint, it would be cheaper to join a sailing club up here and make use of their moorings / storage facilities, than tow the boat hundreds of miles.

 

[Razorfish]

Hi Dylan,

I was thinking about your conundrum today whilst driving my commercial TD5 Defender around town.

These are great for working offroad and towing but as an everyday car they are awful - noisy, juicy, heavy great lumps.

It struck me that 4x4s are pretty much a prerequisite for towing up slippy or less than great slipways but less so for straight towing. As you will only be towing a couple of times per year you could save your money on 4x4 ownership (cost and diesel) and simply get the boat lifted out by a boat yard or towed up the slip by a friendly local 4x4 owning forumite. Many boat yards/clubs have tractors to do the latter.

My second thought, after filling up, was consider the running costs the rest of the year before you buy yourself a towing car - my TD5 only does about 30mpg and the annual fuel bill would be crippling if I didn't pass on the cost - if you run an economical car you may end up still saving money in comparison even if you hire a van/car for towing a couple of occasions.

You certainly got a discussion going here didn't you? I sort of zoned out of the technical/legal stuff, but then I am a bit dense.

Cheers,

Andy

PS you have got me looking at alternative vehicles now. She's going to kill me.

 

[dylanwinter]

distance

That might be true while the boat is down south.

But wait until later in the journey when you are north of the border, you might find it a tad more expensive to get the boat all the way back down south.

Hint, it would be cheaper to join a sailing club up here and make use of their moorings / storage facilities, than tow the boat hundreds of miles.

I agree

and I really do not intend to do too much towing for the upper parts of the journey

although this summer I might have to do a fair bit


taking the minstrel to the swap over place, bringing the slug home then delivering it to the new owner

bringing the boat back home for the winter

and then back again

that is five movements at £250 a time for a rental vehicle


D

 

[onesea]

I agree

and I really do not intend to do too much towing for the upper parts of the journey

although this summer I might have to do a fair bit


taking the minstrel to the swap over place, bringing the slug home then delivering it to the new owner

bringing the boat back home for the winter

and then back again

that is five movements at £250 a time for a rental vehicle


D

Once up there you may also find all you need to do is supply trailer and some one will have a 4x4, and a spare corner of yard or field they can spare.

 

[dylanwinter]

my thoughts exactly

Once up there you may also find all you need to do is supply trailer and some one will have a 4x4, and a spare corner of yard or field they can spare.

you are dead right of course

or I could rent a vehicle up there

but my guess is that I could find a corner to put it in

however, not planning to run out of work or money.... never expect it to happen

D

 

[neale]

My second thought, after filling up, was consider the running costs the rest of the year before you buy yourself a towing car - my TD5 only does about 30mpg and the annual fuel bill would be crippling if I didn't pass on the cost - if you run an economical car you may end up still saving money in comparison even if you hire a van/car for towing a couple of occasions.

A few years back I had a V8 Range Rover for an occasional bit of towing. I worked out that it would be cheaper over the year to buy a second, more economical car for every day use, tax it, have a second insurance policy and the extra set of maintenance than run the 15mpg Range Rover as my only car. In fact I went out and did just that.

 

[landlockedpirate]

A few years back I had a V8 Range Rover for an occasional bit of towing. I worked out that it would be cheaper over the year to buy a second, more economical car for every day use, tax it, have a second insurance policy and the extra set of maintenance than run the 15mpg Range Rover as my only car. In fact I went out and did just that.

Yep, I did exactly the same, but I must be a bit tighter than you cos I bought an oil burning Rangie.

 

[neale]

Yep, I did exactly the same, but I must be a bit tighter than you cos I bought an oil burning Rangie.

That V8 nearly broke me And that was back when fuel was only around £1 per litre. I can't imagine driving something like that now. In fact I am considering getting another Rangie, but a diesel this time, and I am wavering over the 25ish mpg. Think I have got to used to my 50mpg Mondeo

 

[dylanwinter]

we have two cars

That V8 nearly broke me And that was back when fuel was only around £1 per litre. I can't imagine driving something like that now. In fact I am considering getting another Rangie, but a diesel this time, and I am wavering over the 25ish mpg. Think I have got to used to my 50mpg Mondeo

we have a micro and a polo - both under 1litre

I cannot even beleive that I am contemplating driving such a vehicle into a garage and leaving £90 worse off

leaving £50 worse off is bad enough

at one time when I was a hack for IPC I had free petrol - even when on holiday

the car was an 1100 astra though

then it was a series of sierras for a decade of 50,000 miles a year - half a million miles


Dylan

 

[Iain C]

Another vote for the Disco 300 Tdi here. Comes into its own on slipways, mud etc. I paid a grand for mine many years ago, it owes me nothing but I just can't bring myself to sell it!

 

[dylanwinter]

can I borrow it?

Another vote for the Disco 300 Tdi here. Comes into its own on slipways, mud etc. I paid a grand for mine many years ago, it owes me nothing but I just can't bring myself to sell it!

that is another thought

I do see a lot of them standing on drives doing very little

I wonder if I could get could get some-one to put me on their insurance - should be very cheap - 58 years old...clean license - I could pick the vehicle up almost empty of fuel and return it clean, brim full with fuel and with a boot containing an eclectic selection of alcoholic beverages.

The boat is in Blandford Forum and my garden is near Buckingham - 115 miles

I promise to film the journey


Dylan

 

[onesea]

I agree

and I really do not intend to do too much towing for the upper parts of the journey

although this summer I might have to do a fair bit


taking the minstrel to the swap over place, bringing the slug home then delivering it to the new owner

bringing the boat back home for the winter

and then back again

that is five movements at £250 a time for a rental vehicle


D

that is another thought

We have a little and large here, Landrover for shifting & towing & little car for longer runs.

Who ever is driving further uses little car, the other uses Landy. Often Landy is being used round town for shopping run (you quickly learn to appreciate the space), as little car is off to further destinations.

Since getting small car our fuel bill in the Landy is not really significant, it does not do that many miles. Unless we are towing or have allot of stuff then we really appreciate the space etc.

 

[Avocet]

When we did that, the dilemma was whether to get a very old Landie - (tax exempt) for shifting, or a newer one (less maintenance and more "comfort" - all things being relative, of course)! We went for A Series III (this was some years ago), which wasn't tax exempt but didn't need much doing to it. Even though, there were still some significant maintenance costs involved. The main difference is that I do almost all my own work on cars. We still had two other small cars, so the Landie was only taxed in the summer and this was before the DVLA brought in their continuous insurance requirement. I guess it all boils down to whether Dylan reckons he can buy and run a dedicated tow vehicle for a year for 5 x £250 or less?

 

[dylanwinter]

so could I

When we did that, the dilemma was whether to get a very old Landie - (tax exempt) for shifting, or a newer one (less maintenance and more "comfort" - all things being relative, of course)! We went for A Series III (this was some years ago), which wasn't tax exempt but didn't need much doing to it. Even though, there were still some significant maintenance costs involved. The main difference is that I do almost all my own work on cars. We still had two other small cars, so the Landie was only taxed in the summer and this was before the DVLA brought in their continuous insurance requirement. I guess it all boils down to whether Dylan reckons he can buy and run a dedicated tow vehicle for a year for 5 x £250 or less?

that is what it boils down to

could I?

of course at the end I would still have a tow car to sell

Jill would be happier if I rented rather than bought because the garden has enough boat related paraphenalia in it already

D

 

[Avocet]

Yes, I can see where she's coming from. Our Landie "cost" us in other ways - like tying up space that could have been used for other things. We did, actually sell it for more than we bought it (just) but in the great scheme of things that didn't recover what we'd spent on it - even without the fuel. If you're prepared to be mercenary and buy a "big banger" (say) each year, spend nothing on it and throw it away when it breaks, you might be better off, but you'd have to take the (almost inevitable) risk of breakdowns when you're trying to tow the boat somewhere. Oddly enough, we're in (if you'll excuse the pun!) much the same boat as you, in that I'm hoping to get Avocet back in the water after 5 years, and it has dawned on me that actually, I can't really afford the marina fees any more, what with the family getting more demanding and the recession biting deeper! I'd probably not go back to trailer sailers (hell of a lot of work for a few hours fun!), but could be tempted by some of the cheaper estuarine drying moorings and a bilge keeler.

 

[dylanwinter]

old vehicle

When we did that, the dilemma was whether to get a very old Landie - (tax exempt) for shifting, or a newer one (less maintenance and more "comfort" - all things being relative, of course)! We went for A Series III (this was some years ago), which wasn't tax exempt but didn't need much doing to it. Even though, there were still some significant maintenance costs involved. The main difference is that I do almost all my own work on cars. We still had two other small cars, so the Landie was only taxed in the summer and this was before the DVLA brought in their continuous insurance requirement. I guess it all boils down to whether Dylan reckons he can buy and run a dedicated tow vehicle for a year for 5 x £250 or less?

I already have the small car

so that is good

when I mooted the idea of buying a bigger vehicle just for towing boats it was lead balloon time in the Winter household

suddenly the contact details for the insurance company were very hard to find

Dylan

 

[Lakesailor]

Be even more dramatic ballooning if the vehicle blows a turbo or needs a new clutch!!