Cheapest tow vehicle - suppositions, guesses and maths

is that what

landlockedpirate said:
It would with the duck punt on the roof :p

They are a decent sized car and they tow 1600kg, so it should be fine.
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is that what the caravan club says or the manufacturer

I am still a bit lost on the relationship between the caravan club figures, the vehicle manufacturers figures and the law

getting a bit confused

I do know that Mrs Winter is more likely to tolerate a fat volvo on the drive rather than a rusting transit

Dylan
 
TOWING

I notice no one has mentioned so far, is the trailer you are towing a two wheel or a four wheel as this will make a difference to what you can tow with.
I NI legislation is coming in that four wheel trailers con only be towed by a four wheel drive car. Apparently the four wheel trailer also has to have a hydraulic braking system and also a VIN plate. Not sure about legislation on the mainland, but you can be sure if it's not already in place it soon will be.
 
Two wheel - overrun brakes

BERT T said:
I notice no one has mentioned so far, is the trailer you are towing a two wheel or a four wheel as this will make a difference to what you can tow with.
I NI legislation is coming in that four wheel trailers con only be towed by a four wheel drive car. Apparently the four wheel trailer also has to have a hydraulic braking system and also a VIN plate. Not sure about legislation on the mainland, but you can be sure if it's not already in place it soon will be.
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two wheel trailer with overrun brakes

Dylan
 
dylanwinter said:
is that what the caravan club says or the manufacturer

I am still a bit lost on the relationship between the caravan club figures, the vehicle manufacturers figures and the law

getting a bit confused

I do know that Mrs Winter is more likely to tolerate a fat volvo on the drive rather than a rusting transit

Dylan
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I think you should only be concerned with mr Plod. When he pulls you over you are not going to get off by saying "the caravan club said it was ok"!
 
Dylan,

2 thoughts for you:

1) Sounds crazy but if its alreadyon a trailer and ready to tow. You might be as well off using: shipley.com
If your not on a tight deadling...

2) Landrover Discovery 200 or 300 tdi, 30mpg not towing.
Like any used car its a risk watch the rust inside the back doors by seat belt attachment. Comfortable great tow capacity and if they do break down they are basic mechanics to repair.

I only sold my disco to get a 110 Defender...
 
I don't think anyone has mentione SUBARU yet have they?

I tow with a Subaru Forrester. Tows my boat, caravan or trailer without any worry. The Forrester will tow up to about 2 ton.

Previously I towed with a Subaru Legacy, an equally good towcar.

With most Subaru's you get permenant 4 wheel drive, for the price you pay for 2wd from any other make of car, plus a high / low ratio transfer box. Low ratio is unbelievably useful for reversing with a trailer or for driving slowly up the slipway without burning out your clutch.

You get Japanese reliability as well.

If budget is tight, £1000 should get you an old but sound Legacy. I only paid £3500 for my present Forrester when it was 4 years old.

I wouldn't personally want to be reversing a boat down a slipway with anything other than 4WD and a dual ratio transfer box.

There are plenty of other small Japanese mini 4WD vehicles that would do equally well.
 
I can't undertnd this 85% malarky. The figure that is the holy grail is the Train Weight. Thats the weight of everything, including luggage/passengers/boat/ trailer/car....everything.

If you exceed the train weight your not insured etc etc. The heavier the car is loaded the less it will be able to tow. The manufacturers "limits" for trailers are normally quoted as with Driver and full tank of fuel. The car has always got to be heavier than the trailer and the nose weight of the trailer has to be within the manufacturers limits. Too nose light and it snakes, to nose heavy and it effects steering and braking

The best people to get info from is Indespension. They'll tell you what you need to know to stay within the law and above all be safe.
 
BarryH said:
I can't undertnd this 85% malarky.
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the "85% rule" was something started by the caravan club.

It has NO legal standing.

It's just advice, that in most cases, if the caravan weighs no more than 85% of the towcar, then it will tow reasonably well and most drivers will be able to handle it.

Caravans are a lot different to other trailers. for their size, they are quite light, but present a large windage area, so are more affected by cross winds etc.

And of course it takes NO account of the power of the vehicle. You can buy the same model of car with a big or small engine, and common sense says the smaller engine version will struggle.

IMO towing a boat is completely different and I doubt the caravan club 85% recommendation has much relevance to towing a boat.
 
Never really looked at the Caravan Club thing.......doesn't really interest me, although we did have a caravan. Hated towing it as it was too light for its size.

I towed our last boat that went 2600kgs all up on the trailer. Towed it with a Range Rover V8. Nice and easy and stress free. The Rangy even had a compressor under the bonnet for air brake coupling, yes it was the original Range Rover, not one of these Essex Poser Motah's, and it was plated to tow upto a max of 7.5 Tons using a draw bar trailer.

Train weight is the figure you need to look at to stay with in the law and insured. Oh and tell insurance thhat your using it as a tow vehicle and cap your mileage. The Range Rover used to cost me less than 200 quid fully comp with a 5 k mileage limit.
 
ProDave said:
the "85% rule" was something started by the caravan club.

It has NO legal standing.

It's just advice, that in most cases, if the caravan weighs no more than 85% of the towcar, then it will tow reasonably well and most drivers will be able to handle it.

Caravans are a lot different to other trailers. for their size, they are quite light, but present a large windage area, so are more affected by cross winds etc.

And of course it takes NO account of the power of the vehicle. You can buy the same model of car with a big or small engine, and common sense says the smaller engine version will struggle.

IMO towing a boat is completely different and I doubt the caravan club 85% recommendation has much relevance to towing a boat.
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Agree entirely the legal bit is the manufacturers GTW or whatever they call it this month. However as I said in my experience towing with capacity in hand is a lot easier than going to the limit, personal experience. Also many manufacturers quote the same limits for most if not all variants of a particular model irrespective of engine capacity.

Another thing to remember is most boats on a trailer the c of g is going to be a lot higher than a caravan so trailer stability is a lot different to towing a van.
 
dylanwinter said:
is that what the caravan club says or the manufacturer

I am still a bit lost on the relationship between the caravan club figures, the vehicle manufacturers figures and the law

getting a bit confused

I do know that Mrs Winter is more likely to tolerate a fat volvo on the drive rather than a rusting transit

Dylan
Click to expand...


Trailer law is getting more confusing by the week but assuming you passed your test before 1997 you dont need to worry about train weights. |The 1600kg I quoted is the amount Volvo say the 850 can tow, this is the important figure.

As mentioned the caravan club 85% malarky is advisory. TBH the caravan club are a bit weird, have you seen some of their 'Tow Car of the Year' winners ? How can small saloons be better than Diesel V8 Rangies or Landcruisers as tow cars :confused:

If you search for the car you fancy on autotrader it gives you the towing weight under the 'Dimensions' tab on the used cars.
 
landlockedpirate said:
TBH the caravan club are a bit weird, have you seen some of their 'Tow Car of the Year' winners ? How can small saloons be better than Diesel V8 Rangies or Landcruisers as tow cars :confused:
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Because they divide them into classes and perhaps a really innovative or boundary pushing sub £25k car is more noteworthy than an old fashioned 2500kg lump of pig iron, even if the pig iron can tow a bigger load?

The last list of winners were:

Under £25,000

Volkswagen Jetta Sport 2.0TDI DSG

£25,000 to £32,000

Škoda Superb Estate Elegance 2.0 DSG

Over £32,000

Volkswagen Touareg Escape 3.0 V6 TDI

All-Wheel Drive Vehicles Under 1800kg

Volvo V60 D5 AWD Volvo Ocean Race

All-Wheel Drive Vehicles Over 1800kg

Volkswagen Touareg Escape 3.0 V6 TDI

Overall Winner

Volkswagen Jetta Sport 2.0TDI DSG

I'm sure that the Touareg can tow more than the Jetta, but the Jetta is probably a great tow car for an appropriately sized load
 
I tow my 26ft 1500kg (empty) trailer sailor with a Mondeo diesel estate and never had any problems, I bought it 300 miles away and towed it home fine I NEVER go over 60mph and have max nose weight on the trailer. Usually I only tow 70 miles I get 35 mpg towing. ALSO as the total weight of the car and trailer is less than 3,500KG. I will not have to take a towing test next year. Most 4x4’s weigh around 2,000 KG add a 1,500 KG boat and you are up to Maximum weight, re taking driving test, running costs of a 4x4 probably 20 mpg, expensive road tax, and if you go within the low emission zone £100 per day!
I must admit I would like a 4x4 for peace of mind and steep ramps but it is not economically viable.
Excerpt from Direct.gov website:- (it lost the formatting when I pasted it here)

Existing car or small vehicle drivers
If you already have a licence to drive cars or small vehicles (category B and BE), you'll keep your entitlement to tow trailers. Your entitlement to tow trailers will stay as it was when you passed your driving test.
To tow heavier trailers after 19 January 2013, you'll need to follow the rules for new drivers, below.

New drivers from 19 January 2013
Category BE
If your trailer weighs over 750 kg and the combined trailer and towing vehicle weight is more than 3,500 kg, you’ll need to pass a further test. The trailer you tow must not be heavier than 3,500 kg. This test will be shown on your driving licence as category BE.
Category C1E
To tow a trailer weighing more than 3,500 kg with a car or small vehicle (category B), you’ll need to pass a test for category C1E.
 
Corribee Boy said:
I just put the Corribee (900kg displacement) and breakback trailer on the weighbridge - 1920kg, without the anchor or any other easily moveable bits.

Towed with transit - about 2500 rpm at 60mph on way to Essex - £90 worth of diesel for 220 miles. Had lots of tools and materials in the back so well balanced.

If I did that with the defender I could probably double the cost, and need new eardrums into the bargain.

Buy a transit on the business.;)
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How refreshing a sensible answer drawn from experience and addressing the original question - well done that man
 
Quite.

Forget the Caravan Club. Forget 85%

If you are planning to tow a trailer with a load the Police will look at two things

1: the manufacturer's Maximum Towing Weight on a plate under your bonnet (it's different for different models with different engines, gearboxes and model years. A "diesel Mondeo" means nothing).

2 : The weighbridge ticket.

If 2 is greater than 1 you are in trouble.

Check your model's rating here http://www.cuddles.abelgratis.net/ford.htm (and check again on the plate)
 
Flying Penguin said:
Because they divide them into classes and perhaps a really innovative or boundary pushing sub £25k car is more noteworthy than an old fashioned 2500kg lump of pig iron, even if the pig iron can tow a bigger load?

The last list of winners were:

Under £25,000

Volkswagen Jetta Sport 2.0TDI DSG

£25,000 to £32,000

Škoda Superb Estate Elegance 2.0 DSG

Over £32,000

Volkswagen Touareg Escape 3.0 V6 TDI

All-Wheel Drive Vehicles Under 1800kg

Volvo V60 D5 AWD Volvo Ocean Race

All-Wheel Drive Vehicles Over 1800kg

Volkswagen Touareg Escape 3.0 V6 TDI

Overall Winner

Volkswagen Jetta Sport 2.0TDI DSG

I'm sure that the Touareg can tow more than the Jetta, but the Jetta is probably a great tow car for an appropriately sized load
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So the overall winner from the list above, as a tow car, is the Jetta ? I rest my case :D The caravan club judges are nuts. :confused:

VW747.jpg
 
You have to consider how you are going to drop the boat in the water. If you are going to use the rubbish slipway like I do, where its old stone, a bit steep, and partly covered with seaweed etc., then all a Mondeo's wheels will do is spin. Fine for the Motorway but launching and retrieving requires a differnt vehicle.
Last October I saw one of these Koranado/Sannyong things for sale. And it was only £2500. Immaculate, low mileage. I nearly bought it. But as I allready have a Nissan Patrol I could not persuade my wife to have it as her car. But come January and the roads are iced over my 4X4 was the only vehicle moving on our street.
The other advantage of a 4X4 on a slipway is that when reversing down you can be in low ratio, low gear. And last year I tried going up the slipway (and dont forget you are going uphill on a slippery slope) and my rear wheels started spinning so I had to drop into 4WD low ratio.
 
landlockedpirate said:
So the overall winner from the list above, as a tow car, is the Jetta ? I rest my case :D The caravan club judges are nuts. :confused:

VW747.jpg
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Methinks you misunderstand what they are aiming for ;). Not every load requires a vehicle that could take on the amazon delta, even a 1.4 Corsa has a towing capacity of a ton, and many of them do tow smaller trailers.

Any pillock can weld four wheels and a towbar to a 2 ton lump of deadweight and stick a 300hp v8 on it, It would probably tow more than the Jetta, but doesn't mean it would be either a leap forwards or a good towcar for the class. It would be pretty pointless an award if the sole question was which was the latest big engined land rover. They get a category to themselves, which the VW Toerag won, but they aren't the only type of tow vehicle that is safe, though you'd be a tool if you bought a Jetta on their recommendation when you actually needed a large lump of pig iron! :)
 
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