Examples of vehicles to tow 1.7t?

[Inselaffe]

Hello All,

Which vehicles can tow approx 1.7 ton all up weight - Boat + Trailer?
I have added to the book weight of the boat to allow for 'stuff'.

I'm looking at it from the point of view of perhaps changing vehicles to allow me to tow (rarely). I don't use the car other than for getting to the boat, so the smallest/cheapest that is legal/sensible would be the aim.

Is there a list of vehicle towing weights on the net anywhere?

Or could some people give me a few examples?

Many thanks.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

I have a Subaru Legacy estate, 4WD 2.5L. Prolly as big as standard estate cars go, towing weight about 1.1 tonnes. So looking at that you must be looking at Range Rovers or the like.

Prolly cheaper to hire if it s only a few trips per year. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[david_bagshaw]

as a guide line the weight of the trailer & load should mnot exceed 85% of the tow vehiclw weight,


general useful info

 

[stevebirch2002]

I used to tow Vegas which with a trailer weigh in excess of three ton. I sed an Isuzu Bighorn (Citation) which coped well but at 3.1 Litre diesel it was tirsty as well....

 

[Its_Only_Money]

For 1700Kg you are definitely looking at the bigger 4wds so a quick tour of their websites will yield their figures.

Although for accasional use I'd go for an older Range Rover Classic with the V8, cheap to buy and not as bad in mpg terms when towing as you might think. Depreciation will be v.low too and help keep the real total costs down.

Also important is what you want to do with it at the far end, if you want something to recover up greasy slipways then Landrover 4wd with its option of 4wd but an "open" centre diff can't be beaten, most older big 4wds give you a locked centre diff when selecting 4wd which isn't so good on concrete surfaces....and a big 4wd will also give you the option of a low range set of gears which a big saloon (even if it could tow the weight), wouldn't.

Food for thought?

 

[FullCircle]

The vehicle you are looking at for an ETAP22 is a large (Mondeo+) size vehicle with a towing capacity of about 1200kg

look here:
http://www.nationalcaravan.co.uk/home/index.asp?nid=13&id=2

they have a database of 30000 cars for safe towing capacities.

 

[paulrossall]

As Jim says a big car will do the job. I've had Volvo 240s, 740s, and now a 940 and they will pull your boat easily. If you can pick up a deisel Volvo all the better as the low revs torque helps starting on hills. You don't need to put a car on slipways...just use a long rope, anchor chain, or the trailer winch. Make sure the boat is correctly balanced on the trailer to give a reasonable nose weight on the tow hitch. Paul

 

[Inselaffe]

But this is an 1981 Etap 22, not the lighter 22i.
The boat weight is 1250kg and the trailer 380kg, plus a bit more for stuff and I estimate around 1.7t

This is Germany here, and they tend to do everything by the book to the letter...

What about VW vans? - more my style than Range rovers (I am from Essex), although Pa was trained as a mechanic at the factory and maybe he needs a project for his forthcoming retirement /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Elza_Skip]

You need to confirm the vehicle max towing limit per the book as the 85% rule is just a guide.

I purchased and Isuzu trooper form my 2 tonne boat trailer and that has a limit of 3.1 tonned. What I noticed is some of the small 4x4 have a low limit so you need to be careful- for example some of the freelanders only have a 1.5 tonne limit

I belive that what car has the towing limit as part of the stats for every vehicle

Having pulled my boat up some dreadful gravel slipways I would not be without the 4x4 with low ratio.

 

[paulrossall]

I know a bloke who towed an Evolution 26 with the firms Escort van all the way from Scotland to the Midlands. The clutch went on the van a week later when he had to drive up a steep hill after rescuing some animal.......the firm was the RSPCA!
Whenever he saw a police car behind him he pulled into a layby and let them past, but how he saw anything behind him is beyond me.

 

[ak7274]

I have a Vauxhall Frontera 2.8 TDI....Rated up to 2.5 tonnes towing weight.It weighs just under 2 tonnes and has pulled a 2 tonne trailer without too much problem....bit slow on the hills but cheap to buy and reasonable on fuel.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

Don't you have to tow a trailer permanently to put all the bits as they fall off on way?


/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[William_H]

The real crux of the matter is whether you want/ need to be legal. If you are only towing a short distance infrequently then you may choose to ignore the law.( in a reasonable manner) It is surprising what small cars will pull if you have patience. For my towing I find an automatic transmission is the best on a slippery ramp. I have 1.25 ton trailer and boat. had a ford 4.1 litre auto then a Mitsubishi 2.4 litre 4X4 van (clutch) now back to Ford 4litre auto. I don't regret selling the 4x4. I also used a 2 litre auto Toyota no problem. Our yacht club ramp is steep but there is an even steeper hill to get out of the club. My main worry is if the trailer or boat let go and roll /slide backwards.
I abandoned brakes on the trailer long ago. but then I only tow 1/2 kilometre now. I originally had a GM 3.3 litre with 2 speed auto. Years back I towed the boat in the mountains of Victoriaa few times 200 km and performance on those hills was definitely pedestrian but never had a problem retrieving.
regards olewill

 

[gjgm]

bear in mind that you ll need some grunt on a slipway to pull the boat out.Old model jeep cherokee 4.0l will pull just about anything, and you can probably find one for £2.5k. Ltd S/E is the preferred model with all the xtras. Older volvos will only tow 1.6t i think, and you ll probably end up with no clutch!

 

[FullCircle]

Ahhh. your original post said 1.7t all up!
No matter, go to the site and you will find that you end up with something big and chunky. Like the cheap utilitarian Frontera being a good choice.
Please ignore anyone who says its OK to tow overweight even for a short distance. I have done this and wrecked the T Shirt in the ensuing crash.
As a vehicle design engineer, I have witnessed the rear doors coming open on overweight towing tests where the body flexed and stretched.

Jim

 

[Guest]

I have a 1.45 ton/ boat trailer combination; the local caravan dealer tells me that the maximum for a 1996 Modeo diesel estate is 1500kgs, (Ford figure).

However, if you want to be legal, watch the plated gross train weight on the car.

I am considering a Ford Maverick diesel, 2700 kgs towing capacity.

However, I just hired a VW35 van for one day unlimited milage for £63, if you only want to tow twice a year, is by far the most economical.

 

[Lakesailor]

Germany is a Different Country

There is no point in taking advice from us in England. Most of the advice so far has revolved around peoples experiences and doesn't take into account that the law changed and is now very strict with regard to vehicle weights, trailer and load weights and capacities (even when unloaded)
<u>But this is only for the UK</u> See NTTA

You must search out the regulations for Germany.

A Google search would reveal some information.

 

[dwarwick]

hi
Quote from Indespension towing guide
- "maximum gross weight of an unbraked road trailer is 750kg or half the weight of the towing vehicle, whichever is less"
"maximum gross weight for trailers braked with the over run principle is 3500 kg"

It also lists most current vehicle towing weights for unbraked and braked trailers
e.g. Mondeo 2.0 Si 4x4 620kg and 1055kg respectively
Maverick 750kg and 2800 kg
hope this is some help

 

[Lakesailor]

You're only giving half the story.
A trailer has to have it's maximum gross weight displayed on the drawbar. That is the weight of the trailer and it's load.
If the weight displayed on that plate is say, 2500kg then the towing vehicle must have a manufacturer's maximum towing capacity of 2500kg or more even if the trailer is not loaded

Please have a look at the NTTA web site.

 

[Inselaffe]

Thanks all,

I think you have answered my question, which was really a feel for the max tow weights of different 'classes' of cars- I couldn't do it with a large estate car, it would have to be a bigger 4x4 etc which I don't need, or want. But there seems to be a large jump from the estates to the 4x4.

I'll stick to borrowing/begging tows from harbour to barn as it's only a couple of km twice a year. But I was also thinking about perhaps towing for holidays south once a year in the future, but it would be too much investment in a larger 4x4 etc (here in germany the road tax makes UK tax look like chicken feed).

The trailer in germany has its own log book and registration number, and must also have an MOT - it will come to you too as we are all 'homogenised' I'm sure.
It's braked and can take up to 2t trailer plus load (sorry - I thought 'all up' meant this, not plus vehicle weight too).

As an eg here in Germany, the weight my little ford courier can tow is written inside the doors, and is more for braked trailer than unbraked, there is also a max tow-hitch load. Interesting that Lake Sailor said that even when unloaded the towing vehicle must match the trailer max load, presumably that is the same here (I think most towing laws are getting closer throughout Europe - i.e. we all get more and more regulated until we catch up with the Germans!) but bu-gger it - I will carry on using the courier to move the unloaded trailer.