Volvo has it - Minstrel tow car

dylanwinter

dylanwinter

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Joined
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Buckingham
www.keepturningleft.co.uk
The Minstrel weighs 1045kg - rigging but not engine

the trailer has got to weigh around 400kg - here it is in the film

so that makes the load too close to 1.5 tonnes for comfort

so I need a low insurance group diesel volvo for £500 with a year's MOT that can legally pull the boat

best not let this thread run for too long - as tow cars is a topic that probably bores lots of blokes to death

four months taxed a year

insurance through NFU perhaps - limited mileage

I am assuming in this that the car will not need any money spent on it at all until the next MOT - when it scraps or lives


saloon or estate - makes no differrence to me - whichever tows best

what should I look at and what should I avoid

240, 850
 
Volvo 240 and 740 have towing capacity of 1500kg, 850 and 940 are 1600kg.

Dont think it matters whether its saloon or estate, however estate is huge and great for chucking all the boat gear into.
 
righto

landlockedpirate said:
Volvo 240 and 740 have towing capacity of 1500kg, 850 and 940 are 1600kg.

Dont think it matters whether its saloon or estate, however estate is huge and great for chucking all the boat gear into.
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getting narrower

850 or 940

the boat and trailer must be well under 1600kg

there seem to be more and cheaper 850s within 60 miles of home

anything here take your fancy

any preferences or things to avoid

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/.../mk182lp/radius/60/price-to/1000/sort/default
 
diesel is a preference

SlimRick said:
850 - FWD, 940 - RWD - much better for towing! Also, all those in your link are petrol.
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diesel is a preference - but the price of buying the car wins

rear is better - but I have towed using a big old Citroen and with a diesel sierra

different experience is all

petrol versions seem cheaper

am I being irrational about the auto gear box

Dylan
 
The Autos make great tow cars, the last Volvo I got rid of was a 740 Turbo Diesel Auto that my parents gave me. They had been using it as a tow car for their caravan and when I was given it the mileage was 245,000. I used it for a further 40,000 miles and it was still running great when I sold it.
 
am I being irrational about the auto gear box
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Yep I have a Volvo estate with auto box... had it now for 30 years but it is a Borg Warner box. Sadly only three speed but really takes all the hassle out of driving .. people rarely go back to stick shift after owning an automatic.

Mine is not powerful enough for serious towing. Only 2.1 litre.

I want a V70 diesel but the old 245 wont die!

Id say you must have a transmission oil cooler fitted if you are going to tow that weight very far with an autobox

Serious suggestion: Get a Landie or a Disco for towing. Keep the little hatchback for all the running about.
 
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get behind me S

VicS said:
Yep I have a Volvo estate with auto box... had it now for 30 years but it is a Borg Warner box. Sadly only three speed but really takes all the hassle out of driving .. people rarely go back to stick shift after owning an automatic.

Mine is not powerful enough for serious towing. Only 2.1 litre.

I want a V70 diesel but the old 245 wont die!

Id say you must have a transmission oil cooler fitted if you are going to tow that weight very far with an autobox

Serious suggestion: Get a Landie or a Disco for towing. Keep the little hatchback for all the running about.
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I am being rational here

I know they would landy and disco would do a great job

but it looks from my investigation that they are going to be more to insure and possibly a bigger risk from the breakdown front

it is my guess that I might find a volvo for under £600 that might get me two trouble free years

I am assuming that finding a reliable landy or disco at that price would be inviting trouble

or am I wrong

Dylan
 
I'd be the first to admit that Volvos have a great reputation for reliability and longevity, but I think it needs to be recognised that at that price, it has to be accepted that it could well need money spending on it between MOTs. ANY car could!

Also Dylan, how confident are you in the boat's weight? In my limited experience of trailer sailers, they seldom weigh what the manufacturer quotes by the time they're fitted out. they're nearly always heavier. If you can get the boat on to its trailer and tow it (borrow something or bribe a mate!) to the nearest scrapyard, they'll chuck it on the weighbridge for you for (I imagine) considerably less than a tenner and tell you what it and he trailer weighs. It wil lhave no legal standing whatsoever, but at least you'll either have peace of mind or you'll know what you're really dealing with before you cash out on a car.
 
dylanwinter said:
I am being rational here

I know they would landy and disco would do a great job

but it looks from my investigation that they are going to be more to insure and possibly a bigger risk from the breakdown front

it is my guess that I might find a volvo for under £600 that might get me two trouble free years

I am assuming that finding a reliable landy or disco at that price would be inviting trouble

or am I wrong

Dylan
Click to expand...

If you can find a decent Landy or Disco and only use it for towing that would keep the maintenance to a minimum. Tax and insurance too if you laid it up off road when not using it.

I only use my Volvo when I need a large estate car.. little more than taking the dinghy and all the gear down to the boat in the spring and bringing it all home again in the autumn. ( originally bought to carry all the camping gear)
Little diesel hatchback serves for all the running about
 
I can rent

As it stands the boat is pretty stripped out

I have brought the outboard, battery, anchors, rudder, stock etc home in the micra

I am reasonably confident that it will be under 1600kg

has anyone looked at the trailer in the film and can tell me if it weighs over 500kg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLeGZkugAZM&feature=player_embedded

I can rent a tow vehicle for £135 a day for the 250 mile round trip to pick it up

which is what I will do ....

after that I want to be ready to buy the right tow vehicle if it turns out that I will need to move the boat more than sweven times a year - whcih seems unlikely - but who knows what the future holds



Dylan
 
dylanwinter said:
I am being rational here

I know they would landy and disco would do a great job

I am assuming that finding a reliable landy or disco at that price would be inviting trouble

or am I wrong

Dylan
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Nope, you arnt wrong and I love Landies. You can get some very big bills from either a Landy or a Disco. At £600, especially if you dont know much about them, you are buying something thats barely fit for the scrapheap.

Why not try asking on your site to see if anyone has anything suitable ?
 
has anyone looked at the trailer in the film and can tell me if it weighs over 500kg
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I have now you've posted a link :D but cannot see enough of it to even make a wild guess at the weight. I'd be pretty surprised if it goes over 500KG though even with the launching trolley

I can calculate a weight for mine because I know exactly what size and thickness all the steel sections are and how much all the other components weigh... I have not checked the actual weight against my calculations though.

BTW
IMO and based on my own experience you should lash the bow tightly into the bow support. I went round a roundabout a bit too fast once and the boat swivelled sideways. Lash the back down tightly too and put fore and aft springs on so that it cannot move backwards or forwards. Believe you me if it can move it will move.
 
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