Advise when Vehicle weight and caravan are not an ideal combo

[Tony_374409434]

Hi everyone. We drive a 54 plate Nissan X trail and yesterday saw a lovely twin axle Elddis Super schirocco. We were primed to buy until saleman said whilst it was legal for our car to pull this van, it was close and he wouldn't recommend it. Has anyone experience ob being close to the wire so to spek and should we heed his advise?

We really liked the van (head Vs heart) etc

Thanks

Tony

 

[Francis_374353316]

Hi there!

I tow my caravan at a 96% weight ratio to my car. I dont know how close you are meaning but I have no major problems towing at this ratio and I consider this to be quite close to the limit. I have just completed a 1000mile round trip towing with this outfit and never had any bother atol. One thing I do is be extremely careful to make sure my noseweight is correct as this helps with stability. If you check your noseweight etc and how you load the van I wouldnt worry too much about the weight as long as its legal and you are a confident at towing.

Hope this helps you!!

 

[Francis_374353316]

Hi there!

I tow my caravan at a 96% weight ratio to my car. I dont know how close you are meaning but I have no major problems towing at this ratio and I consider this to be quite close to the limit. I have just completed a 1000mile round trip towing with this outfit and never had any bother atol. One thing I do is be extremely careful to make sure my noseweight is correct as this helps with stability. If you check your noseweight etc and how you load the van I wouldnt worry too much about the weight as long as its legal and you are a confident at towing.

Hope this helps you!!

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Tony,

I don't have the specific details of either the car or the caravan you specify, but looking around various web sites, it seems that the car has a kerb weight of about 1450Kg, with a maximum-braked trailer of 2000Kg, and is highly rated as a tow car.

The caravan seems to have an unladen weight of about 1550Kg with a MTPLM of 1875Kg

This is going to give a ratio that is well in excess of 100%.

This definitely not for a novice tower and is not recommended for even experienced caravanners.

The combination would be illegal for any driver with only Cat B driving licence unless the driver has taken the E extension test.

 

[marlot]

Good advice from your dealer. That 'van is far too heavy for your car. You should consider going for a heavier car (eg. a Kia Sorento, or an old shogun/landcruiser) or going for a more sensible caravan.

 

[stu658]

Tony, this is a NO NO!!!!....If you are asking for advice i will share my experiences with you. i had a compass rallye 640 which is essentially the same caravan as the Elddis. My tow car was a jeep Grand Cherokee with a 4.0l petrol engine.When laden the caravan was the same weight as the Jeep even though the manufactures say it can tow 3.5 tonnes. On my first trip out we went to The Lakes and i have never been so scared towing in all my life and i have a truck licence!!! Going down steep hills the van was pushing into the back of the car and was trying to lift it and snaked all over the place. Bearing in mind that the Jeep is an heavier more powerful car than your Nissan. i would seriously advise against this combination. either get a bigger car or a smaller van, so you can tow comfortably, safely and enjoy your holidays for years to come!!.

 

[Dustydog]

Tony

Have a look at "WhatTowCar.com".

I'm not sure what model X Trail you have but at best you would be around the 108% mark. Not illegal but as the others say not for the lighthearted. Windgusts, coach slipstreams etc will literally take your breath away!

Sorry mate , I wouldn't do it.

Why not change your car or lower you sights on the caravan?

Cheers

Dustydog

 

[WiltshirePete]

You need to find out exactly what your old style X-trail weighs. I was in a similar position, concerned about weights, so I took the Xtrail to 2 separate weighbridges and they both weighed it at 1660Kg, no driver but full fuel tank, and an extra jack aboard. This was for a diesel SVE which has running boards fitted. As you have to add at least my weight of 85Kg plus any stuff I put in the car (usually wife!) that makes the actual running weight of the car about 1800Kg. When on holiday we don't carry anything in the car except ourselves.

Our van has MTPLM of 1600, but actually runs at just less than this with all holiday stuff aboard, full gas and bikes. Again this was checked at a weighbridge. This gives a ratio of 89%. With 85Kg noseweight (found to be best by experimentation) we have covered 6000 happy miles so far.

In my opinion the figures given by car and caravan manufacturers can be taken with a pinch of salt until checked on a weighbridge, and if you don't believe the first get a second opinion. Weighbridges charge about a fiver and in my view this is money well spent.

The only factor I havent covered is where the half a ton of booze goes when returning home! In our case it is rear seats folded and just behind us.

Pete

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Pete,

I am please that you find your outfit to be manageable, but your experience is with a considerably lighter caravan (275Kg lighter MTPLM) and that difference may have a considerable effect on the towing characteristics.

Stuart,

Your report of the caravan pushing the car down hills should not happen. If the caravan begins to compress the tow hitch (i.e. pushing the car) then the caravan brakes should come on and actually ****** the caravan until the pressure on the hitch balances the application of the caravan brakes.

If you were genuinely experiencing and feeling the caravan pushing hard against the considerable weight of the Jeep I suggest that the caravan brake systems were not properly adjusted.

 

[xtrailman]

I found the same as pete, 85kg was the best balance for the diesel SVE xtrail, the 2004 model has a stated weight of 1650kg, the witter bar must be around 30 kg, so its not too short of 1700kg.

Personally i would be reluctant to tow above 1500kg, but thats just my opinion.

 

[stu658]

John L, i maybe didn't put it as well as i could have. The van is always fully serviced like my cars are, but after towing and driving trucks all my life i just feel things going on behind me. With the jeep i noticed the van behind me and on the instance stated the combination of car and van was not in my opinion good, it was most deffinately trying to kick the car out of shape and snake all over especially on down hill sections no matter what the manufacturer states it will cope with. I always now go for a much heavier tow car than van to give a good towing experience.in my opinion better to be safe than sorry and enjoy you holidays and not ruin anyone elses either.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Stuart,

Perhaps I was being a little brusk on the subject, The fact is that a properly adjusted and working trailer braking system should only exert perhaps 25 to 100Kg maximum longitudinal force on the tow hitch to fully engage the trailer brakes, depending on the degree of deceleration the tow vehicle is imposing.

In relation to the weight of the jeep that is not much.

My father had a Jeep Cherokee 4.0L limited, and I do agree that a trailer did transmit various forces to the car. I recall that these tended to be lateral forces, and due to the articulations and compliance of the suspension made themselves felt in the car. When the trailer was towed by a different car the same effect were much less marked.

 

[stu658]

i have just been on towsure and done an outfit match for my grand cherokee and compass rallye and it came out at 105%!!! in my opinion that is not a good match, far from it. this is exactly the reason i changed to my land rover, a much safer pleasant towing experience. maybe the jeep has a tow rating of 3500kg from the manufacturer but it is not a good caravan tow car in my opinion and i will never darken mr chryslers door again.