Audi A7 BiTurbo - Towing a Continental 645 opinion

[Chrisjkerr]

Morning everyone.

I'm just after some other opinions..

I have my B+E which i passed in July last year and have now been towing just over 15months with around 9 journeys all over the UK within that time. I drive an Audi A7 BiTdi Quattro 320ps, 650nm/479ft lb of torque on a 64 plate. Max tow is 2100kg, Nose weight 85kg and an unladen weight of 1975kg according to the V5.

I'm currently towing a Sterling Eccles Quartz 2012 at 1610kg which tows absolutely fine. I've had a Touareg and If I'm honest the A7 feels better towing the caravan than the Touareg did even though the A7 is 400kg lighter (unladen). This maybe down to the stiffer suspension on the A7 whereas the Touareg felt a little bouncy.

I'm possibly looking to upgrade to a twin axle. In-fact, it's a hefty Continental 645 at 1900kgs MTPLM.

The dealer seems to think that it's not really an issue with the fact it has the ALKO ATC stability control and it's a twin meaning it's less likely to want to snake. I understand the 85% guidance which I know isn't law and I understand that he's also wanting to sell me a nice new caravan so providing I'm within all the towing limits and licence limits. He's happy to sell it! He has offered the option of taking the van out to see how it handles. Which I may take him up on the offer.

The 645 comes with a 221kg payload (1678kg miro) whereas the wife and I are used to a 156kg payload amount and wouldn't be looking to take anymore than what we're used to in the future as there's only the two of us. Technically, we would be looking at a total payload and caravan weight of around 1835kg which gives me a ratio of around 93%. I've got to add the weight of the mover so maybe another 60kg for a twin which then increases the ratio further.

I've looked at the A6 Allroad review (Practical Caravan Website), which has a very similar unladen weight and tow capability apart from the 100kg nose weight and the conclusion was that it was fine to tow a big twin (Elite Explorer as example) with buckets of performance on hand with stability also.

My question to you all is. Do you think with clever loading of the caravan to bring the noseweight to the 85kg limit and the usual careful driving, this combination would be OK at those weights and the actual MTPLM if i ever wanted to take it to 1900kg?

I want to buy the new van so I'm obviously already siding on the ...."it should be fine provided I'm aware of what I have behind and drive sensibly with plenty of forward thinking" but wanted to get other opinions from those that have heavy twins, tow with slightly larger 4x4's or with heavy saloon cars.

Thanks again for your time....

Chris

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Chris,

You are quite correct about the legality of your proposed outfit, and personally having towed a wide variety of outfits I have no problem with approaching or even exceeding the industries guidance on 85 and 100% when necessary. Don't forget there is no law that says an outfit must be able to tow at 60mph (UK Speed limit) and with some outfits it may be necessary to consider a lower top speed.

BUT my own take on the situation is that caravans are a particularly poor trailer even in TA form, so you should always try to choose a caravan thats as light/small as possible for the job in hand.

Nose weight is often talked about and advice is often given based on the industry recommendations, but like towing weight ratios the guidance is based on opinions rather than factual data. So its another of those issues that is so often misunderstood. You are obviously aware that tow vehicles have maximum permitted nose weight limits, as do the trailers themselves, and you must not exceed either of those static limits. It is often suggested trying to work at the top end of the nose weight limit, as it will "improve stability". My take on the subject is that you only need enough nose weight to prevent instability. In most cases you do not need to use more than about 75% of the nose weight capacity - but it is a bit of suck it and see.

On the subject of nose weights, and especially with Twin Axle trailers, it is very important to measure the nose weight accurately, taking particular note of the height of the hitch. Even a couple of cm inaccuracy can have quite a dramatic effect on the static nose weight applied to the tow hitch, and if you are working close to or at the specified max. limits then you might easily be exceeding the limit if you have measured it incorrectly.

Ultimately the safety of any outfit is in the hands of the driver which in my opinion is the single biggest factor. However speed is also a major factor, so bear in mind my earlier comment about top speeds.