I am looking to change my towcar to either an E Class Mercedes or a 5 series BMW. My dilemma is whether to go for the more popular automatic gearbox option. I have read somewhere before that towing with an auto can lead to overheating (not sure if it was referring to the engine or the gearbox). However, I am looking at a minimum of 2.5 litre for a BMW but more than likely a 3.0 or 3.2 litre engine. I will be towing our 2 berth Hymer Nova 470. Am I worrying about nothing or do I really need to find a car with a manual box?
Automatics and overheating
- Thread starter Andrew_5039828
- Start date
A 2 berth Hymer would be a piece of cake for the cars that you are looking at and will test the capabilities neither of their engine nor of the gearbox, regardless of whether manual or automatic.
Andrew - We tow a Caravalair Eden 472 (MTPLM 1300kg) with a BMW 525d Touring Auto - best tug I've ever had, great margin at 65%, self-levelling rear suspension, good noseweight limit of 90kg, and the auto box makes towing so easy. It's never overheated, although I've now covered 106K miles in the car, about 10K towing, and recently a 2500 mile round trip to Switzerland all without any hassle and good economy of 40mpg solo, 24mpg towing.
depends on make of vehicle. Merc / Bmw you should be ok , Ford / Vauxhall not so reliable ,, Ford A4LD NEED an oil cooler in addition to the standard one
HI Andrew, we tow with a recently purchased VW Passat estate (auto) 2.5 litre V6. It tows like a dream although we had also heard the same story about towing with an automatic and were unsure.
We went on the CC towing course and their advise was that not having to change gear meant one less thing to think about. I can only concur and love towing with the automatic. Best wishes, Roz
We went on the CC towing course and their advise was that not having to change gear meant one less thing to think about. I can only concur and love towing with the automatic. Best wishes, Roz
I think they are talking about the auto box. Many autos have a "transmission oil cooler" as standard. This looks like a small radiator fitted at the bottom and in front of the main radiator. If the car has one as standard - no problem. Ask the dealers or look at the tech. specs.
If they do not, Kenlowe and others sell them for around
If they do not, Kenlowe and others sell them for around
My father in law has towed with a laguna auto and had no trouble at all. I think where people get confused with automatic cars is, they think they don't have to use the throttle in a simlar way to a manual car. They tend to "put the pedal to the metal" and let the auto box decide what to do.
By using excessive throttle going up hill all you get is the torque converter working overtime and no greater progress. All that excess energy has to do something and so it heats up the gearbox oil, hence the overheating.
I've driven auto cars from a 998cc Riley elf to a 4000cc Jag XJ40, and they all drove very well and gave no trouble. But I must admit to enjoying my Laguna estate 5 speed manual version. It tows our 20 foot twin axle van a treat.
The most tested car I owned must of been a Renault 18 estate (1647cc), we towed a 1978 14 ft cavalier behind it. Then we put a 10foot dinghy on the roof rack and on top of that we put the road trailer for the dinghy.
This car went up "Black rock" which is the steep hill out of Abergavenny going towards Swansea, over the heads of the vallies. Sure we had to stop for a brew half way up and you could of fried an egg on the engine. But by watching the temperature guage and stopping before she boiled we had many a good time at the Gower coast.
By using excessive throttle going up hill all you get is the torque converter working overtime and no greater progress. All that excess energy has to do something and so it heats up the gearbox oil, hence the overheating.
I've driven auto cars from a 998cc Riley elf to a 4000cc Jag XJ40, and they all drove very well and gave no trouble. But I must admit to enjoying my Laguna estate 5 speed manual version. It tows our 20 foot twin axle van a treat.
The most tested car I owned must of been a Renault 18 estate (1647cc), we towed a 1978 14 ft cavalier behind it. Then we put a 10foot dinghy on the roof rack and on top of that we put the road trailer for the dinghy.
This car went up "Black rock" which is the steep hill out of Abergavenny going towards Swansea, over the heads of the vallies. Sure we had to stop for a brew half way up and you could of fried an egg on the engine. But by watching the temperature guage and stopping before she boiled we had many a good time at the Gower coast.
I Tow my 1225Kg MTPLM van with a Mercedes C220CDI Elegance Auto and find that no overheating occurs at any time I also use the cruise control whenever possible as it senses changes in road and speed conditions much better than I can.
The only fault I can find with the c220 is the small boot.
The only fault I can find with the c220 is the small boot.
Andrew,
I tow an Abbey GTS vogue 517 (2004 model) with my Merc E200 auto.(No extra oil cooler added.) Tow regularly in the UK and last year went from S.Wales to the Loire Valley & back without any hint of a problem. Looking forward to Brittany this year. I certainly would not worry about towing with an auto.
I tow an Abbey GTS vogue 517 (2004 model) with my Merc E200 auto.(No extra oil cooler added.) Tow regularly in the UK and last year went from S.Wales to the Loire Valley & back without any hint of a problem. Looking forward to Brittany this year. I certainly would not worry about towing with an auto.
Chamged to an Auto Volvo years ago . Towed like a dream. On a steep rasm onto ferry a guy wit a m,anual rover nearly cooked his cluth I pulled on wit a bigger van twice as many passengers + 5 mountain bikes. As trhe smoke from his clutch cleared he asked how I managed the same steep gradient, have seen the same on steep Alpine gradients and steep Cornish hills> Answer = Auto Box!
Tow with an auto Merc now, the auto is the only way I would ever tow a caravan!
Tow with an auto Merc now, the auto is the only way I would ever tow a caravan!
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