I have got a bailey ranger 500/5 06 model, i am thinking of buying a citroen picasso, can you give me any advice on how these tow?
Cheers
Dawn
Cheers
Dawn
Citroen Xsara Picasso
- Thread starter Dawn4
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Citroen Xsara Picasso - 2.0 HDI (66 kW/89 bhp)
Date of manufacture: january 2000 - january 2006
The match between car and caravan is plausible in accordance with a mix of European standards. However, according to the British Towing Code the percentage (loaded caravan / kerbweight tow car) is 95%.
The towing performances of this Citroen with your Bailey are reasonable (performance index = 86 km/u or 53 mph).
You may expect just moderate performances from this outfit. To come along - even on flat roads - you must floor the gas pedal and change gears regularly in which case top gear is seldom applicable.
On motorway inclines you will be able to come along provided you've selected the right gear. On steep roads you have sufficient power to keep going. On hill starts there's most prabably sufficient power to get going, provided the wheels have traction.
Date of manufacture: january 2000 - january 2006
The match between car and caravan is plausible in accordance with a mix of European standards. However, according to the British Towing Code the percentage (loaded caravan / kerbweight tow car) is 95%.
The towing performances of this Citroen with your Bailey are reasonable (performance index = 86 km/u or 53 mph).
You may expect just moderate performances from this outfit. To come along - even on flat roads - you must floor the gas pedal and change gears regularly in which case top gear is seldom applicable.
On motorway inclines you will be able to come along provided you've selected the right gear. On steep roads you have sufficient power to keep going. On hill starts there's most prabably sufficient power to get going, provided the wheels have traction.
Hi Dawn,we have a 51 reg 2.0 hdi Picasso.
We had it remapped,[upped power] nearly 2 years ago and tow a
05 Bailey Vendee.
With careful loading its at about 98% but tows fine.
Can average 30-34 mpg towing,43-55mpg solo.
Never had any problems towing in top gear on motorways at speed.
I knw its close to its limit,but it is a nice relaxed drive and the economy speaks for itself.
Hope this is some help.
We had it remapped,[upped power] nearly 2 years ago and tow a
05 Bailey Vendee.
With careful loading its at about 98% but tows fine.
Can average 30-34 mpg towing,43-55mpg solo.
Never had any problems towing in top gear on motorways at speed.
I knw its close to its limit,but it is a nice relaxed drive and the economy speaks for itself.
Hope this is some help.
- Mar 14, 2005
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Steve, what do you mean by a mix of European standards? There is no such thing as a European standard. On the Continent they generally only follow the legal requirements but these are absolute limits and it is left to each caravan owner how far below that limit he/she wants to stay in order to improve the margin of safety. There is no recommendation as there is in the UK.
Sorry
that should have said that the information is a cut and paste from the whattowcar site.
So, in answer to your question, I have no idea!
I tow with a Baily Ranger 460/2 and its the perfect towcar for this kind of weight 35 ish to the gallon on my 2.0hdi unchipped.
I would not think twice about towing a larger van.
I would not think twice about towing a larger van.
Look at the weights REALLY carefully. We were wanting to buy a 500/5 but settled on a 470/4 in the end as our Renault Grand Scenic could not cope with the weight. The important issue for us was the gross train weight (i.e. total of car + caravan + all contents), but this should be OK for you as the Picasso has at least an extra 100Kg of gross train weight to play with.
I'm assuming you're looking at the Picasso 2.0hdi which has the highest towing capacity:
Your kerbweight is 1300Kg. The recommendation from numerous sources including the Caravan Club is to keep the tow weight below 85% of kerbweight - this would mean your maximum tow is 1105Kg, so you would be OK as long as you hardly put anything in your caravan at all (van weight unladen is 1044Kg).
However, if you load your caravan to its capacity of 1271Kg, you will be towing at 97% of kerbweight. This is legal, but according to numerous sources, is not advised. Personally, I'd build in as big a margin for safety as possible, and wouldn't be happy with this.
The quote from Sparkes (Steve) above is a direct cut and paste of results from the whattowcar.com website, which needs to be taken with a very large pinch of salt, as it does not consider issues such as gross train weight, and is based on foreign definitions of kerbweight which can be different to the UK defnition - it;s a minefield!
I'm assuming you're looking at the Picasso 2.0hdi which has the highest towing capacity:
Your kerbweight is 1300Kg. The recommendation from numerous sources including the Caravan Club is to keep the tow weight below 85% of kerbweight - this would mean your maximum tow is 1105Kg, so you would be OK as long as you hardly put anything in your caravan at all (van weight unladen is 1044Kg).
However, if you load your caravan to its capacity of 1271Kg, you will be towing at 97% of kerbweight. This is legal, but according to numerous sources, is not advised. Personally, I'd build in as big a margin for safety as possible, and wouldn't be happy with this.
The quote from Sparkes (Steve) above is a direct cut and paste of results from the whattowcar.com website, which needs to be taken with a very large pinch of salt, as it does not consider issues such as gross train weight, and is based on foreign definitions of kerbweight which can be different to the UK defnition - it;s a minefield!
- Mar 14, 2005
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I wouldn't see it quite as conservatively. If you go to a weighbridge and actually have the kerbweight of your car weighed, you'll more than likely to find out that it is a good deal heavier than any published data so you will always have a larger margin of safety than what any database will come up with for your outfit.
Agree with your there Lutz my Grand scenic 2.0 ltr blurb said the weight of the car was 2950kgsbut after checking the chassis no with Renault if it was in fact 3050 kgs i tow with a Picasso and an auto Scenic and they are both about same tow specs.
What you have to consider is that the 85% guide is a worse case scenario.
It takes the max van weight and compares it with the min car weight(almost)
If you are not loading the van to its max and the car is loaded at all then the weight ratio moves more in the favour of the car.
Some caravan manufacturers will replate a van to a higher max weight for a fee that doesn't include any mods to the van other than a new plate.
So for example if you had purchased a replated van you could be lead to believe that it was too heavy for your car when you were in fact well below 85% etc.
Weighbridging car and van is the only way to go for absolute accuracy,allowing for weighbridge tolerances,if you are concerned.
It takes the max van weight and compares it with the min car weight(almost)
If you are not loading the van to its max and the car is loaded at all then the weight ratio moves more in the favour of the car.
Some caravan manufacturers will replate a van to a higher max weight for a fee that doesn't include any mods to the van other than a new plate.
So for example if you had purchased a replated van you could be lead to believe that it was too heavy for your car when you were in fact well below 85% etc.
Weighbridging car and van is the only way to go for absolute accuracy,allowing for weighbridge tolerances,if you are concerned.
Hello, we have a 2.0HDI Picasso an dtow a Bailey Ranger 510/4 with ease. We are averaging 44mpg towing and find it a good match. When we purchased the van we contacted Citroen and they told us that the 2.0HDI can tow 1300kg and it has a tow ball weight of 8okg. The way we have approached it is- we emptied the folding camper we had, looked at everything and what we hadn't used on the last 4 outings was not going into the caravan. We have carefully packed the van and only really had one problem - that the spare wheel is in the front locker and we are now about to purchase a spare wheel carrier and carry the spare under the rear of the van. I am the only driver in our marriage and I am a 'woman' and I have towed for 12 yrs with no problem I make many heads turn on services and camping fields when we arrive-hubby gets out to arrange our pitch and I reverse and park the van. A Picasso is a great car and we are looking forward to seeing thhe new C4 Picasso when it is launched, this will be a 5 seater or 7 seater version. Maureen
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