A friend has bought a Honda Civic 2.2 diesel and his van is an old 1986 Buccaneer Cruiser TA 3 berth. Is this a good match?
Honda Civic
- Thread starter RonD
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- Mar 14, 2005
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It always surprises me that there are people who buy a car and then afterwards ask whether it is a good match or not. Maybe it isn't even a match at all, never mind a good or a poor one, because it is illegal. Before embarking on a purchase, one should always have a close look at the plates on caravan and car (or their respective documents) first to check whether the weight of the caravan falls within the permissible towload of the car. This information may also have some bearing on whether your driving licence is OK, too. At least then, you are already more than halfway there because you know that you are legal. Only then it there any point in asking whether the match is any good and/or whether the performance is adequate to meet one's expectations.
Lutz,
I agree entirely with you. My friend tends to 'jump in' and buy something which he thinks may be suitable. He seems to think that as the Honda has a powerful diesel engine it will 'pull anything'. A formula 1 racing car has a very powerful engine...but...! He had a Mitsubishi pickup truck previously with a 2.5 litre engine diesel engine and that struggled. I've tried to point out these things to him but I guess he'll find out.
- Mar 14, 2005
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I strongly suspect anyone with an indifferent attitude before the purchase is not going to be any different afterwards, either. He probably won't make sure before setting off that the load distribution in the caravan or the noseweight are right, so even if his match may theoretically be ideal, he could still have a potential instability problem. In such a case there is little to be gained in knowing whether the outfit is a good match. Despite a 75% weight ratio an outfit can be unsafer than another one at 95%, but which has been set up well.
We towed a 1250kg MTPLM Bailey with a 2.2 Civic and we found it an excellent tow car for that size of caravan.
The car has a pretty good tow weight of 1500kg, and firm rear suspension and a short rear overhang. The engine's torque is also high and the engine has a willingness to rev.
The car has a pretty good tow weight of 1500kg, and firm rear suspension and a short rear overhang. The engine's torque is also high and the engine has a willingness to rev.
in which case Zafiral the person in question may just be lucky or a good guesser, with due respect to ron D questions like this one really are frustrating in the extreem with all the regulations now heaped on the caravan tower and everything having to be type approved and within all paramiters there is really no excuse for anyone to have such a dogmatic attitude to outfit suitability the days of towing anything with anything else are long gone, ok so 30years ago you could get away with towing a 2ton 18ft bessacar with a 2ltr cortina on a home made tow bar but not anymore.
lutz has this spot on with his post I agree with him 100% and the reason I usually never respond to such posts exept to say I just hope that when such people get into trouble it is
not me that is in the area when everything goes t*ts up.
colin
lutz has this spot on with his post I agree with him 100% and the reason I usually never respond to such posts exept to say I just hope that when such people get into trouble it is
not me that is in the area when everything goes t*ts up.
colin
On re-reading the thread, I assume the caravan in question is a twin axle, I just focused on the 3 birth part on first read. When I said 'for that size of caravan' I meant the Bailey 4 birth I had at the time, not a 24 year old T/A van whose weight has not been disclosed.
As I said to Lutz, my friend seems to think that a 2 litre engine will be fine and he anticipates no problem. This van is very old, very heavy and 23 ft long...sooner him than me!
Ron
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